[Sca-cooks] RECIPES for Elizabethan veg food

[Kirrily Robert]

OK, I thought I'd post some of the actual recipes I've got so far,
for those who are interested.  All are from English books published
between 1550 and 1620.  Some are very slightly modified from their
original form, but usually just in ways suggested by the original
recipe.  There are a couple of vegan (no eggs, dairy, honey, etc)
dishes, a few different proteiny ones, and a range of
colours/textures/flavours.


FIGGY BEAN CAKES (from Epulario, English publication 1598)
I've already posted this one... it's cooked beans, onions, semi-dried
figs, sage and parsley, all mashed together, formed into patties, and
fried.  Sprinkle spices on top to serve. They're *very* tasty.

GOURDS AFTER THE CATALONIAN FASHION (Epulario)
Gourds (squash, zucchini, etc) are gently cooked with oil, then you add
broth and cook some more, then thicken it with eggs, parmesan and
spices.  Recipe at
http://infotrope.net/sca/cooking/redactions/vegetables/catalonian-gourds.html

QUELQUECHOSE (Markham's "English Housewife", 1615)
A kind of scrambled eggs.  You can add just about anything to it.  My
favourite version uses parsley, spring/green onions, mace, cloves,
currants and dates.  You can also use fruit, peas, or just about
anything.  Then you just scramble it.  Original recipe at
http://infotrope.net/sca/texts/english-housewife/fricases.html

LAYERED SALAD (English Housewife)
The original recipe calls for many, many layers... I limit mine to just
three.  First, a bed of fresh greens.  Second, a layer made of a mixture
of currants, dried figs, raisins, almonds, black olives and capers.  The
ratios are:

    almonds     1
    raisins     1
    figs        1
    capers      1
    olives      2
    currants    6

A little of this goes a long way... people only need a taste of it, as
it's quite strongly flavoured.  But don't be fooled by how strange the
ingredients look... I taste tested this at a baronial meeting, and
everyone went "wow!".  The final layer of my salad is orange and lemon
slices, artistically arranged.  Original recipe under "another compound
sallet" on this page:
http://infotrope.net/sca/texts/english-housewife/sallets.html

SODDE EGGS
Quartered hard-boiled eggs, served with a mustard sauce.  This was
discussed recently on this list, and can be found in the florlegium or
by a google search.  Basically you boil your eggs, peel them and cut
them up.  Then you make a sauce with butter, vinegar, mustard, pepper
and salt, and serve it poured over the eggs.

SIMPLE SALLETS (English Housewife)
There are various options mentioned for simple sallets, basically
involving just about any vegetable served either raw or cooked, with oil
and vinegar.  One of my favourites is cucumber and radish, which I
suppose is actually a simply compound sallet.  It makes a pleasant
change from the usual green salad, and is nice and crunchy.  Just slice
up the cucumbers and radishes, and dress with oil and vinegar, and
perhaps a little pepper or some chopped dill.

TARTS AND PIES
Any Elizabethan recipe book will have plenty of vegetarian options here,
many of them sweet.  Some interesting ones are "lombardy pies"
containing beets and cheese (I don't have the recipe handy, but you can
find it with a web search), and some sweet almond pies (again, I don't
have the recipe handy, but could find it if anyone really wanted.)

WHITE-POT (English Housewife)
A baked rice custard, flavoured with cinnamon, currants and rosewater.
Very tasty.  Don't believe them about boiling the rice in cream
though... it doesn't work... I've found that milk is the creamiest thing
you want to use, otherwise the rice won't cook.  Original recipe down
the bottom of the page at
http://infotrope.net/sca/texts/english-housewife/bakedmeats.html but I'm
afraid I can't find my redaction right now... let me know if you want it
and I'll re-do it.

WARM SPINACH SALLET (English Housewife)
I blanch the spinach, then chop it up relatively finely.  Then, it goes
in a pan with some currants, butter, vinegar, and a touch of sugar, and
just warmed through so the butter melts.  Very tasty.
http://infotrope.net/sca/texts/english-housewife/sallets.html

ONIONS UPON SOPS (Dawson, The Good Huswife's Jewell, 1590-something)
Quarter onions, simmer them in a little water (as little as you can),
along with raisins, pepper, salt, and sugar.  I did this with hrmmmm
about 6 small onions, a big single handful of raisins, perhaps a
tablespoon of sugar, a sprinkle of salt, and quite a few grinds of
pepper from the grinder.  Simmer until the onions are cooked.
Meanwhile, take the yolks of a few eggs (I think I used 4) and a couple
of tablespoons of verjuice, and combine them.  When the onions are done,
drain off most of the liquid so you've just got enough for a sauce, then
fold in the egg mixture and simmer a bit more til it's like a sauce.  I
served this over toasted dark rye bread and it was wonderful.

I've made almost all these dishes for pot-lucks, camping, or just for
home.  They're all pretty tasty.

Yours,

Katherine


--
Lady Katherine Rowberd (mka Kirrily "Skud" Robert)
katherine at infotrope.net  http://infotrope.net/sca/
Caldrithig, Skraeling Althing, Ealdormere
"The rose is red, the leaves are grene, God save Elizabeth our Queene"