Coca d'espinacs, anissos, alioli de formatge

Almadroc is a garlic-cheese sauce from medieval Catalan cuisine from the '' Llibre de Sent Soví''. There is a similar recipe in the '' Llibre del Coch'' by Rupert de Nola for almadrote, a similar recipe for a sauce made with garlic, eggs, cheese and broth that was served with

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They are sometimes grouped in the Perd ...

. In modern usage it refers to an oil, garlic and cheese sauce served with eggplant casserole. Almadrote may have pre-Inquisition Sephardic origins and served with eggplant has become widespread in modern

Turkish cuisine Turkish cuisine () is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. It is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern Eur ...

. Earlier recipes for almodrote may date recipes for a type of

green sauce Green sauce or greensauce is a family of cold, uncooked sauces based on chopped herbs, including the Spanish and Italian ''salsa verde'', the French ''sauce verte'', the German ''Grüne Soße'' or ''Frankfurter Grie Soß'' (Frankfurt dialect) ...

called ''moretum'' (believed to be the etymological origin of almodrote) in the

Apicius ''Apicius'', also known as ''De re culinaria'' or ''De re coquinaria'' (''On the Subject of Cooking'') is a collection of Roman cookery recipes. It is thought to have been compiled in the fifth century AD. Its language is in many ways closer ...

, or it may be of Arabic etymology. Concerning the latter, the evidence is based on modern lexicographical studies; it's not used for any of the sauces found in the 13th-century Andalusian cookbook, but may be derived from the Arabic term ''almaṭrúq'' meaning to pound. During the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

in the late 15th-century Fray Gonçalo Bringuylla was reported to have eaten "eggplant with ''almadrote''". In a later 16th century cookbook the name of the sauce is altered to ''capirotada'', though garlic is only present in one variation of the sauce. Modern Sephardic cookbooks commonly contain recipes for vegetable casseroles with ''almodrot'' and ''almodrote''. These recipes may include white cheese or

feta Feta ( el, φέτα, ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it ...

, sometimes combined with a firmer cheese like gruyere, and eggs to thicken the sauce.

References

{{reflist Sephardi Jewish cuisine Turkish cuisine Ancient dishes Sauces Cheese dishes Garlic dishes Spanish Inquisition Eggplant dishes Casserole dishes Andalusi-Jewish culture Catalan cuisine