Medieval and Anglo Saxon Recipes
Contents
A Jellie of Fyshe
Crustade of Chicken and Pigeon
`Fenkel in Soppes' or Braised Fennel with Ginger
Lozenges or Curd Cheese Pastries
Griddled Trout with Herbs
Hare, Robbit, Veal, or Chicken Stew with Herbs & Barley
Small Bird & Bacon Stew with Walnuts or Hazelnuts
Summer Fruit, Honey & Hazelnut Crumble
All from _The British Museum Cookbook_ by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, 1987, British Museum Publications.
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Griddled Trout With Herbs
Serves 6
The herbs below are what might have been used in Anglo-Saxon East Anglia, but use whatever you might fancy. Try to use fresh, although dried is acceptable.
6 fresh cleaned trout
6 sprigs fresh rosemary, or 1-2 tablespoons dried
75g (3 oz) soft butter
18 fresh mint leaves or 2 teaspoons dried
leaves from 6 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried
6 fresh sage leaves or 1 scant teaspoon dried
1-2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
6-9 grinds black pepper
Put one sprig or generous shake of rosemary down the middle of each fish. Chop all the other herbs and seasonings and mash them into the soft butter. Use this to coat the fish generously on each side. Griddle, barbeque or grill it for 4-5 minutes on each side or till the skin is well browned and the flesh flaking off the bone. Baste now and then with the butter which runs off. Serve at once with lot of fresh bread and a salad or a simple green vegetable.
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Hare, Rabbit, Veal or Chicken Stew with Herbs & Barley
Serves 6
In 7th century England, herbs were one of the few flavourings available to cooks and were used heavily...
50g (2oz) butter
1 -1.5kg (2-3 lb) (depending on the amount of bone) of hare or rabbit
joints, stewing veal or chicken joints
450g (1lb) washed and trimmed leeks, thickly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
175 g (6 oz) pot barley
900 mL (30 fl oz, 3 3/4 cups) water
3 generous tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
2 bay leaves, salt, pepper
15 fresh, roughly chopped sage leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried sage
Melt the butter in a heavy pan and fry the meat with the leeks and garlic till the vegetables are slightly softened and the meat lightly browned. Add the barley, water, vinegar, bay leaves and seasoning. bring the pot to the boil, cover it and simmer gently for 1 - 1 1/2 hours or till the meat is really tender and ready to fall from the bone. Add the sage and continue to cook for several minutes. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve in bowls-- the barley will serve as a vegetable.
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Small Bird and Bacon Stew with Walnuts or Hazelnuts
Serves 6
6 fatty rashers of bacon, chopped roughly
3 cloves garlic
4 pigeons or other small game birds (6 if very small)
225 g (8 oz) mushrooms, whatever variety, chopped roughly
75 g (3 oz) roughly chopped roasted hazelnuts or walnuts
300 ml (10 fl oz, 1 1/4 cups) real ale
150 ml (5 fl oz, 3/4 cup) water
2 or 3 bay leaves
a little salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 coarse slices brown bread
Fry the bacon, with the garlic, till it is lightly browned in a heavy bottomed casserole. Add birds and brown on all sides. Add the mushrooms and nuts, continue to cook for a couple of minutes, then add the ale and water with the bay leaves.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer very gently for 2 - 2 1/2 hours-- the birds should be falling off the bone. Remove the birds from the juices, cool juices completely and remove any excess fat. The birds can be served whole on or off the bone. If the latter, carve them while they are cold then return to the skimmed juices and reheat gently. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve either the whole birds of the slices on the pieces of bread, with plenty of the juices and "bits". A good green salad to follow is the best accompaniment.
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Summer Fruit, Honey, and Hazelnut Crumble
Serves 6
....A baked dessert like this would have been sunk in the embers of the log fire with a cauldron or pot upturned over it to form a lid...
1 kg (2 1/2 lb) mixed soft summer fruits-- raspberries, loganberries, strawberries, currants, bilberries or whatever is available
honey or brown sugar to taste
75 g (3 oz) tasted hazelnuts
75 g (3 oz) wholemeal or wholewheat brown breadcrumbs
Put the fruits in a pan or microwave dish with about 20 cm (1 inch) water in the bottom and cook gently for 10-15 minutes (4-6 minutes in microwave), or till the fruits are soft without being totally mushy. Sweeten to taste with honey or brown sugar (Saxons would have used honey); how much you need will depend on what fruits you have used. drain the excess juice and save to serve with the pudding. chop the hazelnuts in a processor or liquidiser until they are almost as fine as the breadcrumbs, but not quite, then mix the two together. Spoon the fruit into an ovenproof dish and cover with a thick layer of hazelnuts and crumbs. Bake in a moderate oven (180C, 350F, Gas Mark 4) for 20 - 30 minutes or till the top is slightly cruncy and browned. Serve with lots of cream or plain yogurt and the warmed fruit juices.
