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Original:

This recipe is from MS Gent UB 476. An excellent edition of this (by R. Jansen-Sieben and Johanna Maria Van Winter) is available online (and in print) in De keuken van de late Middeleeuwen, een kookboek uit de Lage Landen (1998). It is exclusively in (Middle-)Dutch, with glossary in modern Dutch.

67 Om te maicken een anyunsoppe inde vasten

Men sal die anyun scellen ende snijen die in scijven in tween, fruten wel in die olije, mer niet veel olije daer in, ende nemen die korsten van den broot ende fruten die mit den anyun ende nemen wat asijn ende bier ende laten dat sieden met den anyun ende mit dat broot ende doen daer in wat suker ende wat gengebaerpoer ende laten dat te samen sieden totdat bijcans dicke wordt ende stellet dan of.

Translation:

One should peel the onions and slice them into half discs, fry them well in oil, but not too much oil, and take crusts of bread and fry them with the onions and take some vinegar and beer and let that boil with the onions and the bread and put in some sugar and some ground ginger and let it boil until it thickens and remove it from the fire.

Redaction:

For two persons:

• 2 onions
• oil
• 1 end slice bread (the crusty bit)
• a little ground ginger
• 0,1 liter Herfstbok Grolsch (Dutch Autumn bock beer)
• 1/2 herbal stock cube
• 0,5 liter water
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar

Just follow the translated instructions. Note that the original doesn’t add water or (herbal) stock, but it does add to the taste.

We made this one as a spread for on bread, serving it cold, but in the past have also served it warm as a non-meat stew alternative.

Original:

Harleian MS. 279 – Potage Dyvers: 53

Take half Fygys & halfe Roysonys, and boyle hem in Wyne; Þan bray hem in a morter, and draw wyth the same lycoure Þorw a straynoure so Þikke Þat it be stondynge; Þanne take Roysons of Corauns, Pynys, Clowys, Maces, Sugre of Siprys, and caste Þer-to; Þan putte it on a potte; Þan take Saunderys a fewe, Pepir, Canel, an a litel Safroun; and yif it be nogt stondyng, take [a] lytil flowre of Amidons, an draw it Þorw a streynwoure, an caste Þer-to Salt, & serue forth stondyng.

Redaction:

• 500 gr dried figs
• 650 gr raisins
• 0,5 liter red wine (I used a Shiraz)
• 200 gr pine nuts
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground mace
• 2 tsp ground pepper
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• a few pinches of salt
• (optional) cane sugar
• (optional) saffron
• (optional) sandalwood
• (if needed) a little flour

Put the wine in a pan and let the figs and 500 gr of the raisins simmer on a low heat until the figs are soft. Take out the figs and cut them really small. Put the figs back in with the raisins, put in the remaining raisins, add the pine nuts and the spices, and let it stew on a very low heat for a long time (at least another hour or so). Take care it doesn’t burn.

Check if it’s of the right consistency, if it’s still too moist, add some flour and let that cook out and bind some more.

Add the salt, make sure it’s well incorporated, and let it cool.

Note that the spices are “to taste”, what is in the recipe is about what I used. Start with less, and add more if you think the recipe needs it. Also, if you’re saving it cold, it might be good to have it a little more spicy than when serving it hot. Also, for the version served at the feast, I “blitzed” about half the pine nuts in the food processor, as they looked a bit chunky for a spread.

Chickpea puree

Original:

Source: Du Fair de Cuisine, par. 76

Encor plus, les syseros et pour donner entendement a celluy qui appareillera les syseros si prenne ses syses et si les delise grain a grain en tant que il n’y demeure nulle chose que le propre grain du sise, et puis le lave en trois ou en iiii. eaues tedes et les mecte boullir; /106r/ et, estre boullir, si les remove de celle eaue et y mecte d’autre eaue fresche et mecte arriés boullir et, estre boullis, si les mecte en la dicte oulle reposer jusque a l’endemain; et quant se viendra l’endemain si en pures l’eaue et mectés encour d’autre eaue fresche et mectés boullir en ung bien petit de sel, de l’oille d’amendres et de percin ensemble ses racines bien delisés et nectoyees — et celles racines soient escorchiés et tresbien lavées — et ung pou de salvi. Et si n’y mectés autre chose sans l’ordonnance du medicin, et s’il ordonnoit de y mectre ung pou de cynamomy et ung pou de verjust pour lui donner aucun pou de goust, sy en y mectés ; autrement non.

Again syseros: and to give understanding to him who will prepare the syseros let him take his chick-peas and pick them over grain by grain such that there remains nothing but the chick-peas themselves, and then wash them in three or four changes of lukewarm water and put them to boil; and, being boiled, let him remove them from this water and put in other fresh water and put back to boil and, being boiled put them to rest in the said pot until the next day; and when the next day comes drain the water off them and put in again other fresh water and put to boil with a very little salt, almond oil, and parsley together with its roots well picked over and cleaned — and these roots should be scraped and very well washed — and a little sage. And do not put in anything else without the doctor’s order, and if he tells you to put in a little cinnamon and a little verjuice to give it a little flavour, put them in; otherwise not.

Redaction:

(for about 8 people)

• 1 small can of chickpeas (400 gr, 240 gr drained)
• 2 tbsp oil (we used virgin olive oil, as almond oil wasn’t available)
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp finely ground cinamon
• 1,5 tsp finely chopped fresh sage, or 0,5 tsp dry sage
• 2-3 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Mix all the ingredients.

Blend the chickpeas well in a food processor or blender, adding the liquids until you get to a mayonnaise-like consistency.

Put it in a bowl. Optionally, leave behind some whole chickpeas and sprigs of parsley to dress the dish.

This is a tasty cheese and garlic spread.

Original:

This recipe is from A Taste of Ancient Rome by Ilaria Giacosa, p. 54.

Quattuor alia, apius, ruta, coriandrum, salis micas, caseus.

Four garlic cloves, celery, rue, coriander, salt grains, and cheese.

Redaction:

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 300 grams feta-style cheese (we used the type made from cows milk)
• 4 celery stalks
• 1 small handful of coriander leaves

Blend together well in a kitchen machine.

We didn’t add salt, as the feta-style cheese is salty enough on its own. Should you use something like cottage cheese or ricotta, it might well need a dash of salt added to it.

Note that we used the stalks of the celery, and not (as the version in the book suggests) just the celery leaves. We left out the rue (as there’s some slight danger in eating it, it’s also not readily available).

This recipe came about as a way to enjoy the green garlic sauce (the Aulx Vers). We first planned it as another sauce to eat with just bread. When I first made a batch of this to try it out, early one morning, and tasted the … rather intense sauce, my thought was it might be a bit too strong a taste.

However, when combined with meatballs, it worked very well!

Meatballs

We didn’t really use a period source for this, but were inspired by various recipes. This was the recipe we used:

• 500 gr minced meat (we used mince that was a mix of beef and pork)
• 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger (powder)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 80 gr bread-crumbs

Mix and knead everything well together. 500 grams of minced meat makes about 25 smallish meatballs. Bake until done. We served them cold, which means using a little more salt, in my experience.

Aulx vers

Green garlic sauce from Le Viandier de Taillevent, §158

Original:

Beolés aux et pain et verdeure, deffaites de verjus

Redaction:

• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 tbsp white bread-crumbs (about 1 slice of bread)
• 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp green herbs (we used flat-leaf parsley and rosemary, you can add some sorrel if you can get it)
• 1 tsp ground ginger (powder)

Mix everything well by chopping it very fine in a food processor or use a mortar.

Depending on how fine you want it, you can push the sauce through a sieve.

The original recipe calls for verjuice, which we replaced with the wine vinegar and lemon juice.

I made the sauce the Thursday before the event.