Suth Gild Heall Kitchen

Roast lamb broken for a duke's table (lamb carved in the 15th/16th century English manner)

2010-07-10T10:54:00.004+10:00

This project was undertaken jointly by myself and Vandel for the Midwinter Coronation Arts and Sciences competition in the category of 'a carved item'. The table setting had previously been researched for the Stormhold Winterfeast table decorating competition which had a 15th century theme (see previous blog entries). Here is a link to a short YouTube video showing the carving in progress.

Roast lamb broken for a duke’s table

Description: roast leg of lamb, carved in the 15th-16th century English style for a duke’s table as described in The Boke of Keruynge.

Research and photography by Lady Antonia di Lorenzo, carving by Baron Vandel Lynchea (aka Rachel Grimmer and Rohan Davies)

Medieval meat carving

Like most aspects of formal dining, the carving and serving of meat at a medieval high table was a highly specialised task. Unlike contemporary meat carving, where fairly large slices are served to the diner who then cuts them into smaller pieces with individual knives and forks, in the middle ages the carver provided a highly personalised service. Each item of meat or pastry was cut in its own particular way into bite-sized pieces, carefully avoiding any fat, gristle or other undesirable parts, and placed before the diner on trenchers of bread, then seasoned or sauced, ready for eating with fingers or a spoon. Forks were very uncommon in England until well into the 16th century, and if the carver had done his job well, individual knives were not used a great deal either.

Because each type of meat, fowl, fish or bakemeat (pastry) had to be carved in a particular way (each referred to by own distinctive carving term) and served with the correct accompaniments, the carver required a great deal of training and experience. In addition the carver had to exercise his own judgement as to which parts of the meat and how much to serve each diner so as to please them and enhance the dining experience. Male children of the nobility were frequently placed as squires in the household of other nobles, preferably of higher status, to be trained in every aspect of courtly life including table service and body service (assistance with grooming and dressing). The young man would rise through the ranks of panter, butler, waiter, cup bearer, sewer (server) and carver.

To assist these young men there were a number of handbooks written in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, such as the Boke of Nurture, the Babees Book, and The Boke of Keruynge. This latter is available with the original woodblock printed text placed side by side with the modern english translation (plus additional explanatory notes and diagrams at the end of the book by food historian Peter Brears), and has been used as the main source for this project.

The carver and his utensils

The carver was distinguished from other table attendants by wearing a white linen arming cloth about 3m long, draped diagonally over his left shoulder and tied at the waist on the right. Carvers would use a set of carving utensils owned by the lord. These consisted of large broad carving knives for setting the sliced trencher bread before the lord and carving the meat, and smaller narrower knives for holding the meat while carving, and for carving smaller birds. Only some meats, such as venison, were required to be held with a knife while being carved. Other foods were held with the thumb and two fingers of the left hand. Some carving sets included large two-pronged forks or a single spike for holding the meat. The whole set had a sheath or carrying case which was frequently embellished with the heraldry of the owner. The knives had elaborate handles of wood or ivory with silver or silver gilt mounts, and the blades were often decorated. A particularly rare set from the 16th century, one knife of which is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, is engraved with musical notation containing a benediction to be sung before eating on one side and a grace to be sung at the end of the meal on the the other. Each knife has one voice part, the V&A knife being engraved with the tenor part.

The table setting

The table setting we have used is based on the instructions from The Boke of Keruynge and 15th century manuscript illuminations. On a white diapered cloth the diner’s place is set with bread trenchers. The number of trenchers varied according to the status of the diner - this setting has four slices, indicating an archbishop or duke. In the sixteenth century bread trenchers gave way to wooden or metal trenchers. We have chosen to use both to protect the tablecloth. To the left of the trenchers is a 15th century-style knop spoon placed on a folded napkin. To the right is an eating knife, a cup and a salt.

Carving the lamb

Although mutton would have been preferred to lamb in medieval times, lamb was chosen because it was more easily obtainable and also substantially cheaper than venison. The roasted leg was placed on a serving dish opposite the lord for breaking (this is the medieval term for carving a joint of venison, mutton, lamb or beef). The meat is held using a long narrow knife in the left hand, and carved with a larger broader knife in the right hand. The first step is to remove any undesirable parts of the meat from the area to be carved. This includes skin, fat, gristle, burnt bits and (if applicable) any bits with hair or feathers. Next a series of parallel cuts is made into the meat, followed by a second row of cuts at right angles to the first. Then the knife is laid parallel to the surface and the meat sliced off as small chunks, and placed upon the trencher using the tip of the knife. The meat is not touched with the hands. Meat such as venison was often placed on a bed of frumenty to be eaten with a spoon, but for clarity of illustration we have omitted this step. After serving the meat might be seasoned or sauced by the carver. The correct accompaniment for lamb would have been gamelyne/cameline sauce, made with cinnamon and other spices, bread, and wine or verjuice.

Results

After carving, the lamb was eaten by the entrants and several members of the Abbotsford household. These experienced re-enactors provided useful feedback on the results of the carving. This method of carving was found to have a number of advantages over the contemporary method of cutting large thin slices. In addition to avoiding the need for a (non-period) fork in order to eat, it was found that this method of carving was ideally suited to cutting around bones in joints of meat. The meat also tasted better, with the chunks of meat retaining moisture and flavour better than thin slices. All in all, a resounding success.

References

Wynkyn de Worde The Boke of Keruynge (The Book of Carving) 1508

Published with additional notes and drawings by Peter Brears, Southover Press 2003

P. W. Hammond Food and Feast in Medieval England Alan Sutton 1993

O. Redon, F. Sabban & S. Serventi The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy

translated by E. Schneider, University of Chicago Press 1998

Le très riches heures du Duc de Berry, Janvier Ms 65/1284 fol. 1 v (sourced from the Web Gallery of Art)

La geste ou histoire du noble roy Alexandre Ms. Fr. 9342, fol. 13 (sourced from The Medieval Kitchen)

15th century carving knives with a sheath (British Museum)

A notation knife (V&A museum)

Khushknanaj - sweet sesame rolls with scented marzipan filling

2010-06-06T10:39:00.006+10:00

The new Middle Eastern Dance Guild is planning to hold a feast in August and I am going to be in charge of the meal (by then I'll have my food handling and food supervisor's certificates). So I am gradually testing some recipes.

This recipe is from In a Caliph's Kitchen by David Waines, which contains a selection of recipes from medieval Arabic collections from the early ninth to the late thirteenth centuries. They are nearly all from Baghdad, the imperial capital of Persia (Iraq).

For each dish, the book contains a translation of the original recipe from Arabic and a modern interpretation. Unfortunately, the modern recipe has often been changed to suit contemporary tastes and is not an accurate redaction of the original recipe. This 13th century recipe is a good example, the modern interpretation completely omitting the sesame oil which gives it its unusual and quite delicious taste, so I have re-interpreted the recipe to be closer to the original. It results in a complex mix of flavours and a lovely texture. Note that the sesame oil is not the dark Chinese sesame oil, but the pale, more subtly flavoured Middle Eastern oil. I made the mistake of using the Chinese oil the first time around. It wasn't inedible, but definitely not to everyone's taste.

The original recipe does not say how large to make the rolls, and I found that dividing the dough into 12 resulted in rolls that I thought were too large, about the size of a small dinner roll. Next time I will make them 1/2 this size so that they are more of a nibble. This recipe will make the smaller size.

Khushknanj

600ml plain flour
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
150mL sesame oil (not Chinese sesame oil)
150 mL water approx
milk
sesame seeds

Mix the dough ingredients to a stiff dough and knead well. It is quite a hard dough to knead, not like normal bread dough. Leave to rise, then knead again briefly and divide into 24 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into an elongated oval and place a cylinder of filling in the centre. Wet the edges of the dough and fold over to enclose the filling. Make sure there are no gaps for the filling to escape because it becomes quite runny during cooking, and if you are not careful you end up with hollow rolls in a sea of burnt marzipan. Place on a baking tray, allow to prove for no more than 30 minutes, then brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in a hot oven (230˚C, 210˚ fan forced) until golden. Allow to cool completely before eating. This allows the filling to solidify again.

Filling

200g caster sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
zest of 1 orange
100g ground almonds
rosewater

Take the sugar and pound it with the cinnamon and orange zest. When it has absorbed all the flavour, sift out the orange zest. Mix it with the almond meal and add enough rosewater to make a stiff paste. Divide into 24 pieces.

June Meeting 2010

2010-05-29T09:15:00.002+10:00

Yes we will be having a meeting at my place :)

However, as St Monica's Event is in the afternoon, I ask that everyone come to my place about 11. We can cook up a stuff to take to the picnic :)

So... Topic will be warm food that will pack to take to picnic :)

See you all there

Photos from May 2010 meeting

2010-05-03T17:34:00.001+10:00

pork pie, with a hot water crust pastry

pork pie with prunes

quince tart

pears poached in rose syrup, with red wine and fennel

macaroons and biscuits, before baking

soups:
at top, Polish cabbage, parsnip and honey soup
at bottom, wild mushroom and chestnut soup

The other dishes cooked (not shown in the photos) were dragon - a chicken dish - and spinach with prunes. We also tasted various combinations such as chicken with the rose syrup. Delicious!

parsley root

2010-01-09T12:22:00.000+11:00

One of my delights in cooking is experimenting with unusual ingredients and tastes. Ever since I heard that the roots of parsley (a close relative of carrots) could be eaten, I had to try them, but last year I could only manage enough for a small handful in a stew. This year I had a glut of parsley (I seem to be able to grow too much or not enough - I'd rather the former), and after harvesting it several times, the crop needed a severe culling. I'm using the roots conventional flat leaf parsley, which work ok, but there exists a (modern?) variety called hamburg parsley which is grown for it's roots.

So recipes using parsley root were needed, and Cathy came to the rescue with her new Italian cookery book.

Bartolomeo Scappi Opera dell'arte del cucinare 1570

"To prepare a thick soup of parsley root. Get parsley roots from the end of september to the end of march, that being their season. Scrape them and core them; wash them and parboil them in boiling water, from which you take them and put them in cold water. Weather you cut them up into pieces or beat them with knives is left optionally to you. Cook them in a broth that is not too salty. When they are done, you can mix in beaten eggs along with verjuice or else grated cheese. You can also serve them plain with their broth. If you want to cover boiled chickens with them, however, when their core is removed, cook them whole without cutting them up, the way the fennel above is done, and with the same ingredients as for the fennel."

So the recipe is fairly simple: scrape the skins off the roots with a paring knife, slice down the sides to remove the woody cores, wash then parboil. Place in cold water immediately after parboiling to stop cooking. Chop into pieces and cook in stock. Serve plain with broth or add grated cheese or verjuice and beaten eggs.

My roots were quite dirty so I scrubbed them first, a decision I regretted given how long it took - washing after scraping would probably have been quicker. Coring took ages, especially since many of the roots were quite small, but the cores are very woody, even when very small and aren't amenable to eating. Once this preparation was done, cooking was quite easy. I parboiled the roots for 5 minutes, and was fascinated to see the parsnip coloured roots change the water to carotene yellow. I strained these, then plunged them into cold water. I drained them and left them overnight in the fridge because it was getting late.

The next day I chopped the parsley root into small slivers and cooked the parsley root in vegetable stock because I wanted to make a vegetarian dish - I think meat broth would have been more likely to be used in Renaissance times, and a better flavour compliment. I used just enough fluid (2/3 commercial vegetable stock, 1/3 water) to cover the roots, brought it to the boil (30 min?), then simmered for approx 1hr. This mixture was then frozen as I wanted to serve it on a later date.

Later I defrosted the roots and boiled them for half until warm, half for another hour or two before serving. The flesh of the parsley root is quite sturdy - roots cooked for the shorter time es were about the same as those cooked for almost twice as long - I'm sure modern carrots would have disintegrated under those conditions. I served some roots plain in broth and some with grated Cheddar cheese and verjuice at the Krae Glas December Twilight Tourney and both were yummy.

On seasonality: The months mentioned by Scappi are September - March, which for the southern hemisphere equate to March to September, ie late autumn through to early spring. This reinforces the fact that Scappi was Italian (not in the Italian alps), Not England or Germany with nasty snow and frost, which would probably kill the parsley but rather more like the seasons here, with parsley seeding and dieing/diminishing over the summer from the heat. I think harvesting my roots in October was a little late - they were no fatter, and possibly a bit woodier than those culled in September.

This picture is a bit less flattering than the food looked - the once melted cheese has congealed into lumps - it's actually the leftovers.

Rosee

2009-03-16T07:13:00.001+11:00

"Cury" R 52 Rosee
Original Recipe
Take thyk milk as to fore welled. Cast thereto suguar a gode porcioun pynes. Dates mynced. Canel. & powdour gynger and seeth it, and alye it with flores of white Rosis, and flour of rys, cole it, slat it and messe it forth. If thou wilt in stede of almaunde mylke, take swete cremes of kyne.
Ingredients
1	cup	ground almonds
3	cups	water
0.4	cup	sugar
1	cup	almonds slivered
1.5	cups	chopped dates
1	tsp	cinnamon
0.5	tsp	galingale (substitute for ginger)
1	cup	rose petals
3	TBS	rice flour
Method
Make the almond milk by boiling the water and steeping the ground almonds in the water. Let it soak for a bit, then strain the ground almonds from the almond milk. (I prefer to let my almond milk be a bit chunky, but that's my taste, others prefer to strain it through a hair strainer, ie, a finer mesh strainer). Add sugar. A good portion pynes - in general, I've used pine nuts. This time I didnt' have any and substituted slivered almonds. Chop the dates and add to the mix, along with the spices. Add the rose petals (I'm too lazy to chop the whites off) and the rice flour, cook until thickened, adding rice flour as necessary. Put into a serving dish, let it cool and serve. Don't add too much rice flour as it will thicken as it cools, I made it so it was like a thicker custard. too thick and it would be gummy.
Notes; some recipes have you steep the rose petals in water first, strain them and then add them to the pudding. You can then use the rose water for something else. Also, I've read somewhere that you take off the little inside bits fo the rose petals as otherwise it makes it bitter. I generally don't bother. I also used red roses, as that's what I grow - pesticide free - so it wasn't a pure white pudding, but it would be stunning more white! We generally substitute ginger as one of the people we cook for at cooks' guild is allergic to ginger. The reference to sweet cremes of kyne is full cream milk.

Mawmenee

2009-03-16T07:12:00.001+11:00

"Cury" R 20 Mawmenee
Original Recipe
Take a pottel of wyne greke. And ii. Pounde of sugur take and clarifye the sugur with a qantite of wyne and drawe it thurgh a straynour in to a pot of erthe take flour of Canell and medle with sum of the wyne an caste to gydre. Take pynes with dates and frye hem a litell in grece other on oyle and cast hem to gydre. take clowes an flour of canel hool and cast thereto. take powdour gyngur. canel. clower, colour it with saundres a lytel yf hit be nede cast salt thereto. and lat it seeth; warly with a slow fyre and not to thyk, take brawn of capouns yteysed other of Fesauntes teysed small and cast thereto,
Ingredients
4	cups	wine
1.5	cups	sugar
1	tsp	cinnmon
2	cups	dates
70	grams	pine nuts
4	TBs	butter
0.4	tsp	mace
0.5	tsp	cloves
0.5	tsp	galingale
1	whole	cooked chicken
Method
Hm, I did this one rather a while ago and my notes are just listing the ingredients. I basically followed the steps - a pottel is a measurement, wyne greke is ecipe calls for "wyne greke" or Greek Wine, which the glossary in Curye on Inglysch defines as "...a sweet type of wine which actually came from Italy..." . I used a fulsome bodied (cask) red wine (given that it's with a stronger flavoured meat - ie, pheasant /capon. We don't need to clarify the sugar, as modern sugar is highly processed; but I dissolved the sugar in the wine, added cinnamon. Chop the dates, add the pine nuts and fry in butter until the dates soften slightly. Add this mixture to the sweetened wine and add the remaining (ground) spices. You could read this take whole cloves and flour of canel (ie ground cinnamon) which makes more sense than flour of canel hool. Simmer this for a while, the dates do dissolve and get fairly thick, hence the warning not to let it thicken too mcuh. What the recipe doesn't say is that the chicken or pheasant shoudl be cooked, but in general, the yteysed is used in conjunction with already cooked meat - and means to pull in pieces by the fingers, which is more difficult to do with raw meat. I also opted for cooked meat as you add the meat and it's a 'cast thereto' with no further instructions to seeth, so the assumption is that the meat is mixed together with the wine and spices, picking up that flavour, and being served thereafter.

Connates (Quinces)

2009-03-16T07:11:00.000+11:00

"Cury" R 18 Connates
Original Recipe
Take Connes and pare hem. Pyke out thte best and do hem in a pot of erthe. Do herefto whyte gece that he stewe ther inne. And lye hem up with hony clarified and with rawe zolkes and with a lytell almaund mylke and do thereinne powdour fort and Safron. and loke that it be yleesshed.
Ingredients			For Powder Fort	Alt.
2	whole	quince	ginger	cloves
1	TBS	butter	cinnamon	mace
0.5	cup	sugar	cloves	cubeb
2	yolks	egg	grains of paradise	cinnamon
0.5	cup	almond milk	cubeb	ginger
				pepper
Method
Connates are quinces (note 1: connat seems to be a kind of marmalade of connes, or quinces, from FR.Coing). I peeled, quartered and cored the quinces. I cooked the quinces in butter, over a low flame (gas) (in a stainless steel saucepan, an earthenware pot would've been better). I used sugar as it was a cooks' guild and there is a honey allergy. Remove the quinces, and add sugar to the liquid, mix until dissolved. Let it cool slightly, then stir in the raw egg yolks to thicken, ensuring that they don't curdle (ie, cook). Return the quinces, and add a bit of almond milk, and spices. Mix. (Yleesshed in hte notes is verb, 'gloss')

Rapes in Potage

2009-03-16T07:10:00.001+11:00

"Cury" R 5 Rapes in Potage
Original Recipe
Take rapus and make hem clene and waissh hem clene. Quare hem. Parboile hem. Take hem up. Cast hem in a gode broth and seeth hem. Mnce Oynouns and cast thereto Safround and salt and messe it forth with powdour douce. The wise make of Pasturnakes and skyrwates.
Ingredients
3	whole	turnips (these were small)
1	whole	medium onion
1	pinch	saffron
1	pinch	salt (to taste)
1	pinch	powdour douce
Method
I peeled and chopped the turnips and parboiled briefly. While the turnips were were being parboiled, I minced (but not too finely) the onion. I used a commercial beef stock and simmered the turnips with the onion for approximately half an hour, until tender but not translucent. The recipe does seem to say that the onions should not be cooked, but I personally can't stand raw onion, and so added to the broth. Towards the end of the cooking, add the saffron (once dissolved in warm water), and spices. Pasternaks in the footnote are parsnips (or carrots) and a skirrit is a root vegetable (refer, Polish cooking).

Caboches in Potage

2009-03-16T07:09:00.000+11:00

"Cury" R 4 Caboches in Potage
Original Recipe
Take caboches and quarter hem seeth hem in gode broth with Oynouns y mynced and the whyte of Lekes y slyt and coure smale and do per to safroun an salt and force it with powdour douce.
Redaction for 6 - 10
Ingredients
0.4	whole	cabbage	for poweder douce
3	medium	onions	anise
1	white only	leek	hyssop
		beef stock	fennel
			sugar
			recipe from eary french cooking
Grind together a pinch of anise and fennel seed in a mortar; I had fresh hyssop so I used a few leaves of that as well in the mix. Add a small pinch of sugar. I personally dislike powder douce, so used a very small pinch of that in the caboches.

Method
I only used a quarter of a cabbage, this being tested for a cooks' guild. Mince the onions, and chop the whites of the leeks (I used up and slightly into the green of the leek). Simmer the vegetables in beef stock (commercial brand) until they are soft - cabbages don't need to cook forever, about 20 mintues to half an hour, is sufficient to soften them without making a mush. Dissolve a pinch of saffron in warm water, add to the vegetable stock. Salt to taste. Add powder douce to taste.

Berries with Cold Almond Cream

2009-02-15T15:11:00.001+11:00

Berries with Cold Almond Cream (cold almond cream from Take a Thousand Eggs, vol. 1 p. 227
take almonds, and blanch them, and wash them in fair water, and bray them small in a mortar with fair water. And then take them and the water togther somewhat thick, and draw them through a strainer into a fair pot, And set them over the fire, and let them boil once, and take them down, and cast thereto salt and let stand a furlong-way or two. And cast a little vinegar thereto, then cast it on a fair linen cloth that is fair washed, and the water wrung out thereof; and cast it all about with the ladle, and let men hold the cloth all about; and then take a ladle, and draw under the cloth, and draw away the water all that a man may. And then gather all the cream together in the cloth; and then take the cloth with the cream, and hang it upon a pin, and let the water drop out two or three hours more. And then take it off the cloth, and put it in a bowl of wood, and cast sugar enough thereto and a little salt. And if it wax too thick, take sweet wine and mix it withal; then take raisins of corinth, clean and washed, and put them therein that they are not seen, and when it is dressed in the manner of a mortrews, take red anise in comfit or else leaves of borage, and set thereon in a dish.
No.	Quantity	Qantity	Item	Per 50		Per 100
1		carton	strawberries	5	cartons	12	cartons
Method
Wash and hull the strawberries; refrigerate. The almond 'cream' has already been made from the pink dish from the first remove. Strain it; squeeze in a cloth, let it hang for several hours. Either mold the almonds around the currants, or poke some currants in the molds. The variation is instead of a sweet wine, I've got excess rose cordial or lavendar cordial - which will be ladelled around the almond cream. The berries either will be plated with the cream, if possible or served in small bowls separately .

Cold Sage Sauce - Taillevent

2009-02-15T15:09:00.000+11:00

A Cold Sage Sauce Friod Sauge- no. 73
Cook your poultry in water, then set it to cool. Grind ginger, cassia buds grains of paradise and cloves, and do not strain them; then grind bread**** (note; for high table, use rice flour!) , parsley and sage, with a little saffron if you wish in this greenery to make it a bright green, and sieve this, and some people add strained, hard cooked egg yolks steeped in vinegar; do not boil. Brak apart yoru poultry into halves, quarters or members, set it out on plates with the sauce oer and hard cooked egg whites on top. If you use hard eggs, cut them up with a knife rather than by breaking them by hand.
No.	Quantity	Qantity	Item	Per 50		Per 100
1		big	chicken	5.0	chickens	12	chickens
0.5		tsp	ginger			5	tsp
0.5			cinnamon			5	tsp
0.5			grains - pepper & cardamom			5	tsp
0.5			cloves			5	tsp
0.25		cup	parsley			2.5	cups
0.25		cup	sage			2.5	cups
1		pinch	saffron			5	pinches
0.5		cup	bread crumbs	approx.		5	cups
4		TBS	rice flour	approx.		4	TBS - approx
2		TBS	verjuice			0.5	bottle verjuice
Method
This is a an adaption for a large feast. We are roasting the chicken, and serving the cold sage sauce as an accompaniment. For the roast chicken, sprinkle with salt, pepper and a splash of lemon juice. Roast in a moderage oven (200 degrees C) for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours, until the juices run clear. For the sauce, grind the spices and greens in the mortar, add the bread crumbs (or rice flour) until thick; moisten with verjuice as appropriate. Should be tangy.

A pink dish for Meat Days - Taillevent

2009-02-15T15:08:00.000+11:00

Ung Roze a chair: A Pink dish for Meat Days - no.191
Grind unskinned almonds well, then take beef broth, wine and verjuice and steep your almonds in it and strain them; then take your meat - that is, breast of veal, or whole or quartered chicken cooked with a knucke of beef, or with some other good cut of beef - fry this meat in bacon grease until it is a russet colour, then take a very small amount of fine cinnamon, white mecca ginger, and lesser spices such as grains of paradise, cloves and long pepper. For colour you should have orchil and alkanet - alkanet is as suitable as orchil, if you can get it, becuase its colour is not so pronounced as is that of orchil; it should be soaked in a little water, which is hot and not just wrm, for three or foru hours; then put it into the pottage after it has boiled, and stir it thoroughly until it has the proper colour for a Pink Dish.
No.	Quantity	Item	Per 50		Per 100
0.5	cup	ground almonds	2.5	cups	5	cups
1	cup	boiling water	5	cups	10	cups
	splash	wine & verjuice
800	grams	beef	4	kilos	8	kilos
0.5	tsp	cinnamon	2.5	tsp	5	tsp
0.25	tsp	ginger (galingale)	1.25	tsp	2.5	tsp
0.25	tsp	ground cloves	1.25	tsp	2.5	tsp
1	pod	cardamom, ground	5	pods	10	pods
1	pinch	Salt
1	tsp	pepper	5	tsp	10	tsp
Method
Make the almond milk - boil the water, and pour over the ground almonds. Leave it sit until it is cool enough to handle, strain. RESERVE the almonds - it is used for the cold almond cream! Add a splash of wine & verjuice to the almond milk. Set this on the stove to simmer gently. I didn't colour it in the test recipe - but a drop of food dye would be nice (see the notes on orchil p. 244). Add the spices - the flavour should be predominatly pepper-ish - effectively this is a medieval poivrade. Correct as necessary and add salt. Leave to warm while frying the beef. The beef should be done at the last minute. Heat skillet and fry the beef in lard until browned (don't over cook). I am choosing to serve the sauce separately to the beef.

Pastez Nourroys (Norse Pies) Taillevent

2009-02-15T15:07:00.000+11:00

Pastez nourroys: Norse Pies no 208
Makes approximately 48 very small tartlets; allow 24 tartlets per table of 10
Take finely chopped, well cooked meat, pine nut paste, currants, finely crumbled rich cheese, and a very little salt.
No.	Quantity	Item	Per 50		Per 100
300	grams	beef mince	0.75	750 grams	1.65	kilos
500	grams	mushrooms vego option			1	kilos	also, can make some with the leftover spinach from the liquid of the pies in 2nd remove
60	grams	pine nuts	180	grams	330	grams	# get extra for vego option
100	grams	neufchatel cheese	300	grams	550	grams	*plus topping - 2-300 grams
0.5	cup	currants	1.5	cups	2.75	cups
1	tsp	sugar			0.4	cup
0.5	tsp	salt *omitted from trial recipe
		shortcrust pastry -for 2 pies
		flour
		crisco
		salt
		water
Method
Make up pastry; put in tart shells. No need to blind bake. Brown the mince in the bacon fat (cooking lard), until well cooked. While the beef is cooking, crush the pine nuts in a mortar; the pine nuts are very oily and it will make a 'paste' just by crushing. When the beef is done cooking, transfer it to a mixing bowl, add the pine nuts, currants. Chop the cheese into chunks or break it up and add it to the beef. Get your hands in there and squish it to mix it thoroughly. Sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar through it - the dish should not be really sweet, but have a nice balance. Check the filling, but omit the salt as the cheese is salty enough.

Green Garlic Sauce - Taillevent

2009-02-15T15:06:00.000+11:00

Green Garlic Sauce No 158
Grind garlic, bread and greenery, and steep this together in verjuice
	*enough for 2 tables		Per 50	Per 100
2	heads	garlic	5	10
0.5	cup	parsley	0.5	2.5
2	TBS	verjuice	3.75	7.5
Method
Peel the garlic cloves; put in a stainless pan, cover with water, and simmer until softened. Blanch the parsley, drain, then finely chop the parsley. Add the parsley to the garlic cloves, and pound with a mortar, or blend in blender, or hit with potato masher until it is nice and smooth. IF it needs thickening, then for Her Majesty, do NOT add bread, rather, use a bit of rice flour to thicken.

Hericoc de Mouton

2009-02-15T15:05:00.000+11:00

Hericoc de mouton - no. 4 Taillevent
Original Recipe: Sautee your raw mutton in bacon grease and cut it up into pieces together with finely minced onions in a covered pot, stirring often; moisten with beef broth and wine, add verjuice, mace, parsley, hyssop and sage and optionally saffron; boil all together. The neck, shoulder, and breast of mutton is good for this dish.
Per table (10 to a table
No.	Quantity	Item	Per 50		Per 100
500	grams	Lamb, diced	2.5	kilos	5	kilos
2	small/med	onions	10.0	onions	20	onions
10	grams	lard
1.5	cups	beef broth* (stock cubes = liquid)	3.8	cups	7.5	cups
0.5	cups	red wine*	1.3	cups	2.5	cups
4	TBS	verjuice*	10.0	TBS	20	TBS
		*makes enough for 2 tables
0.25	tsp	mace (1/4 tsp)	1.3	tsp	2.5	tsp
4	TBS	parsley	20.0	TBS	40	TBS	about a cup and a half
0.5	tsp	hyssop	2.5	tsp	5	tsp
4	TBS	sage	20.0	TBS	40	TBS

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. If using stock cubes, use 1.5 cubes per 1.5 cups water. Heat water and add cubes. Add red wine and verjuice, mix thoroughly. Heat skillet; add bacon grease - enough to coat the pan. Sear the lamb (Use pre-diced) in the bacon fat. Remove and put in casserole dish. Sautee the onions in bacon fat until they are lightly translucent; transfer them to the casserole dish. Add in the broth, to cover the meat. Add in the spices. Mix well, cover, and bake for about 3-4 hours. Check and adjust seasoning - add a pinch of salt if needed. Serve hot.

Pie of Herbs, cheese and eggs

2009-02-15T14:32:00.001+11:00

Pie of Herbs, cheese and eggs no 175 from Viandier of Taillevent (Terence Scully) Original Recipe:
Take parsley, mint, chard, spinach, lettuce, marjoram, basil and wild thyme, and grind everythign together in a mortar, moisten with pure water and squeeze outgt he juice, break a large number of eggs into the joice and add posdered giner, cinnamon and long papper, a good quality cheese, grated, and salt; beat everthing tgether. Then make a very thin pastry to put in yourdish, of the size of your dish, then line your dish with it; coats the inside of the dish with portk fat, then put in your pastry, put your dish on the coals and again coat the inside if the pastry with pork fat; when it has melted, bput your filling in your pastry and cover it with the other dish and put the fire on top as well as underneath and let your pie dry out a litt;e uncover the top of the dish and put five egg yolks and fine spice powder carefully ove your pie; then replace the dish as it was before and let it gradually cook in low coal fire; check often to see that it is not over-cooking. Put sugar on top when serving.
Per table (10 to a table
No.	Quantity	Qantity	Item	Per 50		Per 100
			parsley	*
			mint	*
			chard	*
500		grams	spinach	*	kilos	2.5	kilos
			marjoram	*
			basil	*
			thyme	*		1	litre
3		whole	eggs	15	egs	30	eggs
0.5		tsp	ginger (galingale)
0.25		tsp	cinnamon	1.25		2.5
0.24		tsp	long pepper*	1.25		2.5
			*pepper and cardamon

1		cup	grated tasty cheese	5	cups	10	cups
4		yolks only	eggs	20	yolks	40	yolks
0.25		tsp	cinnamon	1.25	tsp	2.5	tsp
0.25		tsp	nutmeg	1.25	tsp	2.5	tsp
0.25		tsp	ginger (galingale)	1.25	tsp	2.5	tsp
Method
Coat the pie pan with non stickspray; line with pastry. Melt dab of butter in the pastry; put in oven until it melts and the crust begins to harden a bit. In the interim, chop the parsley, mint, (cook the spinach and squeeze out the juice from it); marjoram, basil and thyme. Put it in a mortar and pound it a bit. Pour warm water on it; squeeze dry. Reserve the liquid - there should be approximately 1 litre of green juice. As for balance of flavour, add more basil/thyme, then parsley, the spinach then just a hint of mint. Mix the liquid, whole eggs and cheese, and add the spices. Put it in the pastry and bake at about 200 degrees C for approximately 15 minutes. Add the whole, uncooked egg yolks to the top of the pie. The pie should be cooked enough so that they SLIGHTLY sink into the pie - they shouldn't sit 'proud', but should gently sink a bit. Add a gentle sprinkle of fine spice powder (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg). Put the pie back into the overn for about another 30 minutes until well cooked. Sprinkle with sugar just before serving. The whole egg yolks 'hard boil' and sink into the pie - looks great for presentation - our pie pans only fit 4 egg yolks on comfortably.

6 apricot pies

2009-01-07T19:06:00.010+11:00

Being in possession of a number of jam quality apricots, my thought turned instantly to creating something which I could store for potluck events. I chose to make pies that I could freeze.

I searched medieval cookery website's fantastic cookbook search for medieval recipies, but there were no mentions for apricot, so I searched for firstly fruit, then other stone fruits. Here's my results:

To make all maner of fruit Tartes - The Good Housewife's Jewell, England, 1596
To make a Tarte of Damsons - The Good Housewife's Jewell, England, 1596
A tart with plums - Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin, Germany, 16th century
Another tart with fresh plums - Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin, Germany, 16th century
Tartes of Damsons with a cover. - A Book of Cookrye, England, 1591
Tarts of Damsons without a cover. - A Book of Cookrye, England, 1591
Eine kluge spise von pflumen (A clever food of plums) - Ein Buch von guter spise, Germany, ca. 1345

I tried out ideas from several of the tarts, but only one of these tarts is as close to a single recipie as I could make it.

Tart 1: Sabrina's fresh plum tart (but with apricots)

A tart with plums, which can be dried or fresh. Let them cook beforehand in wine and strain them and take eggs, cinnamon and sugar. Bake the dough for the tart. That is made like so: take two eggs and beat them. Afterwards stir flour therein until it becomes a thick dough. Pour it on the table and work it well, until it is ready. After that take somewhat more than half the dough and roll it into a flat cake as wide as you would have your tart. Afterwards pour the plums on it and roll out after that the other crust and cut it up, however you would like it, and put it on top over the tart and press it together well and let it bake. So one makes the dough for a tart.

Another tart with fresh plums. Take the stones cleanly out and cut them open in the middle and make the tart and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on the bottom crust and after that lay the plums as closely together as possible and put sugar and cinnamon on them again. Put also some butter thereon. Make after that the tart dough in the manner which is recorded in number [seventy].

Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin
(Germany, 1553 - V. Armstrong, trans.)
The original source can be found at David Friedman's website

I wanted to use some jam apricots, but the closest recipes I could find were for other stone fruits, namely plums. This pie recipe astonished me because it actually contained a recipe for pastry. Of course I had to try this. I halved the quantities for my smaller pie tins. I had fresh fruit so I opted to use recipe 71, but recipe 70 is included as it has the dough recipe used in recipe 71.

My redaction: [in brackets things I will do differently next time]

Ingredients:
plain flour - approx 1 cup, plus extra for flouring surfaces
4 small apricots
cinnamon – approx 3 teaspoons
sugar – approx 1/8th cup

method:
Beat 1 egg. In a large bowl, gradually add [sifted] flour to the egg and stir with a wooden spoon. The mixture will be very stiff. Add flour until it does not look liquid, and begins to form clumps (look like a dough). Then mix with [well floured] hands, and add more flour until the mixture no longer tries to stick to the hands. Knead (adding flour as required) until smooth. Roll out ½ to 2/3 of the pastry on a [very well] floured bench with a floured rolling pin, turning the pastry often to ensure it has not stuck. Line your tart case with pastry.

Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on the base of the tart case.

Halve apricots and remove stones, and place halves tightly together on the base of the tart. Sprinkle more sugar and cinnamon and some small knobs of butter on top of the apricot halves.

Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid for the tart. Press the edges of the pastry base and pastry lid together so they join well. Poke a few holes in the lid of the tart to allow steam out.

Deviations from recipie:
I used apricots because I had apricots and couldn’t find any recipes for apricots. Other recipes of this era show that such substitutions were expected.

Comments:
I didn’t sift in the flour, and I think this was responsible for the cosmetically displeasing small lumps in my pastry. The recipe uses the word dough throughout, but I’ve used the word pastry more in line with modern usage – I expect renaissance usage was not as rigid. I found this dough/pastry fairly pliable, and could be rolled out much thinner than any other pastries I’ve tried. It was not elastic like flour and water dough, not even the minimal elasticity of shortcrust dough. The pastry was noticeably yellower than other pasties. This took longer to bake than other pastry types, but browned more when cooked. From memory the pastry was innocuous, even pleasant, nothing unusual about it, except thinness - didn't distract from taste of fruit. Thinness did not lead to undue cracking. I need to use this again.

The words in the recipe saying to press the pastry together well, implies to be that the pastry base is not prebaked. For contrast, compare with To make a Tarte of Damsons from the good housewives jewel “put set it not into the Oven after, but let your paste be baked before.”

The first recipe cooks the plums, but it allows use of dried plums, which would require rehydration by cooking in liquid (and wine would taste better than water). The second recipe specifies that it uses fresh plums, so I do believe my interpretation that they are not pre-cooked is correct. The tarte of damsons with a cover appears to also cook the tart without precooking the fruit, supporting this assumption.

Appendix – other recipes mentioned

To make a Tarte of Damsons. Take Damsons and seeth them in Wine, and straine them with a little Creame, then yoyle your stuffe over the fire till it be thicke, put thereto, suger, synamon and ginger, put set it not into the Oven after, but let your paste be baked.

The Good Housewife's Jewell
England, 1596)

Tartes of Damsons with a cover.
Lay in your Damson whole, and so season them with sugar, Sinamon & Ginger, and so lay on a cover.

A Book of Cookrye(England, 1591)

William Marshall (08) second remove

2008-12-10T19:56:00.001+11:00

SECOND REMOVE

Jacobin Sops

Early French Cooking page 107, no original given

Ingredients

For 50

For 70

for 100

No.

Quantity

Item

1.2

kilos

kilo chicken

6.0

whole

kilo chicken

8.4

whole

kilo chicken

12.0

whole

kilo chicken

kilos

beef bone

5.0

cracked

beef bone

7.0

cracked

beef bone

10.0

cracked

beef bone

cloves

cups water

20.0

cups

cups water

28.0

cups

cups water

40.0

cups

cups water

TBS

tsp parsley

15.0

tsp

tsp parsley

21.0

tsp

tsp parsley

30.0

tsp

tsp parsley

leaves

thyme

10.0

tsp

thyme

14.0

tsp

thyme

20.0

tsp

thyme

leaves

marjoram

10.0

tsp

marjoram

14.0

tsp

marjoram

20.0

tsp

marjoram

kilos

hyssop

5.0

tsp

hyssop

7.0

tsp

hyssop

10.0

tsp

hyssop

0.25

kilo brie cheese

1.25

kilos

kilo brie cheese

1.75

kilos

kilo brie cheese

2.5

kilos

kilo brie cheese

slices toasted bread

slices

slices toasted bread

slices

slices toasted bread

slices

slices toasted bread

Method

Roast the chicksn. Pick the meat from the bones and tear it into strips, separating the dark meat form the breast meat. Combine the water or boullion, and bones. Combine herbs in pot, ie., as a bouquet garni. Bring to boil, simmer, add more herbs if desired. Keep the boullion warm. Peel and discard the brie crusts (or cop the brie crusts and spread them onthe toast before placing hte first layer of cheese on the pieces). To assemble: lay pieces of talst on the bottom of a flat, wide brimmed soup bowl. Distribute the cheese, then white meat and dark meat evenly on top of the toast. Remove the bones from the boullion, skim and pour the boullion over the sops. Decorate with parsley sprigs and serve.

For the vegetarian option, make a vegetarian boullion, and put that over the bread and cheese - ie, like a french onion soup.

Cabbage

Early French Cooking page 265, no original given

Ingredients

For 50

For 70

No.

Quantity

Item

kilos

cabbage

5.0

whole

cabbages

4.0

whole

cabbages

kilos

TBS butter

20.0

TBS

butter

28.0

TBS

butter

0.5

cloves

cup bread crumb

2.5

cups

bread crumbs

3.5

cups

bread crumbs

0.25

TBS

cooked sausage

1.3

kilos

cooked sausage

1.8

kilos

cooked sausage

Method

Peel and discard the outer leaves. Cut the cabbage into quarters. Fry the sausages. Put the cabbages into a large pot of boiling salted water. Parboil for 10-15 minutes; drain. Cut the cabbage into strips. Brush a medium sized casserole dish with butter and sprinkle with 2TBS of bread crumbs. Layer half the cabbage strips, half the sausage, dot with butter and bread crumbs, repeat. Dot the top with butter and bread crumbs. Cover the casserole dish. Bake in a 200 celcius oven for 40 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for a further 15 minutes.

For the vegetarian option, omit sausages, just add butter, pop it in a casserole dish with some extra vego broth and cook.

Pies of Paris , Take a Thousand Eggs p 125

Take andsmite fair butts of port and veal, and put it in a fair pot, And put thereto fair broth, and a quantity of Wine, And let it all boil togetehr til it is enough. And then take it from the fire, and let it cool a little, and cast thereto raw yolks of eggs, powerder of ginger, sugar and salt, minced dates, raisins or Corinth; make then coffins of fair paste, and put it therein and cover and let it bake enough.

Ingredients

For 50

For 70

For 100

No.

Quantity

Item

kilos

cup beef broth

5.0

cups

beef broth

7.0

cups

beef broth

10.0

cups

beef broth

0.5

kilos

cup white wine

2.5

cups

white wine

3.5

cups

white wine

5.0

cups

white wine

0.1

cloves

kilo grouund pork

0.5

kilos

ground pork

0.7

kilos

ground pork

1.0

kilos

ground pork

0.25

TBS

kilo ground beef

1.3

kilos

ground beef

1.8

kilos

ground beef

2.5

kilos

ground beef

leaves

egg yolks

15.0

yolk

egg

21.0

yolk

egg

30.0

yolk

egg

leaves

tsp ginger

5.0

tsp

ginger

7.0

tsp

ginger

10.0

tsp

ginger

kilos

tsp sugar

5.0

tsp

sugar

7.0

tsp

sugar

10.0

tsp

sugar

0.5

tsp salt

2.5

tsp

salt

3.5

tsp

salt

tsp

salt

date, minced

whole

date, minced

whole

date, minced

whole

date, minced

TBS currants

TBS

currants

TBS

currants

TBS

currants

pie dough

Method

Bring the beef broth and wine to boil, Add pork and beef and cook until no trace of pink remains. Remove from heat, cool. Take the cooled meat and 1/2 cup of the cooking lquid and mix together the eggs, date, currants and spices in a large bowl. Roll out half the pastry. Line an 8 inch pie pan wiht the pastry. FIll with meat mixture. Roll out remaining pastry. Cover pie with the top crust and seal the edges. Cut stam vents in the top crust. Bake at 225 Celcius for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve hot.

Cherries - Renfrow, p. 175

Take cherries, and pick out the stones, wash them clean in wine, then wring thm through a cloth and put in a pot, and put thereto white grease in a quantity, and a part of flour of rice and make it thick; put thereto white honey or sugar; point it with vinegar, season it with strong powder of connamon and galingale and mix it with a great portion of yolks of eggs, colour it with saffron or saldanwoods, and when thou serve in plant it with cherries and serve forth

Ingredients

For 50

For 70

For 100

No.

Quantity

Item

0.5

kilos

kilo cherries

2.5

kils

cherries

3.5

kils

cherries

5.0

kils

cherries

kilos

cup white wine

5.0

cups

white wine

7.0

cups

white wine

10.0

cups

white wine

cloves

TBS rice flour

5.0

TBS

rice flour

7.0

TBS

rice flour

10.0

TBS

rice flour

TBS

TBS lard/butter

5.0

TBS

lard/butter

7.0

TBS

lard/butter

10.0

TBS

lard/butter

leaves

TBS sugar

10.0

TBS

sugar

14.0

TBS

sugar

20.0

TBS

sugar

leaves

TBS red wine vinegar

5.0

TBS

red wine vinegar

7.0

TBS

red wine vinegar

10.0

TBS

red wine vinegar

kilos

tsp cinnamon

5.0

tsp

cinnamon

7.0

tsp

cinnamon

10.0

tsp

cinnamon

tsp galingale

tsp

galingale

tsp

galingale

tsp

galingale

0.1

saffron

0.5

pinch

saffron

0.7

pinch

saffron

pinch

saffron

egg yolks

yolks

eggs

yolks

eggs

yolks

eggs

Method

This will be the same method with cherries, strawberries or blackberries. Pour wine into glass bowl. If cherries, pit and half them. If strawberries, half them; cover and soak for 15 - 20 minutes. Blend wine and cherries in a blender. Pass the pulp through a fine sieve (cheeselcoth). Reserve joice, discard pulp. Pour juice into saucepan. Heat over medium heat. Add lard or butter and stir until melted. Add rice flour and stir. Add sugar, vinegar and spices. stir well. Remove from htat. Cool. Add egg yolks and stir. Return pot to the heat and stir until thickend. Do not boil.

William Marshall (08) pre and first remove

2008-12-10T19:54:00.000+11:00

PRE FIRST REMOVE

Chickpea Puree (Early French Cookery p. 79)

No original recipe given - it's a Chiquart recipie. This is an appetiser only, so making it for 50 is sufficient

Ingredients

For 50

No.

Quantity

Item

0.75

cups

dry chick peas

3.8

cups

dry chick peas

TBS

almond oil

10.0

TBS

almond oil

TBS

lemon juice

15.0

TBS

lemon juice

0.25

tsp

salt

3.8

tsp

salt

tsp

cinnamon

5.0

tsp

cinnamon

1.5

tst

sage

7.5

tst

sage

TBS

parsley

15.0

TBS

parsley

Method

1. Add water to cover the chickpeas, bring to a boil, turn off heat, soak 2 hours then cook until tender (or soak overnight).

2. In a saucepan over laow heat, whisk together oil, lemon juice, salt cinnamon and sage.

3. mix and puree all ingredients to obtain a mayonnaise like consistency using enough resverd liquid from the chickpea cooking water. Garnish with parsley.

FIRST REMOVE

BEEF AND BARLEY STEW - Anglo Saxon

From Anglo Saxon cooking, I've forgotten where the recipe comes from now.

Ingredients

For 50

For 70

For 100

No.

Quantity

Item

1.5

kilos

beef

7.5

kilos

beef

10.5

kilos

beef

15.0

kilos

beef

0.45

kilos

onion

2.3

kilos

onion

3.2

kilo

onion

4.5

kilo

onion

cloves

garlic

20.0

cloves

garlic

28.0

cloves

garlic

40.0

cloves

garlic

900

water

4500.0

water

6300.0

water

9000.0

water

TBS

red wine

15.0

TBS

red wine

21.0

TBS

red wine

30.0

TBS

red wine

leaves

bay leaves

10.0

leaves

bay leaves

14.0

leaves

bay leaves

20.0

leaves

bay leaves

leaves

sage

75.0

leaves

sage

105.0

leaves

sage

150.0

leaves

sage

bag

carrots

5.0

7.0

1.0

bag

carrots

0.175

kilos

barley

0.9

grams

kilo

1.2

grams

kilo

1.8

kilo

barley

Method

Heat olive oil or butter in a fry pan, and sautee the meat, a little at a time to brown the outside only. Transfer to the stock pot. Add everything except the barley, and cook for ages. While cooking for ages, add the chopped carrots. About an two hours before serving, add the barley and simmer. Adjust spices. VEGTARIAN: grab some mushrooms from the funges recipe, sautee in butter, brown really nicely and then add water, spices and carrots - boil for about an hour, then add the barley and cook for at least another hour.

CORMARYE. XX.II. XIII. Forme of Cury

Take Colyandre, Caraway smale grounden, Powdour of Peper and garlec ygrounde in rede wyne, medle alle þise togyder and salt it, take loynes of Pork rawe and fle of the skyn, and pryk it wel with a knyf and lay it in the sawse, roost þerof what þou wilt, & kepe þat þat fallith þerfro in the rosting and seeþ it in a possynet with faire broth, & serue it forth witþ þe roost anoon.

Ingredients

For 50

For 70

For 100

No.

Quantity

Item

kilo

pork roast

5.0

kilos

pork roast

7.0

kilos

pork roast

10.0

kilos

pork roast

TBS

Coriander

10.0

TBS

coriander

14.0

TBS

coriander

20.0

TBS

coriander

TBS

Caraway

5.0

TBS

caraway

7.0

TBS

caraway

10.0

TBS

caraway

tsp

peppercorns

10.0

tsp

peppercorns

14.0

tsp

peppercorns

20.0

tsp

peppercorns

cloves

garlic

20.0

cloves

garlic

28.0

cloves

garlic

40.0

cloves

garlic

cups

red wine

10.0

cups

red wine

14.0

cups

red wine

20.0

cups

red wine

tsp

salt

5.0

tsp

salt

7.0

tsp

salt

10.0

tsp

salt

Method

1. Use a mortar and pestle to a coarsely grind the spices.

2. Prick the pork roast all over with a knife and marinade in red wine for at least 1 hour.

3. Reserve marinade to baste meat and add to meat juices to make gravy.

4. Roast (20 mins/ 500 g + 30 min for med/rare) 220C for 10 minutes and then 190C til done to your preference.

5. Use the remaining marindade and meat juices to make gravy, heat on stovetop, strain and serve

APPULMOY. XX.III. XIX., Forme of Cury

Take Apples and seeþ hem in water, drawe hem thurgh a straynour. take almaunde mylke & hony and flour of Rys, safroun and powdour fort and salt. and seeþ it stondyng.

Ingredients

For like 40

For 70

No.

Quantity

Item

kilos

apples

kilos

apples

cup

almond milk

cup

almond milk

cup

sugar

0.5

cup

sugar (*to taste)

TBS

rice flour

TBS

rice flour

pinch

saffron

pinch

saffron

tsp

ginger

0.5

tsp

ginger

tsp

cinnamon

0.5

tsp

cinnamon

tsp

pepper

0.5

tsp

pepper

tsp

cloves

0.5

tsp

cloves

pinch

mace or nutmeg

pinch

mace or nutmeg

Method

1. Take Apples and cook them in water until soft

2. Draw them through a strainer.

3. Add rest of ingredients (spice fairly delicately) and cook until thickened

FUNGES X., Forme of Cury (cross ref. Recipe 21 from The Medieval Kitchen

Take Funges and pare hem clere and dyce him. Take leke and shred hym small and do hym to seeth in gode broth. Colour it with safron and do thereinne powdour fort.

Ingredients

For 50

For 70

For 100

No.

Quantity

Item

0.5

kilo

mushrooms

2.5

kilos

mushrooms

3.5

kilos

mushrooms

5.0

kilos

mushrooms

0.5

whole

onions

2.5

white bits

onions

3.5

white bits

onions

5.0

white bits

onions

0.5

tsp

ginger

2.5

tsp

ginger

3.5

tsp

ginger

5.0

tsp

ginger

0.5

tsp

cinnamon

2.5

tsp

cinnamon

3.5

tsp

cinnamon

5.0

tsp

cinnamon

0.5

tsp

cloves

2.5

tsp

cloves

3.5

tsp

cloves

5.0

tsp

cloves

0.5

tsp

grains of paradise

2.5

tsp

grains of paradise

3.5

tsp

grains of paradise

5.0

tsp

grains of paradise

tsp

cubeb

5.0

tsp

cubeb

7.0

tsp

cubeb

10.0

tsp

cubeb

0.5

tsp

salt

2.5

tsp

salt

3.5

tsp

salt

5.0

tsp

salt

TBS

olive oil

10.0

TBS

olive oil

14.0

TBS

olive oil

20.0

TBS

olive oil

Method

Roughly chop the mushrooms. Finely chop the onions. Sweat the leeks in olive oil, then add the mushrooms and saute for a bit. Add the spice, *WARNING* use common sense with the spices, start with fewer and add, do not go straight up to 9 times the recipie!!!!! add a bit of water and simmer until cooked.

JOUTES xx.iiii.vii

Take erbes, boile hem, hewe hem and gryne him smale, and drawe hem up with water, set hem on the fire and seeth the rowtes with the mylke and cast thereon sugur and salt and serve it forth.

Ingredients

For 50

For 70

For 100

No.

Quantity

Item

0.5

kilo

spinach

2.5

kilos

spinach

3.5

kilos

spinach

5.0

kilos

spinach

0.5

leaves

sage

2.5

leaves

sage

3.5

leaves

sage

5.0

leaves

sage

0.5

tsp

marjoram

2.5

tsp

marjoram

3.5

tsp

marjoram

5.0

tsp

marjoram

0.5

tsp

chard

2.5

tsp

chard

3.5

tsp

chard

5.0

tsp

chard

0.5

tsp

rosemary

2.5

tsp

rosemary

3.5

tsp

rosemary

5.0

tsp

rosemary

TBS

olive oil

10.0

TBS

olive oil

14.0

TBS

olive oil

20.0

TBS

olive oil

Method

wash and roughly chop the spinach (or chard, or silverbeet). Chop the herbs. Cook in water, remove. (NOTE: the recipe has been altered to remove the almond milk.)

Custard Lombard - Renfrow, page 285

Take good cream, leaves of parsley and eggs, the yolks and the whites, and break them thereto and strain through a strainer, til it is so stiff that it will bear himself, then take fair marrow, and dates, cut in 2 or 3 prunes and put the dates and the prunes and marrow in a fair coffin, made of fair paste and put the coffin in the oven till itis a little hard; then draw them out of the oven; take the liquor and put therefon and fill it up and cast sugar enough on and salt; then let bake ogether till it is enough; and if it is in Lent, leave the eggs and the marrow out and serve it forth.

No.

Quantity

Item

3 pies

For 70

For 90

cup

cups

cream

2.5

cup

cream

3.333

cup

cream

sprig

parsley

2.5

sprig

parsley

3.333

sprig

parsley

eggs

whole

eggs

20.000

eggs

0.005

grams

pinch

marrow

0.0125

pinch

marrow

0.017

pinch

marrow

whole

dates

whole

dates

40.000

whole

dates

whole

prunes

7.5

whole

prunes

10.000

whole

prunes

tsp

sugar

tsp

sugar

6.667

tsp

sugar

pastry shell

Method

Blind bake the pastry shell for about 5 minutes. For the marrow, get your butcher to cut a marrow bone in half. Chop the dates and prunes. Add the dates and prunes to the pie shell, and scrape out about half of the marrow bone (if it's a beef shank). Dot the marrow in amongst the chopped dates and prunes. Bake this in the oven for about 7 minutes (pour yourself and some friends a glass of wine, have a chat and when you just begin to smell the pie, have a loook and if the marrow is melted, take the pie out of the oven). Now for the interesting part of the recipe. Put the parsely in a colander. Break the eggs over the colander and 'mash' the eggs through the colander. The parsley helps to froth the eggs, ie, whisking without a whisk. Pour the egg (add the cream too) mixture through the sieve a few times until the mix is frothy and thickened. Add the cream mixture on top of the dates in the pie shell, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 200 celcuis for approximately 45 minutes until the pie has set like a custard. This is a delicately flavoured, superb custard, don't be put off by the beef marrow - it's a subtle enrichment to the pie.

NOTE: Need one vegetarian and gluten free pie

William Marshall (08) Menu

2008-12-10T19:48:00.001+11:00

Seasonal fruits (apricots, peach, oranges, grapes, etc);
Bread & Butter
Chickpea puree



First remove
Beef and Barley Stew				Vegetarian Barley and mushroom
Cormarye (Roast pork in pepper sauce)				A dish of lentils and rice
Funges*
Joutes*
Applemoy*
Custard Lombarde

Second Remove
Jacobin sops				Jacobin Sops - vegetarian
Cabbages on a meat day				Cabbage - Vegetarian
Pies of Paris				Pies - vegetarian
Cheryse/strawberries
macaroons

Tart of Egges

2008-09-02T14:42:00.002+10:00

To make a Tart of Egges

Take twentie yolks of Egs, and half a pound of butter, and straine them al together into a plater: then put two good handfuls of sugar in it, sixe spoonfuls of rosewater, and stirre them altogether. Then make your paste with two handfuls of fine flower, and sixe yolks of egges, an da quarter of a dish of butter: then make your tart and put your stuff therin, and lay your tart upon a sheete of paper, and so put it into the oven, and when it is baked ynough, then drawe it out of the oven, and cast a little sugar on it, and so serve it forth.

My redaction

10 egg yolks

100g butter

3 tbsp rosewater

1/2 cup white sugar

prebaked pastry case. (see below)

mix these together and pour into a prebaked pastry case

Pastry

6 egg yolks,

1/2 cup butter, melted.

3 cups flour

4 tbsp water (if required)

Mix the above ingredients together well, and press into the base and sides of required container.

Blind bake until cooked and golden brown (180C for 10 min?)

Quantity made four large tart shells.

Soiree Menu - Lady Isobel

2008-08-17T17:27:00.007+10:00

Soiree Menu – Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchen
Harvest Feast

First Course
French Pottage
Bread and Butter
Roasted Rabbit with Fine Sauce for a roasted rabbit: used for King Henry the eight.
Roasted Seasonal Vegetables
Tart of Spinnage
Tarte of Bread
Ale.

Second Course
Stewed Steakes
Roast Mutton with sauce
Buttered Beans
Lumbardy Tarts
Snowe
Beer.

Third Course
Tart of Egges
Cheese Platter
Seasonal Fruits

Tarte of Bread.

2008-08-17T17:26:00.001+10:00

Page 39
Text:
Take grated bread, and put to it molten butter, and a little rosewater and sugar, and the yolkes of egs, and put it into your paste, and bake, and when you serve it, cut it in foure quarters and cast sugar on it.
My Redaction.
1 loaf sourdough bread (crumbed)
½ cup butter
½ tbsp rosewater
1/8 c sugar (white)
6 egg yolks
Pastry (prebaked shell) See Egg tarts below.
Mix all together, and press into pastry bake 180C for 1hr?

Tart of Spinnage

2008-08-17T17:25:00.003+10:00

Page 38
Text:
Take some cast creame, and seeth some spinnage in faire water till it be verie soft, then put it in a collender, that the water may soake from it: then let straine the sinnage, and caste the creame together, let there be good plenty of spinnage set it upon a chafingdish of coals, and put to it sugar and some butter, and let it boyle a while. Then put it in the paste, and bake it, and caste blanche powder on it, and so serve it in.
My redaction:
Boil a bunch of spinach in water, drain well.
Mix spinach and 600ml cream a sprinkling of sugar and a tablespoon of butter , put this in a fryingpan, boil together.
Put mixture into a pastry case and bake it.
Sprinkle (blanche powder) onto it immediately before serving.

Pastry (prebaked Shell)
See Tart of Egges, below.

Roasted Rabbit with a Fine Sauce

2008-08-17T17:24:00.005+10:00

Roasted Rabbit with a Fine Sauce for a roasted rabbit: used for King Henry the eight.
Roasted Rabbit: Spit roasting?
Text: (for the sauce)
Take a handfull of washed parcelie, minced small, boil it with butter and vergious upon a chafingdish, season it with sugar and a little pepper grose beaten: when it is readie, put in a few crums of white bread amongst the others let it boile againe til it be thick: then lay it on a platter, like the bredth of three fingers, lay of each side one rosted cony or mo, + so serve the.

My redaction
Large bunch of parsley, washed and cut finely
2 tbsp butter, ¼ cup vergious, sprinkling of ground pepper
Fry these together, adding water to keep moist.
Add white spoonful breadcrumbs
Boil until thickened
Spread onto a serving tray and put the rabbit to the side of it.

Stewed Steaks

2008-08-17T17:24:00.004+10:00

Page 18
To make stewed steakes.
Take the brest of Mutton, cutte it in peeces, wash it clean: then put it in a faire pot: and fill your pot with ale or halfe wine and halfe water, and make it seeth and scum it cleane. Then put into your pot a fagot of time and rosemarie, and parslie, and three of foure onions cut rounde, take a little parsley picked very small, let them boiyle together. Then take purnes, small raisons, and great dates, and let them boile altogether: then season your pot with these spices. Take salt an da little saffron, cloves, and mace, cinnamon, ginger and a little sugar: take a quantitiie of these spices, and put them itno your pot, + let them stew altogether, and whe they be tender, put a little vergious to them, an dlet them stew againe, then lay soppes of a manchet under them in a platter, and at the first, yee must put a good deale of marrow in it.

My redaction:1.2 kg forequarter lamb chops, including bones.
2 litres (home brewed) beer
3 sprigs rosemary
Equal amount parsley
Half that of thyme
3 medium sized onions
30g prunes
30g dates
30g sultanas
1 tsp salt
1 tsp saffron
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp mace
½ quill cinnamon
1 tsp galingale
1 tsp sugar
2-3 tsp verjuice
1 cup water
20g lard
4 slices pane de casa bread.
Bone and cut up lamb, wash and put in a pot. Add beer, bring to the boil and remove the scum. (20 min)
Tie herbs together and add to the pot
Put dried fruit in a small pot with 1 cup water. Boil it until fruit is tender. (10 min)
Add fruit and water to stew, continue to boil.
Pound spices and seasonings in a mortar add to the stew and continue to boil (1 min)
Add verjuice

Spread thick slices of bread with lard and fry.
Place bread on a platter, scoop some stew over, allow to soak in, and serve.
Quantity is enough to serve 20 for tastes,