SC - Was Ravioli, dumplings, and excoriation - now cooking Liver

[Lee-Gwen Booth]

>From Gwynydd of Culloden unto the Gathered Cooks of the List, Greetings:

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Sieggy der Omnivore
>     (and besides, less than 3 people out of a thousand know how to prepare
> liver properly, I'd wager . . .)

Well, if my Lady is any judge, I am one of those 3.  I made her a dish of
organ meats from "Pleyn Delit" for her work lunches and she thought that it
was wonderful (it was far too strongly flavoured for my tastes - but then, I
am not much of an offal eater).  I do, however, have some questions about
the recipe which one of the more experienced cooks can probably answer.
First, the recipe (wouldn't want to be accused of being a "spoon-tease"!).

Noumbles

Take noumbles of Deer oper or oper beest; paboile hem; kerf hem to dyce.
Take the self broth or better; take brede and grynde with the broth, and
temper it up with a gode quantite of vynegar and wyne.  Take the oynons and
parboyle hem, and mynce hem small and do per=to.  Color it with blode and do
pre=to powder fort and salt, and boyle it wele, and serue it forth.


Pleyn Delit redaction
2 beef kidneys (ca 11/2 - 2 lbs)
3/4c beef broth or stock
1/4c breadcrumbs
2tb vinegar
2-3 onions. peeled
1/4tsp each ginger, mace, and pepper
1/2tsp salt (or to taste)

Cover the kidneys with cold, salted water and bring to a boil; then pour off
the water (or  save it for broth, if you have no beef stock).  Chop kidneys
into pieces about 1 inch square, or a little more.  Beat the breadcrumbs
into the broth (start by moistening it with just a tablespoon or two)and
stir in the wine and vinegar.

Meanwhile, parboil onions in salted water for about five minutes.  Drain,
and chop the onions.  Add them along with seasoning and chopped kidneys to
the sauce and bring to a simmer; cover and cook gently for 25 to 30 minutes.

NOTE:
In the notes, the authors say that "noumbles" is probably best translated as
various organ meats, that being so, I used (lamb) kidney and (ox) liver
together.
I boiled the onion in the same water as the meat and then used the resultant
liquid for the stew.  As well, the organ meats exuded quite an amount of
blood which I poured back into the stew.

Okay, that is the recipe, now the questions;
1) How are stews of this nature served?  That is, are they served alone in a
bowl or over something like rice?
2) I added cloves and galingale to the spices - just because they seemed
"right" somehow.  According to my Lady, the cloves really "made" the dish,
but I don't know how accurate period-wise it was to add these extras.  As
well, I increased the ginger to 1/2tsp, which she thought was about right.
3) The original says that the meat should be minced small - why then do the
authors have them as 1 inch pieces?  My feeling was that this was too big.

Many Thanks
Gwynydd