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6 November XXXIX This was one of those Challenging Feasts. The site was the Round Table hall in Rondebosch, a nice hall with a horrible, horrible kitchen. It’s tiny, and has no work surfaces, and the stove is dodgy as hell. Halfway through the last feast we cooked there (the Andalusian Cowshed event), it died completely, and the work of three electrical engineers could not, in fact, resurrect it. Halfway through this feast we did actually lose the stove again, but this time someone worked out what was happening: if you use all the plates at once, it trips the switch, but the switch itself is faulty so that it looks untripped while it’s actually tripped. Anyway, I was Prepared this time; I’d pre-cooked anything that needed an oven, and had a 3-plate gas hob as back-up. Half this feast was prepared and cooked in the hallway outside the kitchen, since it was the only place where there was room. Lunch and feast were both cooked from medieval English recipes, mostly from the 14th and 15th centuries. Italicised recipes are the original Middle English form. For sources for these recipes, see the biblography, below.
Lunch ChawettysTake Pork y-sode, & mencyd Datys, and grynd hem smal to-gederys; take yolkys of Eyroun, & putte þer-to a gode hepe, & grene chese putte þe-to; & whan it ys smal y-now, take Gyngere, Canelle, & melle wyl þi commade þer-with, & put in þin cofyns; þan take yolkys of Eyroun hard y-sothe, an kerue hem in two, & ley a-boue, & bake hem; & so nogt y-closyd, serue forth. (Harleian MS 279, 15th century) Chawettys are a Shire favourite; these pork, egg and cheese tarts are flavoured with spices and minced dates, and are very rich. The recipe specifies leaving the tarts open, and decorating with hard-boiled egg yolks. I tend to cheat with these and use pork sausage meat; the cheese is Cheddar, which gives a good, sharp flavour to the mix. 1 packet English pork sausages (usually 8 sausages)
Remove sausage meat from casings and mix with cheddar, dates, egg yolks and spices. Roll out pastry, cut into circles to fit tart pans. Spoon pork mixture into pans, packing it down so it’s level with the top of the cases. Remove yolks from boiled eggs and slice; place a slice of yolk onto each tart, pressing slightly into the filling. Bake at 180 degrees for about 45 mins, or until filling is cooked and slightly browned on top. Tart on Ember DayTake and perboile oynoun & erbis & presse out the water & hewe her smale. Take grene chese & bray it in a morter, and temper it up with ayren. Do therto butter, safroun & salt, & raisouns corouns, & a litel sugur with powdour douce, and bake it in a trap, & serue it forth. (Ancient Cookery, 15th century) Medieval quiche! Ember Days were religious semi-fast days, in which meat was forbidden but dairy products were okay. (The proliferation of church-enforced fast days in 14th- and 15th-century England actually had a lot to do with the need to encourage the fishing industry, but hey. ) These tarts use eggs and cottage cheese, and are enriched with butter and currants. The parboiled onions and herbs add sweetness, brought out by spicing with sugar. 1 small onion
Roll out pastry and line quiche pan. Prick pastry base with a fork, fill with baking beans on a sheet of baking paper, and bake at 200 degrees for 5-10 minutes, until set. Remove paper and beans and put back in the oven for a few minutes to crisp the base.
Chike EndoredTake a chike, and drawe him, and roste him, And lete the fete be on, and take awey the hede; then make batur of yolkes of eyroun and floure, and caste there-to pouder of ginger, and peper, saffron and salt, and pouder hit faire til hit be rosted ynogh. (Harlein MS. 4016, 15th century) "Endoring" is gilding; these roasted chicken pieces are given a wash of a spiced batter made golden with egg-yolks and saffron. The batter also seals the chicken and keeps the juices in. Batter: 3 egg yolks, 1 tblsp flour, pinch saffron, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp pepper, a little water.
SalatTake persel, sawge, grene garlec, chibolles, oynouns, leek, borage, myntes, porrettes, fennel, and toun cressis, rew, rosemarye, purslarye: laue and waische hem clene. Pike hem. Pluk hem small wiþ þyn honde, and myng hem wel with rawe oile; lay on vyneger and salt, and serue it forth. (Form of Cury, 14th century) This green salad specifies all sorts of herbs, including things like borage and purslane which are not available to us in Cape Town. I cheated and used lettuce in combination with various herbs (parsley, sage, spring onions, mint, watercress and rosemary) and a basic oil/vinegar dressing.
Saturday Night Feast Broth SaakeBruette saake. Take Capoun, skalde hem, draw hem, smyte hem to gobettys. Waysshe hem, do hem in a potte; þenne caste owt þe potte, waysshe hem a-gen on þe potte, & caste þer-to half wyne half Broþe; take Percely, Isope, Waysshe hem, & hew hem smal, & putte on þe potte þer þe Fleysshe is; caste þer-to Clowys, quybibes, Maces, Datys y-tallyd, hol Safroune; do it ouer þe fyre; take Canelle, Gyngere, tempere þin powajes with wyne; caste in-to þe potte Salt þer-to, hele it, & whan it is y-now, serue it forth. (Harleian MS 279 - 15th century) This is a delicious chicken stew, cooked in wine with herbs, dates and spices. 6 chicken breasts, skin and bone included
Simmer chicken breasts in a large pot with the wine, stock, half the parsley, the cloves, cubebs and mace. This should take an hour or so. Add the dates and saffron and cook for a further 20 mins or so. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Take chicken pieces out of the pot and chop into bite-sized pieces, discarding bones and skin. Return to the pot and re-heat. Mix cinnamon and ginger with a little white wine and add to the broth. Cook for 10-15 mins, adding salt to taste. Add the rest of the parsley just before serving and allow to heat slightly. Ryse of FlesshTake ryse and waisshe hem clene, and do hem in an erthen pot with gode broth and lat hem seeþ wel. Aftirward take almaund mylke and do þerto, and colour it wiþ safroun & salt, & messe forth.
Almond milk (an infusion of ground almonds and water) is a common ingredient in the recipes of this period, and was a fast-day alternative to rice cooked in meat broth. I have quoted two separate recipes; the one allows me to colour the rice with saffron, and the other to garnish it with fried almonds. Chewettes of BeefTo make chewettes of beef tak beef and cutt it smalle and do ther to pouder of guinger clowes and other good poudurs grapes vergius saffron and salt and toile them welle to gedure put chekins chopped in coffins and yolks of eggs broke smale and bak them and serue them. (A Proper New Boke of Cookery, 15th century) A slightly confusing recipe which seems to be part of the "Great Pie" tradition – huge pastry cases filled with a mixture of meats, including whole small birds. This is a more refined version, with all the meat chopped small, designed as "chewettes", i.e. small tartlettes. I’ve chosen to give you layered pies with beef and chicken layers. The "yolks of eggs broke smale" seems to mean hard-boiled eggs rather than an egg binding. The beef layer is spiced and flavoured with verjuice (the sour juice of unripened grapes) and whole grapes. Grene Pese Unstreyned with HerbesTake grene pese, and let hem sethe with moton or with brothe of beef; and take berbes, parsel, ysope, and saveray, and cast in therto, and let hit sethe tyl it slay hitself; ande colour hit with saffron, and serve hit forthe. (Ancient Cookery, 15th century) Most medieval English recipes for peas require you to boil them until they burst, and strain them into a paste. This one seems to allow for whole peas, which is far more to the modern taste than pea-mush. The fresh herbs and saffron here lend flavour and interest.
Dessert A Bake MeteTake an make fayre lytel cofyns; þan take Perys, & gif þey ben lytelle, put .iij. in a cofynne, & pare clene, & te-twyne euery pere, ley a gobet of Marow; & yf þou haue no lytel Perys, take grete, & gobet ham, & so put hem in þe ovyn a whyle; þan taek þin commade lyke as þou takyst to Dowcetys, & pore þer-on; but lat þe Marow & þe Pecys ben sene; & whan it is y-now, serue f[orth].
This dish, a baked custard over whole pears, is known in the Shire as "Pear Thing", and is a popular dessert. The original calls for marrow, probably beef marrow, which would lend richness to the dish; I’ve bowed to modern sensibilities in using butter instead. I’ve also used whole eggs rather than yolks, mostly for reasons of economy. 4 pears
Roll out pastry and use to line a pie plate; line with baking paper, fill with baking beans and bake blind at 200 degrees for 10 mins or so. Remove paper and beans and cook a few more minutes to crisp the base.
PokerounceTake Hony, & caste it in a potte til it wexe chargeaunt y-now; take & skeme it clene. Take Gyngere, Canel & Galyngale, & caste þer-to; take whyte Brede, & kytte to trenchours, & toste ham; take þyn paste whyle it is hot, & sprede it Vppe-on þin trenchourys with a spone, & plante it with Pynes, & serue forth. (Harlein MS. 279 – 15th century) Toast with spiced honey and pine nuts; I used raisin bread because it’s a sweetened, enriched bread that makes good toast. Heat honey with the spices; toast the bread and spoon honey onto it while both honey and bread are still hot; spread with a knife. Sprinkle with pine nuts.
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