Stierbach Cooks Guild

FROM the website Godecookery
ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

157. Tourteletes in fryture. Take figus & grynde hem smal; do þerin saffron & powdur fort. Close hem in foyles of dowe, & frye hem in oyle. Claryfye hony & flamme hem þerwyt; ete hem hote or colde.

– Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.

GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:

Take figs & grind them small; do there-in saffron & powder fort. Close them in foils of dough, & fry them in oil. Clarify honey & baste them there-with; eat them hot or cold.

INGREDIENTS:

Figs
Saffron
Powder fort – a Medieval blend of strong spices, almost always containing pepper (and never sugar). A nice mix might consist of such spices as black pepper, white pepper, cardamom, ginger, cubeb, clove, etc.
Pastry dough
Oil
Honey

DIRECTIONS:

Finely dice the figs as small as possible by hand or pur̩e with a processor; mix in the saffron and the powder fort spice mixture Рuse to taste. Roll out the pastry dough and cut into medium-sized circles. On one pastry circle place a spoonful of figs, then cover with another circle of dough; seal the edges well. Fry the pie(s) in hot oil until lightly browned & crispy; remove from heat and allow to drain. In a pot, heat the honey, skimming off any scum that rises. As soon as the pie(s) have drained, brush on the honey. Eat hot or cold.
NOTES:Recipe had no measurements so I did about 8 Calmyra Figs and powder forte, no saffron. Used pre-made pastry dough. Meadhbh

Adapted from the book: Flans and Wine: a Benedictine recipe book from Evesham Abby by Brother William.

2 or more pounds of beef, cut up small, about ½ inch square
2 TBS of olive oil or butter
¼ cup of currants
1 ½ cup of red wine
½ cup of wine or cider vinegar
½ cup of sugar
½ tsp each of ginger and cinnamon
¼ tsp of black pepper
1 tsp of salt to taste
2 TBS of breadcrumbs

Brown the meat in the oil. Add the rest of ingredients except breadcrumbs and simmer for at least one hour preferably two. Add breadcrumbs to thicken and serve.
NOTES: the orginal receipe called for 2 to 3 white onions cooked whole then chopped. I found this very difficult and recommend chopping the onions, cooking in boiling water for 3 minutes, draining and then adding to the stew with the rest of the ingredients. I did not have enough red wine and put in ¾ cup of red wine and 1/4 cup white wine and more enough liquid for two pounds of beef. — Alesia

Take some cast creame, and seeth some Spinnage in faire water till it be verie soft, then put it into a Collender, that the water may soake from it: then straine the Spinnage, and cast the creame together, let there be good plentie of Spinnage: set it upon a chafingdish of coales, 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.
The Modern Version:
2 10 oz packages frozen chopped spinach
3/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
pastry for a 9-inch two-crust pie
1-2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Cook the spinach according to package directions. Placed cooked spinach in a colander and allow to drain and cool. When cool, take handfulls of spinach and gently squeeze to remove remaining water. Place in a large bowl, and blend in the next 5 ingredients. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9-inch pie pan. Spread the spinach mixture evenly in the unbaked pie shell. Roll out the remaining pastry to make the top crust. Place on the spinach mixture, seal the edges and cut six small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over the top. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. The pie may be served either hot or cold.
NOTE: Homemade crust. Did not have enough sour cream so used yogurt. –Meadhbh

From the web site GodeCookery
ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

Take gode Wyne, & a-lye yt with raw yolkys of Eyroun; than late hem boyle to-gederys a whyle; then put pouder Pepir, & throw it ther-on; loke that it be bytyng of Pepir. Take Clowys, macys, Safroun, & caste ther-to; & atte the dressoure thorw on thin Sirip on thi pestelle, & kreme hard yolkys of Eyroun ther-to, & serue forth.

– Austin, Thomas. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books. Harleian MS. 279 & Harl. MS. 4016, with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1429, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS 55. London: for The Early English Text Society by N. Trübner & Co., 1888.

MODERN RECIPE:

Three-or four-pound pork roast
1 C dry red wine
4 raw egg yolks
1 T black pepper
1/8 tsp each cloves, mace and saffron
1/4 tsp saffron
Salt to taste
4 hard-boiled egg yolks for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 450º.

2. Place the roast in a roasting pan, put it in the oven, and roast for thirty minutes per pound, or until internal temperature reaches 185º. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about fifteen minutes.

3. In a saucepan, over low heat, combine wine, spices, and raw egg yolks. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally for about ten minutes.

4. Place roast on a serving platter and pour the sauce over it. Crumble the hard-boiled egg yolks over the roast as a garnish before serving.

Yields one cup of sauce. Serves six to eight.

NOTES ON THE RECIPE:

A pestelle is a leg or shoulder of pork.

Meadhbh

We met at Meadhbh house for English cooking. Meadhbh cooked up a storm serving Pork with Pepper Wine sauce, Spinach Pie and Fig Fritters. Alesia brought Egurdouce (Sweet and Sour Beef).

Iustinos issued a challenge for a meat dish.

Here is the challenge as taken from Marx Rumpolt, Ein New Kochbuch, c.1581:
This is one of the recipes webbed by M. Grasse (ska: Gwen Catrin von Berlin, OL). The translation is her own (c) 1999.

Garlic roasted leg of Mutton
35 Salz den Schlegel/ und steck in an/ und wenn er halb gebraten ist/ so nimm frischen Knobloch/ der gar jung ist/ spick den Braten damit/ unnd lasz in gar and die Statt raten/ und wenn du in wilt anrichten/ so mach ein braune Brüh darzu/ schneidt ein wenig neuwen Knobloch darein/ thu ein wenig Essig und gestossen Pfeffer darein/ und lasz darmit sieden/ und wenn du in anrichtest/ so ist es ein lieblicher Braten zu essen/ Und also können ihn Edelleut und Bauern wol essen.

Salt the leg/ and skewer it (on a spit) / and when it is half roasted/ so take fresh garlic/ that is quite young/ lard (cut small slits and insert the garlic) therewith/ and let it finish roasting/ and if you wish to prepare it/ so make a brown broth (gravy) thereto/ cut a little new garlic therin/put a little vinegar and crushed pepper therein/ and let it simmer therewith/ and if you prepare it so/ it is a lovely roast to eat/ And so can (the) Nobility and farmers well eat it.

Iustinos and Jesse both provided lamb dishes. Maeve brought a cheese mushroom tart that was devoured. Heloise and Denis brought a variety of cheeses and some interesting crackers – anise and orange. Sophia made a yummy barley dish with fresh herbs and lemon. And Alesia brought a salat, roasted carrots and cherry pudding.

from http://www.florilegium.org/
A translation of a 17th Century Romanian Cookbook by Lord Petru cel paros Voda

Take eggplants and remove their dark skin thinly, then boil them, and after boiling dry them well of water and chop small, then fry with oil and onions chopped small, in a pot. Then add water, salt, pepper, cinnamon, a handful of chopped herbs, a little nut milk and verjuice, if in season, and if not, lemon juice, in the same pot where you fried them, and then boil. And when you serve, sprinkle with cinnamon.

1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
olive oil
2 bunches of green oinons
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup fresh herbs (parsley, basil, thyme)
1/4 cup almond milk
2 Tbs lemon juice

Scald the eggplant slices in boiling water for one minute, drain, cool and pat dry. Do not stack which cause further cooking time. Chop into 1/2 inch pieces and brown in olive oil over medium high heat, cooking until au dent but not soft. Place in sauce pan with seasoning, almond milk, and lemon juice and cook another 5 minutes. Serve with sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

Alesia

adapted from The Balkan Cookbook by Inge Kramarz

1 large onion chopped
1/2 cup of fresh marjoram chopped
2 lb beef sliced into strips about inch long, 1/4 inch wide
3 Tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup bacon chopped
2 heaping Tbs of sour cream

Saute onion in oil until golden. Add meat, marjoram, salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes. Add wine and simmer for 30 minutes or until meat is tender. Saute bacon separately until crisp. Add to the beef along with the sour cream. Simmer until warm through. Serves 4

This was a quiet month. You could bring any recipe that you wanted to try out. Maeve did a wonderful rabbit and onion stew and a bean dish. Alesia redid her Hungarian dishes – Marjoram Beef Stew and Eggplant. Iustinos provided bread, cheese and a wonderful night out on the back deck.

This came from Stefan’s Florilegium http://www.florilegium.org/ “A Translation of a 17th Century Romanian Cookbook” by Lord Petru cel paros Voda

Take 4 pre-cooked chicken breasts and chop into morsels.  Add 1 cup sour cream, salt, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp clove, ½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp pepper, ¼ cup nuts (pine or pistachio preferred but also almonds) 4 egg yolks beaten with 1 TBS lemon juice and meat stock to cover by one to two inches.  Boil until thickens.  Serve spinkled with sugar and cinnamon.

NOTES:  This was way too soupy to my taste.  Although George Lang says that Hungarians like soupy stews, this didn’t work for me.  Great taste but I would have added just enough liquid so it didn’t completely cover the chicken, then added eggs and sour cream.