Fit for a queen: 3 medieval recipes enjoyed at English and Scottish royal courts

History Extra

15th-century banquet. © The Art Archive / Alamy

Rys Lumbard Stondyne

Period: England, 14th century
Description: Sweet Rice and Egg Pudding
Original recipe
And for to make rys lumbard stondyne, take raw yolkes of
eyren, and bete hom, and put hom to the rys beforesaid, and
qwen hit is sothen take hit off the fyre, and make thenne a
dragée of the yolkes of harde eyren broken, and sugre and
gynger mynced, and clowes, and maces; and qwen hit is put
in dyshes, strawe the dragée theron, and serve hit forth.
Modern recipe
• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups beef, chicken,
or other broth
• 4 raw egg yolks
• 2 tsp sugar, or to taste
• 1/8 tsp saffron
• Salt to taste
Dragées
• 2 hard-boiled egg yolks
• 1 tsp sugar, or to taste
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1/8 tsp each cloves and mace
1) In a heavy saucepan or pot combine rice, broth and salt. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes, or until all liquid has been absorbed.
2) When rice is done, stir in raw egg yolks, sugar and saffron, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture gets very thick. Dish into a lightly oiled mould or bowl, cool, and turn out for serving.
3) To make the dragées, in a bowl combine hard-boiled egg yolks, grated fresh ginger, sugar and spices, and blend into a paste. Roll this paste into little balls about half an inch across, and decorate the moulded Rys Lumbard with them.

 

Great Pie

Ingredients
• 1 kg mixed game (venison, pheasant, rabbit and boar)
• 2 large onions, peeled and diced
• 1 garlic clove
• 120 grams of brown mushrooms, sliced
• 120 grams smoked back bacon, diced
• 25 grams plain flour
• Juice and zest of 1 orange
• 300 ml chicken stock
• 70 ml of Merlot wine
• Salt and pepper
Modern recipe (serves eight to 12)
1) Preheat oven to 180°C.
2) In a frying pan, brown the game.
3) Soften the onions and then add the garlic, mushrooms and bacon and fry for a few minutes. Add the stock and orange juice and zest. Raise it to a boil then simmer for an hour until the meat is tender.
4) Let the mixture cool and add it to your short crust pastry case. Add a pastry lid and press it onto the lip of the base then trim it. Cut a steam hole or two and brush with a beaten egg all over.
5) Put the pie in the oven and bake for one hour. Cool before serving.

_{An early 14th-century royal meal; illustration from Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages from the Seventh to the Seventeenth Centuries by Henry Shaw, (London, 1843). (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)}

Malaches of Pork

Period: England, 14th century
Description: Pork Quiche
Original recipe
Hewe pork al to pecys and medle it with ayren & chese
igrated. Do therto powdour fort, safroun & pynes with salt.
Make a crust in a trap; bake it wel therinne, and serue it forth.
Modern recipe (Serves eight to 12)
• Pastry dough for 1 nine-inch pie crust
• 1 pound lean pork, cubed
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup grated, hard cheese
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Pinch of each, cloves, mace, black pepper
1) Preheat oven to 230°C.
2) Line a nine-inch pie pan with the pastry dough, and bake it for five to 10 minutes to harden it. Remove it, and reduce oven temperature to 175°C.
3) In a frying pan, over medium heat, brown the cubed pork until it is tender.
4) In a bowl, beat the eggs and spices together.

5) Line the bottom of the pie crust with the browned pork, grated cheese, and pine nuts. Pour the egg and spice mixture over them.
6) Put the pie in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick draws out clean. Cool before serving