Waiter, There's Something in my... Fifteenth Century Stew

Unlike today's multi-ingredient miscellanies, medieval stews were simple affairs. Some meat, some onions, a few fresh herbs and (for the rich) some spices. Alcohol, broth or almond milk might be added, maybe even an egg or two, but on the whole simplicity was key. The meat was either stewed in liquid, or pre-roasted and then stewed (this makes excellent use of roast dinner leftovers). Our practise of tossing cubed meat in flour and cooking it before putting it in a stew is a French technique introduced around the C.17th in England.

So although a little on the late side, here's my contribution to this month's Stew theme of the Waiter there is something in my... blog event run by Spittoon, Cook Sister! and The Passionate Cook. This was for a relaxed family dinner attended by Meesha, Mike, Tanya, Mark and myself this past Saturday.

The recipe is taken from a scroll which starts "Here Beginnethe a Boke of Kokery" (the closest thing it gets to a title). This scroll, commonly known as Harleian MS. 4016 and held in the British Museum, was written about 1450 C.E. The recipe specifies roasted mutton or chicken or 'such other flessh' i.e. meat, but tastes just as good with browned beef.

Admittedly my original motivation for choosing this recipe is that it has an ale version. Tanya had given me a small bottle of Guinness, which personally I loathe - it tastes like drinking ink to me (sorry, all you Guinness fans! but you can point and laugh over the fact I love Marmite). It does, however, taste fantastic when cooked with. Any beer or ale will do however. I don't claim that my recipe is a totally faithful redaction of the medieval original, but it is a rich, flavorsome and incredibly easy to make stew you're sure to enjoy.

Original Text:
Take faire Mutton that hath ben roste, or elles Capons, or suche other flessh, and mynce it faire; put hit into a possenet, or elles bitwen ii siluer disshes; caste thereto faire parcely, And oynons small mynced; then caste there-to wyn, and a litull vynegre or vergeous, pouder of peper, Canel, salt and saffron, and lete it stue on the faire coles, And then serue hit forthe; if he have no wyne ne vynegre, take Ale, Mustard, and A quantite of vergeous, and do this in the stede of vyne or vinegre.

Rough translation:
Take good roasted Mutton that has been roasted, or else Chickens or other such meat and mince it medium-size; put it into a small pot or else between two silver dishes [?]; cast into it a medium amount of parsley and onions minced small; then add in wine and a little vinegar or verjuice, ground pepper, cinnamon, salt and saffron, and let it stew on the hot coals, and then serve it forth; if you have neither wine nor vinegar, take ale, mustard and a quantity of verjuice, and use this instead of wine or vinegar.

Recipe (for 4 people)
600 gm cubed stewing beef/pork/chicken (pre-roasted if possible)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 medium onions, minced small
1 330 ml bottle Guiness (any other ale will do)
1 Tb wine vinegar (or verjuice if you have some)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
4 strands saffron (soaked in warm water for 10 minutes)

1. As the meat wasn't roasted beforehand, I browned it in a little butter first.
2. Put the meat, half the ale, the parsley, vinegar (don't miss this out! it is an essential taste in the stew), cinnamon (I like cinnamon but you can reduce it if you wish), pepper, salt and softened saffron in a heavy pot. Don't forget to soak the saffron beforehand or you won't get any flavour from it.
3. Simmer for 3 hours.
4. Add the rest of the ale halfway through the cooking, making sure the stew doesn't boil or dry out. If you need more liquid, use either water or beef stock or consommé. The stew will reduce down to a thick syrupy liquid by the time you serve (the above photo shows it right at the beginning of cooking).
5. I turned it off and let the stew 'rest' for a couple of hours before reheating it for dinner. This helps deepen the flavour.

---

Bibliography:
"Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-books: Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430), & Harl. MS. 4016 (ab. 1450), with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1439, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS. 55"
AUSTIN, Thomas. (Ed.)
Early English Text Society, Oxford University Press 1964, 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press, 1888
ISBN-10: 0859918491 (hardback) or 1402196776 (softback)

Comments

[Richard Leader]

Excellent recipe - what it shows to me is how on the one hand, things haven't changed much, but on the other hand, how unadventurous we became (19th centrury?) in spicing dishes such as this - it's not often that you'd find a beef dish containing cinnamon or saffron today.

The only similar recipe I've ever cooked was from The Forme of Currie which was a pork with corriander recipe (called cormarie or something from memory!) which was terrific!

[Christina]

Thanks! Yes, the change in spicing is an interesting fashion to see.
Ooh, yes, cormarye! Delicious! Definitely one of my favs and a favorite with the renactment crowd. There's a good recipe for it here: http://www.medievalcookery.com/recipes/cormarye.shtm

[Jeanne]

Good to see you back and blogging ;-)

Great recipe - I love the original text! I think you should post all your recipes henceforth in 15th century English :) And the stew sounds great, particularly the interesting addition of cinnamon which I would usually only use with venison. Hope to see you back for next month's WTSIM!