2016 Medieval Banquet

We held a medieval banquet a couple of weeks ago. You missed quite something.  Oh, well... we'll host another one next year. 

The dishes served at the banquet were all based on historical sources that were current in the Tudor period of the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.  Several had been adapted – the idea of scalding hedgehogs and sewing the skins around minced pork faces objections on a number of counts! 

Bill of Fare


To start

“Lange wortes de pesoun” (split pea soup)

The main course
Served hot:

Choice of lamb stew, or

Saffron chicken with pine nuts

Tudor pottage (vegetarian)

Broad beans and bacon

“Beans fried” (kidney beans)


And on the table:

“Yrchoun” (cold hedgehog)

“Tart in Ember Day” (onion tart)

Salad leaves with herbs

Rustic bread


Pudding


“Tartys in Apples” (early apple tart)


To finish


Renaissance Almond Biscuits

Dates in marchpane
 

We feel you’d like to see some of the recipes for authenticity, drafted in their original (and somewhat erratic) spelling. 

Recipes

Lange wortes de pesoun

Take grene pesyn, an washe hem clene an caste hem on a putte, an boye hem tyl they breste, an thanne take hem uyppe of the potte, an put hem with brothe yn a-nother potte, an lete hem kele; then draw hem thorw a straymowre in-to a fayre potte, an than take oynonys, an screed them in to or thre, an take hole wortys and boyle hem in fayre water; an take hem uyppe, an leyhem on a fayre bord,an cytte oniij or iiij, an key hem to the oynonys in the potte, to be drawyd pesyn; an let thm oyle tyl they ben tendyre; an thane tak fayre oyle and frye them, or ellys sum fresche brothe of sum maner fresche fysshe, an caste there-to, an Safron, an salt a quantyte, and serue it forth.

Saffron Chicken with Pine Nuts

Take gode cow milke and do it in a pot, take parsley, sauge, ysop, savoury and other good herbs, hew them and do them in the mylk and seeth them, take capon half roasted and smyte them in pieces and do thereto pynner and honey clarified, salt it and colour it with saffron and serve it forth

Beans fried

Take beans and seethe them almost till they burst, take and wring out the water clean, do thereto onions sodden and minced and garlick therewith fry them in oil or in grease and do thereto powder douce and serve it forth.

Yrchouns

Take Piggis mawys, & skalde hem wel; take groundyn Porke, & knede it with Spicerye, with pouder Gyngere, & Salt & Sugre; do it on the mawe, but fill it nowt to fulle; then sewe hem with a fayre thread, & putte hem in a Spete as men do on piggys; take blaunched Almaundys, & kerf hem long, small, & scharpe, & frye hem in grece & sugre; take a litel prycke, & prykke the yrchouns, An putte in the holes the Almaundys, every hole half, & eche fro other; ley hem then to the fyre; when they ben rostid, dore hem sum whyth Whete Flowre, & mylke of Almaundys, sum grene, sum blake with Blode, & lat hem nowt brone to moche, & serue forth.

Tart in Ember Day

Take and parboil onions pass out the water and hew them small, take bread and bray it in a mortar and temper it up with eggs.  Do thereto butter, saffron and salt and raisons corants and a little sugar with powdr douce and bake it in a trap and serve it forth.

Tartys in Apples

Take good apples and good spices & Figs and raisins and Pears and when they are well braid colour with saffron well and do it in a coffin and do it forth to bake well.