SC - chicken on string (and beef)

[Lark Miller]

Hi, Katerine here.

Ah yes, beans.  I've read lots of such recipes, but never made them.  Here's
what I'd try first out.

>From the Forme of Cury, recipe # 189:

>"Benes yfryed. Take benes and see6 hem almost til 6ey bersten. Take and
>wryng out 6e water clene. Do 6erto oynouns ysode and ymynced, and garlec
>6erwith; frye hem in oile o6er in grece, & do 6erto powder douce, &
>serue it forth."

My rendering into modern English:

Fried Beans.  Take beans and boil them until they are near bursting.
Press out the water.  Add boiled minced onions and garlic.  Fry them
in oil or grease, and add powder douce, and serve.

Notes:

"Beans" almost certainly mean dried favas.  Onions are always boiled 
before using (at least parboiled) in medieval recipes, though why I 
couldn't tell you.  It's not clear how the garlic is treated, but I 
don't know of any other recipes that don't either grind or mince it.

Nobody knows for certain what precise spices went into powder douce, so
I just pick favorite sweet ones.  Nobody knows for sure whether it 
included sugar; it may have varied.

Things that were boiled weren't necessarily boiled in water, and boiling
the beans in broth might add flavor; but the recipe specifies to wring
out *the water*, so I would be disinclined to do that in this case, even
if I didn't like my first version.

There's good reason to believe that salt was sometimes taken for granted,
and we usually salt beans.  But one can salt at the table, so at least
the first time out, I'd make this without and see what I got.

Here's what I'd try first.

Take a couple of cups of favas; rinse, then put in a pot with water to
cover and a little more.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until
they are very soft.  Empty into a collander and press out as much water
as I can without mushing the beans through.

Take two onions.  Mince and boil, then strain out and add to beans.

Take two cloves of garlic.  Whack with a knife to smash and remove outer
cover, then mince.

Put a little olive oil in a pan.  Add garlic as it heats.  When it's hot,
stir in beans and onions.  (I could more accurately have stirred the
garlic in with the beans and onions, but I'm not sure I want to fry
this stuff long enough to be certain that the garlic all gets cooked.

Saute briefly, turning from time to time.

Remove to serving plate.

Mix up some powder douce (for this, I'd try a tsp each sugar and cinnamon,
half a tsp ginger, and a quarter tsp each mace and cloves), and sprinkle
over.

Now find out if it's food.

Cheers,

- -- Katerine/Terry

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