SC - losenges fryes/potage of beans boiled

[david friedman]

Great.  Doritos and frijoles refritos.  <grin, duck, run!>

Seriously:  I'd premake the dough, roll in a chub as you see cookie dough sold,
slice thin with a cheese slicer and fry them on site in whatever
neutral-flavored oil you have.  Olive would taste distinctive, in a way that I
don't happen to like with sugar.  If you could afford enough walnut oil for
deep-frying, go for it.

As for the beans, yes, there are white fava beans.  Letting the pottage sit
before the 'add raisins' stage sounds good to me, I might even do that on
purpose to let the flavors get acquainted.

Selene

Gwynydd of Culloden wrote:

> I have been asked to precook Losenges Fryes and Potage of Beans Boiled and
> I have a few questions before I immerse myself in the cooking.
>
> Losenges Fryes
>
> Take flour, water, saffron, sugar and salt, and make a fine paste thereof,
> and fair thin cakes; and cut them like losenges and fry them in fine oil,
> and serve them forth hot in a dish in lenten time.
>
> (redaction)
>
> 2 cups flour
> 1 / 2 cups water
> a pinch of saffron
> 1 / 2 cup sugar
> 1 / 2 teaspoon salt
> oil for frying
>
> Boil saffron in water to extract color and flavor, put in a bowl and mix in
> sugar and salt, add flour and mix lightly until moistened.  Heat oil in a
> frying pan.  Roll out dough to about 1 / 2 inch thick.  Cut into small
> diamonds, fry a few at a time since they cook very quickly.
>
> Is this appropriate for precook or should really be done at the event.  If
> it is precooked, how would we go about reheating them?  (I am thinking that
> they could be reheated on a baking sheet in the oven - but I don't know
> what the minimum time required would be.)
>
> As well, what oil would people suggest I use to fry these?  (I would like
> to keep it as period as possible, so I am guessing not peanut *smile*.)
>
> Potage of Beans Boiled
>
> For to make a potage fene boiles, tak wite benes & se+ hem in water, & bray
> +e benys in a mortar al to noght; & lat +em se+e in almond mylk & do +erin
> wyn & hony.  & se+ reysouns in wyn & do +erto & after dresse yt forth.
>
> (redaction)
> 1 cup fava beans
> 2 cups water
> 1 cup almond milk from: 1 cup = 5 oz almonds, 1 1 / 2 cups water
> 1/8 cup wine
> 1  1 / 2 tablespoon honey
> 1 / 4 cup more wine
> (1 / 2 tsp salt)
> 1 / 4 cup = 1 1 / 2 oz raisins
>
> Soak beans overnight in 2 cups water, drain.  Boil them for 40 minutes in 2
> cups water.  Drain them, mush them in a mortar.  Make almond milk and set
> to boil.  Throw beans into boiling almond milk, add wine and honey, simmmer
> 1 hour.  Simmer the raisins in wine for about ten minutes, add them to the
> pottage a few minutes before it finishes cooking.
>
> My notes and questions:
>
> Does this recipe really require fava beans?  I find myself doubtful because
> the original calls for "wite benes" and, if fava beans are indeed broad
> beans, they are green not white.
>
> What sort of wine should I use - it is going to be cheap cask wine, but
> should it be white or red?  My feeling is that it is white, but I could be
> wrong.
>
> I am planning on getting the pottage to the adding raisin stage and then
> leaving it for the Steward to combine them and reheat the dish at the event
> before serving.  Is there a problem with that?
>
> Gwynydd