SC - Crustade Lombard revisited

[L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt]

Greetings, all! In light of the recent debate over Lombardy Custard, I just
found a modern redaction for it in a book that was an Xmas Present,
Christmas Feasts by Lorna J. Sass. Thought you'd like to see it, even though
it completely ignores the directions for drawing through a strainer until it
is stiff (the part we had trouble interpreting). She adds spices not in the
original and does not dust with sugar or salt before baking, either. She
claims, however, "This spicy, fruited custard was served at king Richard
II's feast given with the Duke of Lancaster on September 23, 1387. it is one
of my favorite medieval dishes and always makes a hit with the guests. With
the combination of marrow and fruits, it seems another early variant of
mincemeat." it would seem, based on that statement that although the recipe
dates to the 15th century, the dish itself is a good bit older. I think I
prefer the final redaction the list assisted Cindy Renfrow (Mistress
Sincgiefu) with,  over this one for accuracy.

The original:

Take gode creme, & leuys of Percely, & Eryoun, the yolkys & the whyte, &
breke hem therto, & strayne throwe a straynoure tyl it be so styf that it
wol bere hym-self. Than take fayre Marwe & Datys y-cutte in ij or iij  &
Prunes & putte the Datys on the Prunes & Marwe on a fayre Cofynne y-mad of
fayre past & put the cofyn on the ovyn tyl it be a lytel hard. Thanne draw
hem out of the ovyn. Take the lycour & putte ther-on &fyll it uppe & caste
Sugre y-now on, & salt; then lat it bake togederys tyl it be y-now; & if it
be in lente, let the Eyroun & the Marwe out & thanne serve it forth.
(Harleian Ms. 279, British Library 15th century).

Lombardy Custard (copyright, L. J. Sass)
9-inch uncooked pie pastry shell
15 each pitted prunes and dates, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons raw bone marrow, crumbled*
3 tablespoons finely minced parsley
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
Pinch salt
3/4 teaspoon dried orange peel
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch mace

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Bake the pie pastry at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Linr the pie crust with the dried fruits. Distribute the marrow and parsley
evenly over the fruit.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl. (The spices are not called for
in the original recipe, but make a delicious addition.) Beat until
thoroughly blended. pour the mixture over the fruits in the crust.
bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the custard is set up and
the top is brown.
Let the crustade cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

* Ask your butcher to hack open a beef bone so that you can easily get at
the marrow.  

Those who were following this thread---what do you think?

Aoife (hey, at least it's not Cuskynoles!). 

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