Foods From the Past
All original text is public domain, but the modern interpretation is © 1999 by Timothy Emil Birch

Arbolettys

Take milk, butter and cheese and boil in fere; then take eyroun and caste thereto; then take parsley and sage and hack it small, and take powdered ginger and galingale, and cast it thereto, and then serve it forth.

1 cup -- milk

1/4 lb -- butter

1/2 lb -- cheese [gouda, etc]

5 -- eggs

1/2 cup -- fresh parsley

2 Tbspn -- fresh sage

1 tsp -- ginger

1 tsp -- galingale

NOTE: Galingale can be got at a good spice store or try a Chinese specialty store. If you can't find it, I suggest replacing it with an equal amount of ginger and a pinch of pepper.

Grate the cheese and combine it with the milk and butter in a pot.

Bring it to a boil, being care to stir often.

Take eggs and lightly beat them then add them to the pot while stirring.

Chop parsley & sage fine, add it with the ginger and galingale to the pot.

Serve.

Boiled Meats Ordinary

You shall take a racke of mutton cut into peeces, or a leg of mutton cut in peeces: for this meat and these joints, are the best, Although any other joint, or any fresh beefe will likewise make good pottage: and having washt your meat well, put it into a cleane pot with faire water, and set it on the fire: then take violet leaves, endive, succory, strawberie leaves, spinage, langdebeefe, marygold flowers, Scallions, and a little persly, and chop them very small together, then take halfe so much oatmeale well beaten as there is herbes, and mix it with the herbes, and chop all very wel together: then when the pot is ready to boile, skumme it very wel and then put in your herbes: And so let it boil with a quicke fire, stirring the meat oft in the pot, till the meat be boild enough, and that the hearbes and water mixt together without any separation, which will be after the consumption of more then a third part: then season them with salt, and serve them up with the meat either with sippets or without.

3 lb -- boned lamb

6 cup -- water

3 cup -- oatmeal

1 tsp -- salt

1 cup -- chopped endive

2 cup -- spinach

1/2 cup -- chopped scallions

1 1/2 cup -- parsley

If you can get them. Be sure that the leaves and flowers do not have pesticide on them!

1/4 cup -- violet leaves

1/2 cup -- stawberry leaves

1/4 cup marygold flowers

1/2 cup mustard greens

If you can't get these things, add 1 1/2 cup assorted greens instead.

Cube lamb in 1" pieces

Add to pot of water and bring to a boil.

Chop herbs fine and mix well with oatmeat.

When pot boils, skim the top well and add the oatmeal and herb mixture.

Stir often as you boil over a high heat until thick. About an hour. Be careful not to burn the bottom.

Add salt and serve with pieces of bread or without.

Caboges

Take fayre caboges, and cutte hem, an pike hem clene and clene washe him, and parboyle hem in fayre water, an thanne presse hem on a fayre bord; an than choppe hem, and caste hem in a faire pot with goode freysshe broth, an wyth mery-bonys, and let it boyle: thanne grate fayre brede and caste ther-to, and caste ther-to Safron and salt; or ellys take gode grwel y-mad of freys flesshe, y-draw thorw a straynor, and caste ther-to. An whan thou seruyst yt inne, knock owt the marw of the bonys, an ley the marwe ii gobettys or iii in a dysshe, as the semyth best, & serve forth.

1 large -- cabbage

4 cups -- water

1 lb -- marrow bones

6 cups -- beef broth

8 slices -- french bread

4 threads -- saffron

1 tsp -- salt

Cut cabbage in quarters.

Boil cabbage in water for 5 minutes.

Drain cabbage and press it on a board to remove exess water.

Chop cabbage fine and add it to the broth.

Split marrow bones [a good butcher will sell them to you that way if you ask].

Add bones to pot and bring it to a boil for 10 minutes.

Process bread into fine crumbs and add it to the pot.

Add saffron and salt and boil another 10 minutes.

Remove the bones and take the marrow out and add it to the pot.

Serve.

NOTE: You can put the marrow pieces into each individual bowl instead of the pot and if you like it can be used like a garnish.

Chawettys

Take buttys of Vele, and mynce hem smal, or Porke, and put on a potte; take Wyne, and caste ther-to pouder of Gyngere, Pepir, and Safroun, and Salt, and a lytel verthous, and do hem in a cofyn with yolks of Eyroun, and kutte Datys and Roysonys of Coraunce, Clowys, Maces, and then ceuere thin cofyn, and lat it bake tyl it be y-now.

1 1/2 lb -- pork or veal

2 cups -- water

1 cup -- red wine

1 tsp -- ginger

1/2 tsp -- pepper

6 threads -- saffron

1 tsp -- salt

1 Tbspn -- wine vinegar

12 -- egg yolks

1/2 cup -- chopped dates

1/2 cup -- currants

1/4 tsp -- ground cloves

1/2 tsp -- mace

1 -- double crusted 9" pie shell

Mince meat coarsely.

Combine wine, ginger, pepper, saffron, salt and vinegar. Leave to sit.

Simmer in water for 15 to 20 minues.

Mix meat, dates, currents and remaining spices and remove from heat.

Beat egg yolks and mix it with the meat then pour into pie shell.

Pour wine over top of meat.

Put top crust on and bake at 325 for 1 hour then at 400 until the crust looks done, about 15 to 30 minutes.

Chicken in dough

One shall cut a young chicken in two and wrap about it whole leaves of salvia, and cut up in it bacon and add salt to suit the taste. Then cover that with dough and bake like bread in the oven.

1 -- small chicken, cut in half

1/4 cup -- fresh sage

1/2 lb -- bacon

1/2 tsp -- salt

6 cups -- flour

2 cups -- water

NOTE: The original recipe calls for puting the sage on the chicken but it is easier if the sage is placed on the dough.

Mix flour and water and knead well and divide into 2 balls.

Roll out on a floured board.

Cover with sage, strips of bacon and salt.

Place a chicken half on each portion of dough.

Draw up the dough to cover the chicken and pinch it shut to seal it.

Bake at 325 for 2 hours on a cookie sheet with a lip.

Chykens in Hocchee

Take chykens and scald hem. Take persel and sawge, with other erbes; take garlec & grapes, and stoppe the chikenus ful, and seeth hem in gode broth, so that they may esely be boyled therinne. Messe hem & cast therto powdour dowce.

1 -- small chicken

4 Tbspn -- fresh parsley

1 1/2 tsp -- fresh sage

1 1/2 tsp -- rosemary

1 tsp -- fresh thyme

12 cloves -- garlic

1/2 lb -- red grapes

5 cups -- chicken broth

powder douce:

1 tsp -- sugar

1/4 tsp -- nutmeg

1/2 tsp -- cinnamon

Chop parsley, sage and thyme fine and mix with rosemary.

Peal garlic and add the cloves to the herbs.

Mix in grapes carefully so as to not briuse them.

Stuff the chicken with this mixture.

Sew the bird stut with a bit of thread, or use poutry skweres if you prefer.

Put the bird and broth in a pot and cover.

Cook at medium for 40 minutes, occationally basteing the bird with the broth.

Serve with powder douce as a garnish.

NOTE: Nothing is said about the broth, but it is unlikely that it would be wasted. I suggest thickening it as a gravey or you could use it as a soup base as follows:

1 -- carrot chopped fine

1/2 cup -- pot barley

1 cup -- fresh peas

Combine broth with carrots and boil for 10 minutes.

Add barley and turn down to simmer for 30 minutes.

Add peas and allow to continue cooking 5 mintues.

Cress in Lent with Milk of Almonds

Take your cress and parboil it with a handful of chopped beet leaves, and fry them in oil, then put to boil in milk of almonds; and when it is not Lent, fry in lard and butter until cooked, then moisten with meat stock; or with cheese, and adjust it carefully, for it will brown. Anyway, if you add parsley, it does not have to be blanched.

3 cup -- cress

1/2 cup -- beet leaves

2 Tbspn -- oil

1 cup almond milk* [for Lent]

1/4 cup -- parsley [opt]

2 Tbspn butter [if not Lent]

6 oz mild cheese [opt non-Lent]

1 cup beef broth [opt non-Lent]

*Almond Milk was a common ingredient. There are several ways it was made, in the case of using it at Lent it is almost certain to have been 1/2 cup of ground almonds mixed with 1/2 cup of water. It was sometimes fermented and sometimes they used milk or cream instead of water.

Chop cress and leaves.

Put in boiling water for 3 minutes then drain.

Heat oil in skillet and add greens [if using parsley include it].

Fry stirring constantly for 3 minutes

During Lent: Add to almond milk* and boil for 2 minutes.

Outside of Lent: Melt butter in skillet and fry greens for 3 minutes.

Option 1: add grated cheese with the greens and fry until cheese is melted.

Option 2: add broth to greens after frying.

Crust with Tame Creatures

If you want to put pigeons and any other birds in a crust, first let them boil; when they are almost cooked, take them out of the pot. Then cut them into nice pieces and fry them in a pan with a goodly amount of lard. Next put them in a deep dish or an earthen pot that has been well greased, and where a crust has been rolled out on the bottom. To this dish you may add plums and cherries or sour fruit without going wrong. Then take verjuice and eight eggs, more or less depending on the number of guests, if there are a few, with a little juice, beaten with a spoon; to this add parsley, marjoram, and finely cut mint, which can be blended after being cut up, and put all this near the fire, but far from the flame. It must be a slow heat so that this does not boil over. All the while, it should be stirred with a spoon until it sticks to the spoon because of its thickness. Finally pour this sauce into the pastry crust and put it near the fire and when it seems to have cooked enough, serve it to your guests.

NOTE: Pigeons are not often available, so I have suggested using quail which can be obtained in many Chinese markets. Other small birds might be used instead and if you can't find anything I suggest chicken 'fingers'.

3 -- quail or 1 lb -- chicken

3 cups -- water

4 Tbspn -- lard

1 -- 9" pie crust

1/3 lb -- plums (or sour cherries or sour apples, etc)

1 oz -- verjuice*

8 -- eggs

1/4 cup -- chicken broth

4 Tbspn -- parsley

1 tsp -- marjoram

1 Tbspn -- finely chopped mint

*Verjuice is another common ingredient. It too can be made several ways, but it is commonly sour grape juice which is slightly fermented. I suggest the use of white wine vinegar as a good substitution.

Boil the birds for 15 minutes.

De-bone the birds and fry in lard for 5 minutes.

Spread evenly in the bottom of the pie shell.

Cut fruit fine and add to pie shell on top of meat.

Mix the remaining ingredeints and cook over a low heat until it begins to thicken, then pour over meat and fruit.

Bake pie at 325 for an hour.

Excellent Boiled Salad

To make an excellent compound boil'd Sallat: take of Spinage well washt two or three handfuls, and put it into faire water and boile it till it bee exceeding soft and tender as pappe; then put it into a Cullander and draine the water from it, which done, with the backside of your Chopping-knife chop it and bruise it as small as may bee: then put it into a Pipkin with a good lump of sweet butter and boile it over again; then take a good handfull of Currants cleane washt and put to it, and stirre them well together, then put to as much Vinegar as will make it reasonable tart, and then with sugar season it according to the taste of the Master of the house, and so serve it upon sippets.

8 oz -- spinach

4 cup -- water

3 Tbspn -- butter

1 cup -- water

1/2 cup -- currants

2 oz -- vinegar

2 oz -- sugar

assorted bread, toasted (sippets)

Wash the spinach well then boil it in 4 cups of water for 10 minutes.

Drain it and put it in 1 cup of water with butter and bring to a boil.

Add currants, vinegar and sugar and mix well and serve on toast.

Fricassee of Sundra Meats

You make a fricassee from fowl or whatever meat you choose in this way: in a pot with lard, close to the fire, put meat or birds well cleaned and washed, whether cut up finely or in slices. Stir this often with a spoon so that it does not stick to the side of the pot; when it is nearly cooked, take out most of the lard and put in two egg yolks beaten with verjuice and pour in juice and spices mixed into the pot. To this dish add some saffron so that it is more colorful. Likewise, it will not detract from the enjoyment of it to sprinkle finely chopped parsley over the dish. Then serve it immediately to your guests.

1/2 cup -- lard

2 lb -- fowl or meat [boneless]

2 -- egg yolks

2 Tbspn -- verjuice*

1/4 cup -- broth

3/4 tsp -- cinnamon

1/4 tsp -- pepper

1/4 tsp -- salt

1/8 tsp -- cloves

5 threads -- saffron

1/4 cup fresh parsley

*Verjuice is another common ingredient. It too can be made several ways, but it is commonly sour grape juice which is slightly fermented. I suggest the use of white wine vinegar as a good substitution.

Slice or chop meat as you prefer.

Melt lard in a large pot.

Add meat to pot and cook until nearly done. Exact time depends on type on meat and size it is cut to.

The recipe suggest taking the lard out of the pot, but I recommend taking the meat out with a slotted spoon or wire screen.

Do not 'drain' meat with paper towels. In this case we want to keep some lard to finish cooking.

Transfer the meat to a new pot [or drain the lard from the old one] and add all but the parsley.

Finish cooking the meat and allow it to sit for a few minutes on paper towels to get rid of any excess lard.

Serve with parsley chopped as garnish.

Frictella from apples

Morsels of apples that have been cleaned and cored, you fry in liquamen or a little oil, and spread them on a board so that they dry. Then roll them in a preparation such as we have described earlier, and fry again. If you lick this up, be advised that it will be bad for you.

This refers to the following:

To grated cheese, aged as well as fresh, add a little meal, some egg whites, some milk, a bit more sugar, and grind all this together in the same mortar.

6 large -- apples

2 Tbspn -- oil *

6 oz -- aged cheddar

6 oz -- gouda

4 Tbspn -- oatmeal

2 -- egg yolks

2 Tbspn -- milk

1 Tbspn -- sugar

*liquamen is suggested, this is rendered pork fat which you can use if you like, otherwise just use a light oil.

Clean and core the apples and cut them in slices.

Fry in oil until slightly golden.

Spread out on paper towels to dry.

Grate cheese and combine everything but the apples. Blend well.

Roll apple bits in mixture to coat them.

Fry again for a minute or two.

Cool and serve warm.

For Tarts owte of Lente

Take nesche chese and pare hit and grynd hit yn a morter and breke egges and do therto and then put yn butter and creme and mess all well to gethur put not to moche buttr ther yn if the chese be fatte make a coffyn of dowe and close ht above with dowe and collor hit above with the yolkes of eggs and bake hit well and sue hit furth.

8 oz -- soft cheese

4 -- eggs

4 tsp -- butter

1 cup -- cream

1 -- double crusted 9" pie shell

2 -- egg yolk

Grate cheese.

Mix well with eggs, butter and cream.

Pour into pie shell and seal the top.

Beat egg yolks and brush it over the top crust thickly.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Cool and serve.

Fylettys en Galentyne

Take fayre porke, the fore quarter, and take of the skyne; an put the porke on a fayre spete, and rost it half y-now; than take it of, an smyte it in fayre pecys, & caste it on a fayre potte; than take oynonys, and schrede hem, and pele hem (an pyle hem nowt to smale), an frye in a panne of fayre grece; than caste hem in the potte to the porke; than take gode broth of moton or of beef, an caste ther-to, an than caste ther-to pouder pepyr, canel, clowys, an macys, an let hem boyle wyl to gederys; than tak fayre brede, an vynegre, an stepe the brede with the same brothe, an strayne it on blode, with ale, or ellys sawnderys, and salt, and lat hym boyle y-now, and serve it forth.

5 lb -- pork shoulder roast

2 Tbspn -- oil

6 large -- onions

5 cups -- broth*

1/2 tsp -- pepper

1 tsp -- cinnamon

1/4 tsp -- cloves

1/4 tsp -- mace

8 slices - french bread

1/4 cup -- vinegar

1 cup -- dark ale

1 tsp -- salt

*It suggests using beef or mutton broth. While beef broth is easy to get, I do suggest you try making some mutton broth and try the difference it makes.

Roast pork at 425 in an open roaster for 45 minutes. It calls for roasting on a spit if you can.

Cut the pork into 1" cubes.

Peal and chop onions coarsely.

Fry the onions in the oil.

Combine pork, onions, broth, and spices in a pot and bring it to a boil for 20 minutes.

Soak bread in vinegar and a cup of broth and strain it through a colander using a large spoon to force it through.

Add soaked bread with all liquids and ale to the pot.

Bring the broth back to a boil for 15 minutes or until meat is well cooked.

Garlic Sauce with Walnuts or Almonds

To almonds or walnuts that have been coarsely ground, add as much cleaned garlic as you want and likewise, as need be, grind them up well, sprinkling them all the while so that they do not make oil. When they are ground up, put in white bread crumbs softened in juice of meat or fish, and grind again. And if it seems too stiff, it can be softened easily in the same juice. It will keep very readily for a long time, as we said about mustard. This dish is little nourishing, remains a long time in the stomach, dulls the eyesight and warms the liver.

1 Tbspn -- ground almonds or walnuts

1 bulb -- garlic

1 slice -- white bread

2 Tbspn -- fish, beef or chicken broth

Combine nuts and garlic in a blender.

Soak bread in broth.

Add to blender and combine to a paste.

Keep in the fridge and use like mustard.

Green Broth of Eggs and Cheese

Take parsley and a little cheese and sage and a very small amount of saffron, moistened bread, and mix with water left from cooking peas, or stock, grind and strain: And have ground ginger mixed with wine, and put on to boil; then add cheese and eggs poached in water, and let it be a bright green. Item, some do not add bread, but instead of bread use bacon.

1/4 cup -- parsley

4 oz -- sharp ceddar

1/2 tsp -- sage

2 threads saffron

2 slices white bread (or bacon)

1 1/2 cup stock*

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 cup dry white wine

4 -- eggs

water for poaching

* for stock use either water from cooking peas or a weak chicken broth.

Combine parsley, cheese, sage, saffron, bread and stock in a blender and liquify.

Poach eggs and set aside.

Combine wine and ginger and bring to a boil.

Add cheese mixture and poached eggs and return to a boil then serve.

Green Pesen Royal

Take green peas clean washen and let them boil awhile over the fire, and then pour away all the broth, and bray a few of them with parsley and mint, and in the braying allay it with almond milk, and draw it up with the same milk, and put it in the same pot, and let it boil with whole pesen, and cast thereto sugar and saffron, and in the setting down of the pot, if it be a pot of two gallons, take 12 yolkes of eggs and beat them, and strain them, and cast them into the pot, and stir it well, and look that the pottage be running, and when it is dressed, strew sugar above, and serve it forth.

1 lb -- peas

1 cup -- water

1/8 cup -- fresh parsley

1 Tbspn -- fresh mint

4 cups -- almond milk*

2 Tbspn -- sugar

8 threads -- saffron

2 -- beaten egg yolks

4 Tbspn -- sugar

<1 cup -- ground almond>

<3 cup -- cream>

*Almond milk was made serveral ways. The simplist is ground almonds and water but in this case I felt it more likely to have been the richer almonds and milk or cream. I have opted for cream but milk or water in equal amounts can be used.

Combine almonds and cream and warm but do not boil to make almond milk.

Boil peas for 5 minutes.

Take a quarter of the peas and mash them and combine with mint and parsley.

Slowly add almond milk and mix well.

Combine milk mixture and whole peas in a pot and bring to a boil.

Add 2 Tbspn sugar and the saffron to the boiling pot.

Beat in egg yolks and remove from heat.

Serve with sugar sprinkled over it.

Koken van Honer

One should make a pastry shell of dough, and cut up into it a chicken, and add bacon (speck), cut as peas, pepper and cumin and egg yolks well beaten with saffron, and take the shell and bake it in an oven. It is called "koken van honer."

1 -- 9" pie shell

2 lb - boneless chicken

2 pieces of bacon

1/8 pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

6 egg yolks

4 threads saffron

Cut up chicken into bite size bits and place in pie shell.

Cut bacon into "pea-sized" pieces and sprinkle over chicken.

Sprinkle spices over bacon.

Beat egg yolks with saffron and pour over meat.

Bake at 350 until golden, about 45 minutes.

Losyns

Take good broth and do in an erthen pot. Take flour of payndemayn and make therof past with water, and make therof thynne foyles as paper with a roller; drye it harde and seeth it in broth. Take chese ruayn grated and lay it in disshes with powder douce, and lay theron loseyns isode as hoole as thou myght, and above powdour and chese; and so twyse or thryse, & serue it forth.

3 cup -- flour

about 1 cup -- water

6 cups -- beef broth

12 oz mild cheese

powder douce:

1 Tbspn -- sugar

2 tsp -- cinnamon

1/2 tsp -- ginger

Combine flour and water and knead it until smooth.

Divide into convenient portions and roll out thin. Cut into lozenges [diamonds] and dry.

Once the pasta is well dried add it to boiling broth and cook 7-8 minutes or to desired softness.

Drain pasta. I would suggest that the broth, which isn't used in this dish, could be saved and used to make a gravey for some other dish.

Mix the powder douce.

Grate cheese and place a third in a caserole dish with a third of the powder sprinkled over it.

Cover with a third of the hot pasta and repeat twice more.

Let sit a few minutes before serving. You may sprinkle some powder douce on top for color.

Makke

Take drawn beans and sethe them well. Take them up of the water and cast them in a mortar. Grind them all to doust till they be white as any milk, chawf a little red wine, cast thereamong in the grinding, do thereto salt, leshe it in dishes, then take onions and mince them small and sethe them in oil till they be all brown. And flourish the dish therewith. And serve it forth.

1 cup -- dried beans*

6 cup -- warm water

6 oz -- dry red wine

1 tsp -- salt

3 -- large onions

2 Tbspn -- oil

Soak beans over night in warm water then simmer covered about 6 hours.

An alternative method: Put beans in a thermos bottle and fill with boiling water. Seal and leave over night. Simmer for 1-2 hours until beans are tender.

Drain beans and puree in a blender or food processor.

Heat the wine and add to the beans.

Mince onions fine and fry in oil until well browned.

Serve beans with onions as a generous topping.

* Fava beans or other broad beans are best.

Maumenye Ryalle

Take Vernage, other strong Wyne of the beste that a man may fynde, an putte it on a potte, and caste ther-to a gode quantyte of pouder Canelle, and sette it on the fyre, an gif it an hete; and thanne wrynge it soft thorw a straynour, that the draf go nowt owte, and put on a fayre potte, and pyke fayre newe pynys, and wasshe hem clene in Wyn, and caste a gode quantyte ther-to, and take whyte Sugre ther-to, as moche as the lycoure is, and caste ther-to; and draw a few Sawnderys wyth strong wyne thorwe a straynoure, an caste ther-to, and put alle on one potte, and caste ther-to Clowes, a gode quantyte, and sette it on the fyre, and gif it a boyle; then take Almaundys, and draw them with mythty Wyne; and at the firste boyle ly it vppe with Ale, and gif it a boyle, and sette it on the fyre, and caste ther-to tesyd brawn, (of defaute of Pertrich or Capoun) a gode quantyte of tryid Gyngere perase, and sesyn it vppe with pouder Gyngere, and Salt and Safroun; and if it is to stonding, a-ly it with Vernage or swete Wyne, and dresse it Flat with the backe of a Sawcere in the Vernage or mygthty Wyne, and loke that thou haue Sugre y-nowe, and serue forth hote.

12 oz -- vernage (sweet white wine)

1 Tbspn -- cinnamon

2 oz -- pine nuts

1 1/2 cup -- sugar

1/2 tsp -- saunders

6 oz -- sweet wine

3/4 tsp -- cloves

1/2 cup -- ground almonds

6 oz -- ale

4 lb -- boneless chicken breast

1 Tbspn -- fresh ginger

1/2 tsp -- powdered ginger

1/4 tsp -- salt

10 threads -- saffron

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Put 12 oz wine and cinnamon into pot and full boil.

Add saunders, additional wine. pine nuts, cloves, almonds and suger to the pot.

Mince fresh ginger.

Add remaining ingredients.

Bring it back to a boil then turn it down and simmer until chicken is cooked, about half an hour.

Mirause of Catelonia

Capons or pullets or pigeons well cleaned and washed they put together on a spit and turn over the hearth until they are half cooked. Then they remove them and cut them in pieces and put them in a pot. Then they chop almonds that have been toasted under warm ashes and cleaned with some cloth. To this they add some bread crumbs lightly toasted with vinegar and juice and pass all this through a strainer. This is all put in the same pot with cinnamon and ginger and a good amount of sugar and left to boil on the coals with a slow fire until it is done, all the time being stirred with a spoon so that it does not stick to the pot.

1 -- small chicken or 6 quail

1 cup -- roasted almonds

1/4 cup -- breadcrumbs

1 Tbspn -- vinegar

1 tsp -- cinnamon

1/2 tsp -- ginger

1 Tbspn sugar

1 cup -- chicken broth

Roast chicken at 325 for an hour uncovered or cook on spit if you can.

Combine almonds, bread, vinegar and 2 Tbspns of the chicken drippings in a blender and liquify.

Cut chicken into pieces and combine in pot drippings and all ingredients.

Cook on medium 15-20 minutes stirring constantly until chicken is cooked through.

Mortrewys de Fleyssh

Take Porke, and sethe it wyl; thanne take it uppe and pulle a-way the Swerde, an pyk owt the bonys, an hakke it and grynd it small; thenne take the sylf brothe, & temper it with ale; than take fayre gratyd brede, & do there-to, and sethe it, an coloure it with Saffroun, & lye it with yolkys of eyroun, & make it even salt, & caste pouder gyngere, a-bouyn on the dysshe.

3 lb -- bonless pork

2 cup -- water

12 oz -- ale

3 slices -- bread

10 treads -- saffron

4 -- egg yolks

1/2 tsp -- salt

1 tsp -- ginger

Boil pork in water for 30 minutes.

Cut pork into small pieces and return to the pot of water.

Add ale to pot.

Break bread into small pieces and add.

Bring pot to a full boil.

Add saffron, egg yolks, salt and ginger and simmer until meat is well cooked.

Pork Doucetty

Take pork, and hack it small, and eyroun y-mellyd together, and a little milk, and melle him together with honey and pepper, and bake him in a coffin, and serve forth.

1 lb -- boneless pork roast

6 -- eggs

1/4 cup -- milk

1 Tbspn -- honey

1/8 tsp pepper

1 -- 9" pie shell

Cut pork into bite sized pieces.

Combine ingredients and put in pie shell

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Potage from Meat

Take lean meat and let it boil, then cut it up finely and cook it again for half an hour in rich juice, having first added bread crumbs. Add a little pepper and saffron. When it has cooled a little, add beaten eggs, grated cheese, parsley, marjoram, finely chopped mint with a little verjuice. Blend them all together in a pot, stirring them slowly with a spoon so that they do not form a ball. The same may be done with livers and lungs.

2 lb -- boneless beef

2 cup -- water

4 cups -- beef broth

1 1/2 cup -- bread crumbs

1 tsp -- pepper

10 threads -- saffron

6 -- eggs

8 oz -- cheese

1/2 cup -- chopped parsley

1 tsp -- marjoram

2 Tbspn -- mint

1/4 cup -- verjuice*

*Verjuice is another common ingredient. It too can be made several ways, but it is commonly sour grape juice which is slightly fermented. I suggest the use of white wine vinegar as a good substitution.

Combine meat and water and cook 10 minutes.

Remove meat, saving water, and chop meat fine.

Return meat to water and add broth, bread crumbs, pepper and saffron.

Simmer 1/2 an hour stirring frequently.

Add remaining ingrediences and cook 10 minutes.

Potage of Garbage

Take of the garbage of befe and do thereto fayre water in a pot and boyle a time an smyte hem in pecys. Do thereto carottes in parts and celarri and y-nough gyngere and rosmary and half that of nutmege. Let it boyle all for a time and cast thereto oatmeal done fine and seeth hem well.

3 lb -- Beef heart, liver and kidney

8 cups -- water

4 -- large carrots

2 -- celery stocks

1 tsp -- ground ginger

1 tsp -- whole rosemary

1/2 tsp -- nutmeg

1 cup -- oatmeat

Boil beef for 15 minutes.

Cut into small pieces and return to pot.

Chop carrots and celery and add to pot.

Add spices and bring to a boil for 45 minutes.

Add oatmeal and boil 1 hour. If it gets too thick, add a bit of hot water to thin it.

Potage with Turnips

Turnips that have been well washed and cut up into nice bits, you cook down in some rich juice. When they have cooked and been mashed, put them near the fire again, in more rich juice, even better than before, if possible; and put in little pieces of salt pork, pepper and saffron. When it has boiled once, then take it and serve it to your guests.

8 -- turnips

1 cup -- beef broth

7 cups -- water

3 cups -- beef broth

1/2 pound -- salt pork

1/4 tsp pepper

12 threads -- saffron

Cube turnips.

Combine 1 cup beef broth and water and bring to a boil.

Add turnips to broth and simmer 15-20 minutes.

Drain turnips and discard the broth.

Mash turnips and combine with 3 cups of broth.

Cut salt pork into small pieces and add to broth.

Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil for 3 minutes.

Serve while hot.

Rapes in Potage

Take rapus and make hem clene, and waissh hem clene; quarter hem; perboile hem, take hem vp. Cast hem in a gode broth and seeth hem; mynce oynouns and cast therto safroun and salt, and messe it forth with powdour douce. In the self wise make of pastunakes and skyrwittes.

1 lb -- turnips, carrots or parsnips

2 cup -- broth

3 -- large onions

8 threads -- saffron

2 Tbspn --powder douce

1/2 tsp -- salt

powder douce:

1 Tbspn -- sugar

2 tsp -- cinnamon

1/2 tsp -- ginger

Quarter turnips, if using carrots or parsnips slice.

Put in a pot with enough water to cover and boil 10 to 15 minutes.

Drain and combine with broth and bring to a boil.

Mince onions and add them and the rest of the ingredients.

Cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Ryse of Fische Daye

Blaunche almaundes & grynde hem, & drawe hem vp wyt watur. Weshce thi ryse clene, & do therto sugur roche and salt: let hyt be stondyng. Frye almaundes browne, & floriche hyt therwyt, or wyt sugur.

1 cup -- ground almonds

3 cup -- water

2 cup -- rice

2 Tbspn -- sugar

1/2 cup -- slivered almonds

1/2 tsp -- salt

1 Tbspn -- oil

1 Tbspn -- sugar

Combine ground almonds and water.

Add rice 2 Tbspn sugar and salt.

Boil covered for 20 minutes.

Take off heat and leave covered for 20 minutes.

Fry almond slices in oil on low until browned.

Serve rice with almonds and sugar as a garnish.

Saffron Broth

Put thirty egg yolks, verjuice, the juice of veal or capon, saffron, a little cinnamon together into a bowl and blend. Pass them through a strainer into a pot. Cook it down slowly and stir it continuously with a spoon until it begins to thicken. For then it is taken from the hearth and served to ten guests. While in the dishes, sprinkle with spices.

12 -- egg yolks

1/4 cup -- verjuice*

3 cups -- chicken broth

16 threads -- saffron

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp mace

*Verjuice is another common ingredient. It too can be made several ways, but it is commonly sour grape juice which is slightly fermented. I suggest the use of white wine vinegar as a good substitution.

Combine egg yolk, verjuice, saffron and cinnamon in a blender and liquify.

Combine with broth and cook on low stiring constantly until it starts to thicken.

Put in bowls and sprinkle with pepper and mace.

Spinach Tart

To make a tart, take four handfuls of beet leaves, two handfuls of parsley, a handful of chervil, a sprig of fennel and two handful of spinach, and pick them over and wash them in cold water, then cut them up very small; then bray with two sorts of cheese, to wit a hard and a medium, and then add eggs thereto, yolks and whites, and bray them in the cheese; then put the herbs into the mortar and bray all together and also put therein some fine powder. Or instead of this have ready brayed in the mortar two heads of ginger and onto this bray your cheese, eggs and herbs and then cast old cheese scraped or grated onto the herbs and take it to the oven and then have your tart made and eat it hot.

1 cup beet leaves

1/2 cup spinach

1/2 cup fresh parsley

1/4 cup fresh chervil

1 sprig -- fresh fennel

8 oz -- cheddar

8 oz -- gouda

5 eggs

1" fresh ginger minced

1 - 9" pie shell

Wash and chop greens fine

Grate cheese.

Combine filling.

Put into pie shell.

Bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes until done.

Tart on Ember Day

Parboil onions, and sage, and parsley and hew them small, then take good fat cheese, and bray it, and do thereto eggs, and temper it up therewith, and do thereto butter and sugar, and raisyngs of corince, and powder of ginger, and of canel, medel all this well together, and do it in a coffin, and bake it uncovered, and serve it forth.

2 -- large onions

2 Tbspn -- fresh sage

1/3 cup -- parsley

8 oz -- havarti

4 -- eggs

1/4 cup -- butter

1 Tbspn -- sugar

1/4 cup -- currants

1/4 tsp -- ginger

1 tsp -- cinnamon

1 -- 9 " pie crust

Chop onions, sage and parsley together and boil for 8 minutes then drain.

Grate cheese and mix filling together in pie shell.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Veal, Kid, or Hen in Bokenade

Take Vele, Kyde, or Henne, an boyle hem in fayre Water, or ellys in fresshe brothe, an smyte hem in pecys, an pyke hem clene; an than draw the same brothe thorwe a straynoure, an caste ther-to Percely, Sawge, Ysope, Maces, Clowys, an let boyle tyl the flesshe be y-now; than sette it from the fyre, and a-lye it vp with raw yolkys of eyroun, and caste ther-to pouder Gyngere, Verjows, Safroun, and Salt, and thanne serue it forth for a gode mete.

3 pounds -- veal, kid or boned chicken

3 cups -- water

2 Tbspn fresh parsley

1/2 tsp sage

1 tsp hyssop

1/4 tsp mace

1/8 tsp cloves

8 egg yolks

3 Tbspn verjuice*

1 tsp ginger

8 threads saffron

1/2 tsp salt

*Verjuice is another common ingredient. It too can be made several ways, but it is commonly sour grape juice which is slightly fermented. I suggest the use of white wine vinegar as a good substitution.

Boil meat for 30 minutes.

Remove from water [save water] and chop to bite-sized pieces.

Chop parsley and add sage, hyssop, mace and cloves.

Boil in saved water 20 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients, stiring while adding the egg yolks.

White Pudding

One shall take sweet milk and well crushed wheat bread and beaten egg and well ground saffron and let it all boil until it grows thick. Then pour it upon a dish and throw in butter. This is called white pudding.

1 cup milk

4 slices bread

2 eggs

6 threads saffron

3 Tbspn butter

Tear bread into crumbs.

Beat eggs well then beat in milk.

Grind saffron and add it and the crumbs to the milk.

Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.

Serve with butter.

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