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The Barony of the Westermark |
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Siege Cooking Recipes |
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The ingredients provided for the competition:
Chicken, Eggs, Brown Rice, Flour, Endive, Red Carrots, Spring Onions, Prunes, Currants, Lemons, Almonds, Parmesan Cheese, Olive Oil, Honey, and Goat Milk.
The ingredients we brought:
Spinach, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Cinnamon, Mace, and Long Pepper.
Sadly, due to the heat, half of the spinach and some of the currants were unusable.
Rice with Herbs and Almonds
1C. brown rice
2 1/2 C. chicken veggie Stock
2 tsp sage
2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp thyme
1/4 C. finely chopped red carrots with skin
1/4 C. finely chopped spring onions, white part only
1/4 C. slivered almonds
1/4 tsp salt
Cook rice as directed until almost all the water is absorbed. Add veggies, herbs and almonds. Mix well, bring back to simmer, recover.
Cook for another 20 minutes or until the water is absorbed and rice is tender.
Notes from Màirghrèad Dubh: If we were to make it again, we would have used jasmine rice instead of brown. Adjust cooking time for added ingredients when using
rice with shorter cooking times. This is an adaptation of Blawmanger from Utilis Coquinario from 14th Century England.
Instead of almond milk, we used stock and instead of chicken, we used vegetables and fresh herbs. You can find the original recipe at:
http://www.godecookery.com.
Salad- Variation on Salat from Stefan's Florilegium
1 head endive
9 oz baby spinach
1/4 C. Spring onions- green stalks, chopped
1/4 C. almonds- slivered
1/4 C. Parmesan Cheese, crumbled
1/4 C. fresh sage, thyme, rosemary
2-3 TBS olive oil
2-3 TBS lemon juice
Pinch salt
5-6 slices red carrots with skins for garnish
Wash and prepare endive, spinach. Be sure to pat spinach dry, as it absorbs water quickly. Prepare fresh herbs, chop or tear sage into
smaller pieces. De-branch the thyme and rosemary. In a large bowl, add the endive and spinach. Add fresh herbs, onions and almonds. Mix or
layer. Add a pinch of salt over the top of the salad. Add cheese. Squeeze lemon juice over the salad, followed by the olive oil. Toss
salad to mix the juice and oil or serve, depending if a mixed or layered salad. Garnish with carrot slices before serving.
Notes from Màirghrèad Dubh: This is an adaptation of the several recipes listed in Stefan's Florilegium, using the ingredients we
had on hand. One of the main sources on that was The Forme of Cury. Poree de Cresson from Le Viandier de Taillevent from 14th
Century France adds grated parmesan cheese over the top. This is from whence it came:
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-VEGETABLES/salads-msg.html.
Currant Compote
1 container of currants
2-3 TBS honey
1 1/4 C. water or juice
1 stick of true cinnamon
1 TBS lemon juice
Clean currants, making sure to remove the stems. Discard any spoiled bits. Place currants in a small sauce pan. Add water, honey, juice,
spices. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once the water starts to reduce, turn heat to medium low, continue to cook until
currants are blanched, lighter in color than the sauce. Be careful not to let the mixture scorch. When the sauce is thick, remove from heat.
The compote will continue to thicken as it cools. Remove cinnamon stick just before serving. Serve alone, as a sauce over chicken with prunes or
over lemon pudding.
Notes from Màirghrèad Dubh: This was one of the recipes that we used The Joy of Cooking as the model. You can find it as
Gooseberry Fool on page 452, substituting the currants for the berries and omitting the heavy cream topping. However, if you want to cook with
the documentation, this is what it is in period based on the ingredients we had on hand. Adapted from the recipe Perys en Composte from
Harleian MS 279 from 15th Century England. However, instead of using pears, we used currants. We used water instead of wine and omitted the dates.
You can find the original recipe at: www.godecookery.com Or for a twist, the
recipe Gooseberry Foole from Mistress Sarah Longe Her Receipt Booke from circa 1610 is the same recipe as in The Joy of Cooking.
Lemon Pudding
1/2 C. honey
4 TBS flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 C. goat's milk
3 large eggs
1 tsp lemon juice
1 stick true cinnamon
2-3 husks of whole mace, crushed
Mix honey, flour, salt, lemon juice together. Gradually stir in milk. Whisk in eggs thoroughly. Stir constantly over medium heat until the
mixture starts to thicken. Turn down to low heat, stirring briskly. Bring to a simmer, cook 1 minute. Remove cinnamon stick. Transfer to
bowl and place in refrigerator until set. Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Serve with currant compote and sprigs of mint.
Notes from Màirghrèad Dubh: If I were making this again, I would also add 1/2 tsp lemon zest with the lemon juice.
This was one of the recipes that we used The Joy of Cooking as the model. You can find it
as Banana Pudding on page 1020, substituting goat milk for cow, honey for sugar, flour for corn starch, and lemon for vanilla. Ending the
recipe at just the pudding. However, if you want to cook with the documentation, this is what it is in period based on the ingredients we
had on hand: An adaptation of the Tart of Cream from A Boke of Cookrye by A.W. from London, 1591. We made the filling only. Adding
lemon and substituting the mace and true cinnamon for the saffron and ginger. As it turned out from the heat, it is very similar to an almond
milk drink, although I cannot find the sources for it at the moment.
Chicken with Prunes
3 C. chicken veggie stock
3 TBS olive oil
1 C. thinly sliced spring onions, white part only
1 C. red carrots, peeled and sliced
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
2 tsp fresh sage leaves, chopped
2-3 long pepper cones
1 tsp salt
1 5lb chicken
1 C. flour in bag with a dash of salt
Cut up chicken. Use left over chicken parts for stock (see recipe below.) Set chicken pieces aside in refrigerator. Saute herbs, spices
and veggies over medium heat until fragrant and onions are clear. Put mixture in a separate bowl and set aside. Put chicken pieces in bag,
hold bag closed and shake bag to coat chicken pieces. Return pan to medium heat, brown chicken pieces until golden brown, 3-4 minutes on
each side. When browned, add stock and veggie mix to chicken. Bring to a boil, cover. Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 12 oz.
pitted prunes. Return to heat, simmer covered for another 20-30 minutes more. Check to make sure chicken is fully cooked. Remove chicken,
prunes, veggies to a covered serving dish. Reduce sauce over medium heat until it thickens. Remove long pepper cones. Pour sauce over chicken.
Serve with currant compote.
Notes from Màirghrèad Dubh: This was one of the recipes that we used The Joy of Cooking as the model. You can find it as
Braised Marinated Rabbit with Prunes on page 632-33, substituting chicken for rabbit, stock for wine, omitting bay leaves, mushrooms, raspberry
vinegar and bacon. We also did not marinate it because chicken was still frozen and we served it with currant sauce instead of apricot preserves.
Other meats were routinely interchanged to accommodate the meats on hand, especially for stews. However, if you want to cook with the documentation,
this is what it is in period based on the ingredients we had on hand: An adaptation of To Stew a Cocke from The Good Huswife's Jewell, 1587,
England. We substituted stock for wine, using only prunes instead of other fruits, substituted fresh herbs and long pepper for ginger, nutmeg and
cinnamon; and used veggies instead of apples.
Chicken Veggie Stock
Peelings and tops from red carrots
Skin and very top of the green stalks from the spring onions
Leavings from the fresh sage, thyme and rosemary
2 TBS fresh sage
2 TBS thyme
2 TBS rosemary
Leftover chicken parts from Chicken with Prunes
1 TBS olive oil
2 cones of long pepper
6-8 C. water
Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot. Add 6-8 C. water or enough to fully cover the ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat,
cover. Cook 35-45 minutes or until the water is dark and fragrant, and chicken pieces are fully cooked. Strain. Use stock in Rice with Herbs
and Almonds and Chicken with Prunes.
Notes from Màirghrèad Dubh: This was one of the recipes that we used The Joy of Cooking as the model. You can find it
as Vegetable Stock on page 37. However, if you want to cook with the documentation, this is what it is in period based on the ingredients we
had on hand: Adapted from Sir Hugh Plat's The Jewel House of Art and Nature, omitting fruit, mace, wine, almonds, and lamb. We adapted
it for the ingredients we had on hand, substituting veggies for fruit.
Here are the recipes we would have made if we hadn't lost or forgot some of the ingredients:
Spinach with Currants and Almonds
9 oz Spinach
Salt to taste
1/4 C. olive oil
1/4 C. almonds, slivered
1/4 C. spring onions, green stalk only, chopped
1/8 C. currants
Wash spinach, but do not dry, chop. Place spinach in a large sauce pan. Cover and cook over medium heat until the spinach is just wilted,
about 5 minutes. Drain Well. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat, add almonds. Cook until just starting to color, add spring onion
stalk. Cook for another minute, until stalk is fragrant. Add spinach and currants. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, about 5
minutes more. Serve hot.
Notes from Màirghrèad Dubh: This was one of the recipes that we used The Joy of Cooking as the model. You can find it as
Spinach with Pine Nuts and Currants on page 416-17, substituting almonds for pine nuts and omitting garlic. However, if you want to cook with
the documentation, this is what it is in period based on the ingredients we had on hand: This is an adaptation of Poree de Cresson from
Le Viandier de Taillevent from 14th Century France which uses very much the same cooking method. Instead of using watercress, we would
have used spinach and we would have omitted cheese for almonds and added currants. You can find the original recipe at:
www.godecookery.com. There is another similar recipe called A Boyled Salat from
A Boke of Cookrye by A.W. from London, 1591. Adding currants and almonds and omitting sugar.
Cariota (Roasted Carrots)
1 lb carrots
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp fresh rosemary
olive oil
lemon juice
Scrub and scrape carrots, and brush lightly with oil. There are two ways to cook them.
1. Roast carrots in the coals, then peel them, cleaning off the ashes, and cut them up.
2. Roast in a 400 degree oven uncovered, 15 minutes. Slice into a serving dish and dress with minced herbs, oil, lemon juice and salt to taste.
Notes from Màirghrèad Dubh: An adaptation on Cariota from De Honesta Voluptate (On Honest Indulgence and Good Health), Bartolomeo
Platina, 15th Century Italy. We would have used lemon juice instead of the vinegar and wine. You can find the original recipe at: http://www.ostgardr.org/cooking/alsace.html#cariota.
Copied from: http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-VEGETABLES/root-veg-msg.html.
To Dress Carrots
1 lb carrots
3 C. goat's milk
2 husks of whole mace
(You can also do half carrots/parsnips, or all carrots or all parsnips.
Scrub the carrots and take off the top and the fibrous little end. Remove any hairs if needed. Add milk, cover, over medium-low heat and simmer gently, stirring
occasionally. Cook until soft, about 1/2 hour or 45 minutes. Remove mace. Remove the milk, and set aside for later. Remove carrots to a strainer. Let carrots cool. Remove
outer peel by squishing with your hand and pulling out tough bits. Put carrots back in the pot and mash. Add about 1/4 cup of the milk and
stir vigorously over medium-low heat until milk is absorbed and the nips are the consistency of mashed potatoes. Add 1/4 cup more milk and
keep stirring until that is absorbed. Pick out any fibrous bits that won't mash up nicely. Keep repeating this until all the milk is gone, and
the carrots are an even glop, as wet as scrambled eggs. Dish up and serve.
Notes from Màirghrèad Dubh: Parsnips and carrots are inter-changeable as they are closely related. The Forme of Cury says at the end of "Rapes in Potage" that "pasturnakes" (parsnips and
or carrots) can be substituted for the "rapes." They are paler and have a stronger flavor than carrots do, and they are grown in colder climates
to cultivate the flavor. They also have more vitamins, minerals, potassium, and more dietary fiber than carrots. You can substitute parsnips in
any modern carrot or potato recipe for a different flavor. Be aware that some people have allergic reactions to them, and parsnip leaves can
irritate the skin. The original recipe is given, however, there is no source for it. This is from whence it came:
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-VEGETABLES/root-veg-msg.html.
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