[Sca-cooks] Fish in Feast (was alot of things)

Fri Nov 7 18:38:30 PST 2003

OK, all - here's one redaction of the fish dish (along with many others), served at a private Lenten feast for 5 last Spring.  You may want to play with it; I'm not entirely thrilled with my redaction yet.

Regards,
Brekke

Lenten Menu

Slyte Soppes

Curye in Inglysch, ed. Constance B. Hieatt and Sharon Butler, Oxford University Press, 1985.
Book IV, Forme of Cury, No. 82, Slyt soppes., p. 116
82. Slyt soppes. Take white of lekes and slyt hem, and do hem to seeþ in wyne, oile, and salt.  Tost brede and lat in disshes, and cast the sewe aboue, and serue it forth.

Leeks  9 large
Wine  2 C
Olive oil 5 Tbsp
Salt  1 ½ tsp

Slit and wash leeks to remove sand.  Cut off tough green section; then cut remainder into pieces ca 1" long.  Saute in olive oil.  Add wine and cook 15 minutes until done.  Serve with toasted bread.  (we will be using bread bowls.)

Salat

Curye in Inglysch, ed. Constance B. Hieatt and Sharon Butler, Oxford University Press, 1985.
Book IV, Forme of Cury, No. 78, Salat., p. 115
No. 78. Salat. Take Persel, sawge, grene garlic, chibolles, oynouns. Leek, borage, myntes, porrettes, fenel, and toun cresses, rew, rosemarye, purslarye,; laue and waische hem clene.  Pike hem.  Pluck hem smal wiþ þyn honde, and myng hem wel with rawe oile; lay on vyneger and salt,a nd serue it forth.

Note: we're taking some liberties with this one,
Red leaf lettuce  ½ head
Red cabbage   ½ head
Chickory   ¼ bunch
Red onion   1
Fresh parsley   ca 1 Tbsp
Fresh garlic   2  - 3 peeled cloves
Scallions   as desired

Dressing:
Olive Oil   4 parts
Wine Vinegar   3 parts

Salmon in Paste

Daz buch von guter spise #19, in translation, p. 96.
19. This is a good salmon dish.
Take a salmon, scale it, split and cut the two halves in pieces.  Chop parsley, sage, take ground ginger, pepper, anise, and salt to taste.  Make a coarse dough according to the size of the pieces, sprinkle the pieces with the spices, and cover them completely with the dough.  If you can fit them into a mould, then do so.  In this way you can prepare pike, trout, bream, and bake each one in its own dough.  If it is a meat-day, however, you can prepare chickens, partridges, pigeons, and pheasants, provided that you have the moulds, and fry them in lard or cok them in their moulds.  Take chicken breast or other good meat.  This will improve your art of cooking even more.  And don't oversalt.

Salmon   ca ½4lb
Fresh parsley  ca 5 Tbsp, chopped fine
Fresh sage  ca 1 Tbsp, chopped fine
Ginger   1 Tbsp
Anise   1 lstar, ground
Pepper   2 Tbsp
Salt   to taste

Paste (oil pastry form Better Homes and Gardens):

Flour   1 C
Salt   ½ tsp
Salad oil (Olive oil) ¼ C
Ice Water  2 ½ Tbsp

Mix flour and salt.  Blend oil and water; pour into dry mix and form into a soft ball.  Roll out as needed.
Blend herbs and spices and rub into fish.  Cover fish with pastry and bake at 350° ca ½ hr., until done.  Serve hot.

Loseyns in Fyssh Day

Curye in Inglysch, ed. Constance B. Hieatt and Sharon Butler, Oxford University Press, 1985.
Book IV, Forme of Cury, No.132, Loseyns in Fyssh day
132. Loseyns in Fyssh day.  Tak almaundes vnblaunched and waische hem clene & grynde hem; drawe hem vp with water.  seeþ þe mylke & alye it vp with loseyns.  Cast þerto saffron, sugur, & salt, & messe it forth with colyaundre in confyt rede, & serue it forth.

Almonds  2 C
Water   8 C
Fettuccine  1 lb
Sugar   1 tsp
Salt   1 Tbsp
Saffron, ground  pinch
Candied corainder seeds 1 Tbsp

Mix almonds with water.  Bring to a boil, add fettuccine, and salt and cook until noodles are al dente.  Drain if necessary.  Add saffron and sugar.  Just before serving, add candied coriander seeds.

Perys in Sirip

Two Fifteenth Century Cookery Books, ed. Thomas Austin, Oxford University Press, 1964, pg. 87

Perys in Syrippe. Take Wardons, and cast hem in a faire potte, And boil hem until þei ben tendre; and take hem vppe and pare hem in ij. Or in iij. And take powder of canell, a good quantite, and cast it in good red wyne, and cast sugur thereto, and put hit in an earthen potte, and lete boile; And then cast the peris thereto, And late hem boile tohidre awhile; take powder of ginger, and a litell saffron to colloure hit with, And loke that hit be poynante/ And also Doucet/

NOTE:  I used Anjou pears, since they were available and cheap.  I allowed a full pear per person; a half would have been plenty.  The color was marvelous, and unexpected; I had not tried the dish in advance.  (Pears.  Wine.  Sugar.  Spices.  What could go wrong?)

  Pears     12
  Water     to cover
  Red Wine    to cover, ca 6 C
  Cinnamon    1 Tbsp
  Sugar     4 Cups
  Ginger     0.5 tsp
  Saffron     to color

Poach whole pears in water until just soft and cooked through.  Cool to room temperature, peel, core, and cut into halves or thirds.  Mix wine with cinnamon and sugar and boil together.  When boiling, add pears, and heat to boiling again.  Then add ginger and saffron.   Check for sharp/sweet flavor, and serve.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Christine Seelye-King 
  To: Cooks within the SCA 
  Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2003 5:43 PM
  Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Fish in Feast (was alot of things)

  Hmm, that does sound good.  It almost sounds like Icelandic Chicken without
  the bacon, using any number of meats.
  Christianna

   There is a fish dish out of Geuter Spise that I really want to try:
  19. This is a good salmon dish.
  Take a salmon, scale it, split and cut the two halves in pieces. Chop
  parsley, sage, take ground ginger, pepper, anise, and salt to taste. Make a
  coarse dough according to the size of the pieces, sprinkle the pieces with
  the spices, and cover them completely with the dough. If you can fit them
  into a mould, then do so. In this way you can prepare pike, trout, bream,
  and bake each one in its own dough. If it is a meat-day, however, you can
  prepare chickens, partridges, pigeons, and pheasants, provided that you have
  the noulds, and fry them in lard or cook them in their moulds. Take chicken
  breast or other good meat, THis will improve your art of cooking even more,
  and don't oversalt.

  Glad Tidings,
  Serena da Riva

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