The Queen's Meal - Food History Notes

900g morello cherries - 1/2 litre red wine - 2 egg yolks - 175g caster sugar - 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon - 225g puff pastry - a little sugar for the crust.   Cook the cherries in the wine, sugar and spices until the fruit is tender and the liquid has reduced to 250ml. Drain the cherries and place in a pie dish. Beat the egg yolks into the wine syrup and pour over the fruit. Roll out the pastry and cut a strip of about 1 cm, to line the pie dish, moisten it wit water and place the pie lid on it, cutting three diagonal slits in the centre of the crust, bake at 220º, for 30 minutes.   Bibliography: Brown, Michèle Brown - Eating Like a King, A History of Royal Recipes, Tempus, 2006.  900g de cerejas morello - 1/2 litro de vinho tinto - 2 gemas - 175g de açúcar refinado - 1/4 colher de chá de gengibre em pó - 1/2 colher de chá de canela em pó - 225g de massa folhada - um pouco de açúcar para a crosta. Cozinhe as cerejas no vinho, açúcar e

To make a very good apple tart. Peel the apples, and remove the cores, and them be afterwards be finely chopped. After that put a half pound of sugar and a half ounce of finely ground cinnamon thereon and make a dough for a tart and spread it on top. Excerpt from Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin, Germany, 16th Century, translated by V. Armstrong, available online in  David Friedman's website http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Sabrina_Welserin.html Para fazer uma tarte de maçã muito boa. Descasque as maçãs e remova os núcleos, e pique-os finamente. Depois disso, coloque meio quilo de açúcar e meia onça de canela finamente moída, faça uma massa para uma tarte e espalhe por cima. Trecho de Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin, Alemanha, século XVI, traduzido por V. Armstrong, disponível on-line no site de David Friedman http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Sabrina_Welserin.html

   On the 14th of January, 1507, was born in Torquemada, Catarina of Austria. She was the daughter of Queen Joana of Castile,"the mad" and the Archduke of Austria and Duke of Burgundy, Philip, "the handsome", who died before she was born. She was named in honor of her maternal aunt, Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII of England. She remained with her  mentally unstable  mother, imprisoned at Tordesillas castle, until she was about to marry. Joana was still able to fulfill her duties as a mother and made sure Catarina had the same excellent education as herself, preparing her well for future life at court. Catarina was fluent in Latin, Greek and Spanish. She had religious, humanist and classical knowledge. She was also an excellent dancer, embroider and could play the organ.     In 1525, Catarina married her cousin, King João III of Portugal. Even though it was an arranged marriage, Catarina and João truly loved each other and spend together as

24 cooked shelled prawns - a pinch of pepper - 1 tsp anchovy sauce - 1 egg beaten - flour Pound the prawns in a mortar with the pepper and anchovy essence. Mix in the beaten egg to bind and form into rissoles. Roll in flour and fry gently in oil until lightly browned on both sides. Renfrew, Jane - A Taste of History, 10,000 Years of Food in Britain, British Museum Press, 1993, pág. 83. 24 camarões sem casca cozidos - uma pitada de pimenta - 1 colher de chá de molho de anchovas - 1 ovo batido - farinha Esmague os camarões num almofariz, junto com a pimenta e o molho de anchovas. Misture o ovo batido para ligar e forme rissóis. Enrole a farinha e frite delicadamente em óleo até dourar levemente dos dois lados.

4 50g apples (peeled and chopped) - 150 ml almond milk - 2 tbs honey - 100g white breadcrumbs - pinch of saffron - pinch of salt. Simmer the apples in 150 ml of water for 10 minutes until soft, rub trough a sieve and return to the pan. Add the almond milk, breadcrumbs, honey, saffron and salt into the apple purée, stir continuously until it has boiled for 5 minutes. Pour into a dish, sprinkle with a little sugar, ground pepper and ground cloves.  Bibliography: Brears, Peter - Cooking and Dining in Medieval England, Prospect Books, 2012. Pág. 269.  450g de maçãs (descascadas e picadas) - 150 ml de leite de amêndoa - 2 colheres de sopa de mel - 100g de farinha de rosca branca - pitada de açafrão - pitada de sal. Cozinhe as maçãs em 150 ml de água por 10 minutos até ficarem macias, passe por um passador e retorne à panela. Adicione o leite de amêndoa, a farinha de rosca, o mel, o açafrão e o sal ao puré de maçã e mexa continuamente até ferver por 5 minutos. Despeje n

450g onions - 1tbs (each) sage and thyme - 100g drained cottage cheese - 2 eggs - 25g butter - pinch of saffron - 1/2 tsp salt - 15g sugar - pinch of cinnamon - 2 tbs currants Peel the onions, simmer with the herbs for 20 minutes. Chop them finely, grind the cheese to a smooth paste, beat in the eggs, mix in the onions and the other ingredients, pour into a greased shallow dish, bake at 180º for 40 minutes. These are only guide measures, in reality medieval recipes didn't have any quantities written, so in this case I decided to use more cottage cheese (300g), in order not to waste it. I have seen some different interpretations of this same recipe, for instance, in this link:  http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/recipes/to_make_a_tart.html Bibliography: Brears, Peter - Cooking and Dining in Medieval England, Prospect Books, 2012. Pág. 128.  450g de cebola - 1 colher de sopa (cada) de sálvia e tomilho - 100g de queijo cottage escorrido - 2 ovos - 25g de manteiga - 1 pitada de

4 eggs - 300ml milk - 2 tbs plain flour - pinch of saffron - 2 tsp sugar - 2 tsp honey - 1 tsp ginger - 1 tbs sugar mixed with cinnamon. Beat the flour, saffron, ginger, sugar and honey into a little portion of the milk, then beat in the remaining milk to form a smooth mixture. Slowly bring it to boil, stirring continuously, and set aside. Lightly poach the eggs in water, arrange on a dish, pour the sauce over, and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Bibliography: Brears, Peter - Cooking and Dining in Medieval England, Prospect Books, 2012. Pág. 257.  4 ovos - 300 ml de leite - 2 colheres de sopa de farinha de trigo - 1 pitada de açafrão - 2 colheres de chá de açúcar - 2 colheres de chá de mel - 1 colher de chá de gengibre - 1 colher de sopa de açúcar misturado com canela. Bata a farinha, o açafrão, o gengibre, o açúcar e o mel num pouco de leite, depois junte o leite restante e bata para formar uma mistura suave. Deixe ferver lentamente, mexendo conti

Pastry (I used puff pastry) - 75g currants - 75g raisins - 6 sliced prunes - 2 tbs sugar - 2 blades mace - 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon - 675g chicken - 35g butter - 1 egg - 1tbs white wine - 1 tbs rosewater - 1 tbs white wine vinegar - large pinch of cinnamon Line a cake tin or pie dish with the pastry. Mix the dried fruit, mace,  half tsp cinnamon and half the sugar, put a little of this mixture into the pie, layer it with the chicken, finishing with the fruit mixture and the butter in pieces, cover with a pastry lid. Bake at 150º, until the meat is tender. Beat the remaining ingredients together, cut the lid out of the pie, pour them in, and shake until incorporated with the pie juices. Brears, Peter - Cooking and Dining in Tudor and Early Stuart England,  Prospect Books, 2005, pág. 159, 160.  Massa (usei massa folhada) - 75g de groselhas - 75g de passas - 6 ameixas cortadas - 2 colheres de sopa de açúcar - 2 blades mace  - 1/2 colher de chá de canela em pó - 675g de fran

6 egg yolks - 100g caster sugar - 300ml milk - 300ml double cream - 150g raspberries.  Beat the egg yolks to a froth with the sugar, add the milk and cream. Cook in low heat in a saucepan, until it has custard consistency. Take of the heat. Smash the raspberries and add the purée to the cream. Let the mixture cool down completely and freeze in a suitable container.  To avoid ice-crystals, I added cling film around the container.  Bibliography: Vogler, Pen - Dinner with Mr Darcy, Recipes inspired by the novels and letters of Jane Austen. Pag. 108/109, Cico Books, London.  6 gemas - 100g de açúcar refinado - 300ml de leite - 300ml de natas - 150g de framboesas. Bata as gemas com o açúcar, adicione o leite e as natas. Cozinhe em lume brando numa panela, até obter consistência de creme. Retire do fogão, esmague as framboesas e adicione o purê ao creme. Deixe a mistura esfriar completamente e congele num recipiente adequado. Para evitar cristais de gel

Cook it (the fish) in water or fry it in oil. Grind almonds, [soak] in your broth, puree of peas or boiled water, and make [almond] milk. Grind ginger and some cumin steeped in wine and verjuice, and boil with your milk. For invalids, you need some sugar in it. Bibliography: Le Viandier de Taillevent, english translation by James Prescott in  http://www.telusplanet.net/public/prescotj/data/viandier/viandier429.html Cozinhe o peixe em água ou frite em óleo. Moa as amêndoas, deixe de molho no caldo do peixe, ou no puré de ervilhas ou em água fervida e faça leite [de amêndoas]. Moa o gengibre e um pouco de cominho embebido em vinho e agraço e ferva com o leite de amêndoas. Para inválidos, junte de um pouco de açúcar. Bibliografia: Le Viandier de Taillevent, tradução para o inglês de James Prescott em http://www.telusplanet.net/public/prescotj/data/viandier/viandier429.html

     Take spinach and blanch it as if you were making cooked spinach, and chop it small. Take approximately one handful, when it is chopped, cheese or meat from a chicken or capon that was boiled or roasted. Then take twice as much cheese as herb, or of chicken an equal amount, and beat two or three eggs into it and make a good dough, put salt and pepper into it and make a dough with good flour, as if you would make a tart, and when you have made little flat cakes of dough then put a small ball of filling on the edge of the flat cake and form it into a dumpling. And press it together well along the edges and place it in broth and let it cook about as long as for a softboiled egg. The meat should be finely chopped and the cheese finely grated.  Bibliography: Sabina Welser's Cookbook, tr. from Das Kochbuch der Sabina Welserin (c. 1553) by Valoise Armstrong, Little Rock, Arizona, 1998    in  David Friedman and Elizabeth Cook - How to Milk an Almond, Stuff an Egg and Armor a

Put a pound of fine sugar, a pound of fresh butter, five eggs, and a little mace, beaten, into a broad pan; beat it with your hands till it is very light, and looks curdling; then put thereto a pound of flour, half a pound of currants very dry, beat them together, fill tin pans, and bake them in a slack oven. You may make seed-cakes the same way, only put in carraway-seeds instead of currants. I used the oven at 200º C, for 40 minutes.  Bibliography: Carter, Susannah: The frugal housewife, or Complete woman cook, 1772 in https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/evans/N09703.0001.001?view=toc Coloque 45g de açúcar fino, 45g de manteiga fresca, cinco ovos e um pouco de canela numa panela larga. Bata com as mãos até ficar bem claro e parecer coalhado; em seguida, coloque um quilo de farinha, meio quilo de groselhas bem secas, bata-os juntos, encha as formas e leve ao forno médio. Você pode fazer bolos de sementes da mesma maneira, em vez de groselhas.  Eu usei o forno a

The Good Housewife's Jewell (1596): To Make a tarte of Strawberries. Wash your strawberries, and put them into your Tarte, and season them with suger, cynamon and Ginger, and put in a littl red wine into them. I used a shortcrust pastry. This tart goes very well with cream! Para fazer uma tarte de morangos. Lave os morangos, coloque-os na sua Tarte, tempere-os com açúcar, canela e gengibre e coloque um pouco de vinho tinto. Eu usei massa quebrada. Esta tarte vai muito bem com natas!

1 cup of mixed vegetables (carrots, parsnips, potatoes, etc.) - 1 cup of boiling stock or water - 1 teaspoon salt - 2 or 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs - 2 tablespoons chopped parsley - 28 g grated cheese Dice the vegetables, boiled them for 20 minutes with salt. Add breadcrumbs and simmer for a few minutes. Mash well, season and add the parsley and cheese on top before serving. Bibliography: Norman, Jill - Eating for Victory (reproductions of official second world war instruction leaflets). 1 chávena de vegetais misturados (cenoura, pastinaca, batata, etc.) - 1 chávena de caldo ou água a ferver- 1 colher de chá de sal - 2 ou 3 colheres de sopa de migalhas de pão - 2 colheres de sopa de salsa picada - 28 g de queijo ralado Corte os legumes, coza-os em água a ferver por 20 minutos com sal. Adicione as migalhas de pão e ferva por alguns minutos. Esmague tudo muito bem, tempere e adicione a salsa e o queijo por cima antes de servir. Bibliografia: Norman, Jill - Eating for Victo