Garlic Tart (Medieval)

For the Crust:

1 3/4 cups of flour
9 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup water, approximately
1 scant teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

5 heads garlic, peeled
7 ounces fresh (or salt) pork belly
6 ounces whole milk farmers cheese
5 ounces cream cheese
3 eggs
12 threads saffron

For the Spice Mixture

1/3 teaspoon each of ground cloves, ground nutmeg and ground ginger
1 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and freshly ground pepper

Cut the butter into small pieces and cut into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of sawdust. Dissolve the salt in halt the water and add it to the flour mixture.  Combine quickly with your fingertips, without overworking, just until the dough comes together.  If necessary, add more water as required. Form into a thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper, and leave to rest in the refrigerator at least 2 hours before using.

Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add the peeled garlic, lower the heat to medium, and cook for 15 minutes.  Drain and transfer to a bowl of cold water.

Grind the pork in a food processor or meat grinder, or chop finely with a knife.  Do not trim away the fat. (I would guess bacon is ok to use, or simply eliminate the meat)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Drain the garlic thoroughly and puree it in a food processor or mortar and pestle.  In a mixing bowl, add the garlic, cheeses, the ground port, the spice mixture, the saffron (crushed between your fingers) and the eggs.  Add salt to taste and stir the mixture until smooth.  IF you are using salt pork belly, be very sparing with the salt).

Roll out 2/3 of the pastry and line a deep 9 inch pan.  Add the filling.  Roll out remaining pastry and cover the pie, pressing the seems tightly.  Put the tart on a baking sheet  to catch an drips and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.

Garlic Tart

375g all-butter puff pastry
3 medium heads of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
220ml water
¾ tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp chopped rosemary
1 tsp chopped thyme, plus a few whole sprigs to finish
120g soft, creamy goat’s cheese (such as Rosary)
120g hard, mature goat’s cheese (such as one from Woolsery Cheese)
2 free-range eggs
100ml double cream
100ml crème fraîche
salt and black pepper


Have ready a shallow, loose-bottomed, 28cm fluted tart tin. Roll out the puff pastry into a circle that will line the bottom and sides of the tin, plus a little extra. Line the tin with the pastry. Place a large circle of greaseproof paper on the bottom and fill up with baking beans. Leave to rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Place the tart case in the oven and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and paper, then bake for a further 5–10 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Set aside. Leave the oven on.
While the tart case is baking, make the caramelized garlic. Put the cloves in a small saucepan and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a simmer and blanch for 3 minutes, then drain well. Dry the saucepan, return the cloves to it and add the olive oil. Fry the garlic cloves on a high heat for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and water and bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add the sugar, rosemary, chopped thyme and ¼ teaspoon salt. Continue simmering on a medium flame for 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the garlic cloves are coated in a dark caramel syrup. Set aside.
To assemble the tart, break both types of goat’s cheese into pieces and scatter in the pastry case. Spoon the garlic cloves and syrup evenly over the cheese. In a jug whisk together the eggs, creams, ½ teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Pour this custard over the tart filling to fill the gaps, making sure that you can still see the garlic and cheese over the surface.
Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/Gas Mark 3 and place the tart inside. Bake for 35–45 minutes, or until the tart filling has set and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little. Then take out of tin, trim the pastry edge if needed, lay a few sprigs of thyme on top and serve warm (it reheats well!) with a crisp salad.

From Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, £25). For the chance to win a copy visit bahighlife.com/Competitions-And-Offers.html


I made a couple of changes for my first attempt at this.  I used a regular pie crust and mozzarella cheese.  I will try this again in a few months with the puff pastry dough (when my son comes home for spring break---he loves garlic)  Not sure I will use the goat cheese though.  My family really doesn't like it.

Yule log Roll (not a medieval recipe)

My son and I made this Yule Log into a camp fire log for his Blue and Gold Cub Scout  Dinner. (which is why if has the fake fire added to it)

The recipe comes from Dorothy Morrison's "YULE A Celebration of Light and Warmth"

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (or a mixture of both)
1 cup flaked coconut
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 box chocolate cake mix (or homemade cake from scratch)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 can ready to spread chocolate frosting (or homemade)

for decorations: green gummy candies (leaf shaped) and red hot cinnamon candies, small Yule candles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 15x10 inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil; make sure the foil lines the sides and bottom completely.  Melt the butter in the foil lined plan in the oven, sprinkle evenly with nuts and coconut and drizzle the condensed milk on top.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs at high speed for 4-6 minutes or until thick and lemon colored.  At very low speed, gradually blend in the water.  Add the cake mix and blend for a minute or so until all the dry ingredients are mixed. Pour the batter over the condensed milk and spread it evenly.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.

Lightly sprinkle a large kitchen towel with powered sugar.  Remove the cake from the oven, cover it with the sugared towel,and immediately turn the cake upside down onto the towel.

Remove foil carefully; try not to disturb the hot filing on top.  Begin with one of the short sides of the cake and gently roll up with the filling inside the roll.  When you have rolled up the entire cake, wrap the towel around it and let it cool completely.

Ice with chocolate frosting, then comb a fork through the frosting to fashion tree bark. Garnish with green gummy leaves (I used green frosting to make leaves) trimmed to look like holly leaves and use the cinnamon candies for holly berries.  add Yule candles if you like.

Lamb (or Pork) Loin with Apple and Ginger Stuffing

I have mad this with both lamb and pork loins and both were amazingly good.

Loin Of Lamb with Apple and Ginger Stuffing

3 lb Loin of lamb, boned 2 Cloves garlic Sea salt and pepper 2 c Cider (preferably hard) 2 Cooking apples Juice of 1 lemon 1 ts Sugar 1 ts Ground ginger   First make the stuffing. Peel and core the apples, slice thinly and put into a saucepan with the lemon juice, sugar and ginger. Cook over a gentle heat until the apples are just soft, then set aside to cool. . Preheat the oven for 400 F. Trim the lamb, remove the skin and score the fat. Lay the joint out on a board, fat side down. Spoon the apple mixture along the center. Roll up and tie with twine. Peel the garlic and cut it into slivers, then pierce the joint all over with the point of a sharp knife and slip the slivers of garlic into the pockets formed. Season with the salt and pepper, put the joint in a roasting pan and cook in the hot oven for 30 minutes, then heat the cider in a small pan and pour it over the lamb. Reduce the heat to moderate (350F) and cook for another 40 minutes, basting frequently. When the lamb is cooked, put it onto a heated serving dish and keep warm. Remove any excess fat from the pan juices, boil up over a high heat until reduced slightly, and serve with the sliced lamb.

Cod Cakes

I tried several different recipes, but I found I liked the ones with the potatoes best.

1 lb of cod fillets

2 medium-sized russett potatoes

1 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Grapeseed oil, or other high smoke point oil such as canola oil, for frying

Boil and mash the potatoes, set them aside.
Boil the codfish until it flakes easkly. Drain and flake the fish with a fork. Be sure to remove all bones.
Mix the flaked fish, the potatoes and the rest of the ingredients together well by hand. If the mixture is too crumbly, add another egg. If too sticky, add some more bread crumbs.
Form the mixture into cakes and fry them on medium high heat in a skillet coated with oil.

Makes about 12 cakes

The Wedding Feast of "Arya" and Ramsey

"The Lord of White Harbor had furnished the food and drink, black stout and yellow beer and wines red and gold and purple, brought up from the warm south on flat bottomed ships and aged in his cellars.  The wedding guests gorged on cod cakes and winter squash, hills of neeps and great rounds of cheese, on smoking slabs of mutton and beef ribs charred almost black, and lastly three great wedding pies, as wide across as wagon wheels, their flaky crusts stuffed to bursting with carrots, onions, turnips, parsnips, mushrooms and chunks of pork swimming in a savory brown gravy."

"'Wash it down with Arbor gold and savor every bite. I know I shall.'"

The best thing about this whole feast is the pies, of course.  A little later while a bit drunk, Lord Mandarly asks for the song about the Rat Cook.  This pretty much gives away that the pies are really "Frey Pies" and filled with the 3 missing Freys.  I, of course, will actually use pork, as there are not any Freys available for me. ;)

Cod Cakes
Winter Squash
Neeps
Lamb and beef ribs
Wedding Pies

Henne Dorre---Golden Cardamon Chicken

1 large roasting chicken, cut into serving size pieces
1/4 cup walnuts, courseley ground
1/4 cup filbrets, coursely ground
4 tablespoons butter, for sauteing
3 tart apples
2/3 cup golden raisins
1/2 cuo Currants
1/2 tsp cinnimon
6 egg yokes
1/4 tsp fresh rosemary
3/4 tsp crushed cardamon
1/8 tsp Saffron
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a Dutch oven or shallow covered baking dish, saute the chicken and nuts in butter until the meat is white. Leave in dish and remove from heat.

Cut apples into thin slivers. Mix raisins and currants with apples.

Stir together all spices and salt, and mix with fruits.

Distribute the spiced fruit amongst the chicken and nuts.

Pour on mixed wine and chicken broth. Bake covered in slow oven for :45 to 55 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Remove from oven while preparing golden glaze. Turn oven to 400 degrees F.

Beat the egg yolks, saffron and honey thoroughly. Evenly pour over chicken so as to coat each piece. Or use a pastry brush to 'paint' each portion gold. Return to oven uncovered for 5 to 7 minutes to let endoring set. Serve warm.

From _Fabulous Feasts - Medieval Cookery and Ceremony_ by Madeleine Pelner Cosman George Braziller, Inc. 1976

Dornish Eggs with Hot Peppers

This recipe is adapted from a orth African dish called Ajja

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 pound highly seasoned smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch rounds
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1/2 tsp cummin
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/4  tsp ground caraway seeds
2 medium-sized firm ripe tomatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup cold water
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea Salt
1 medium-sized green bell pepper, quartered, seeded, deribbed and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch wide strips
1 medium-sized red bell pepper, quartered, seeded, deribbed and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch wide strips
6 eggs

Braised Venison with Mushrooms

2 tablespoons bacon drippings

1 1/2 pounds venison, cut into 2 inch cubes

2 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

2 medium onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons cognac or brandy (optional)

2 cups dry red wine

1 cube beef bouillon

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 1/4 teaspoons dried rosemary

2 bay leaves

1 (8 ounce) package baby carrots

1 tablespoon flour

2 tablespoons water

Melt the bacon drippings in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the venison in two batches until nicely browned and remove. Stir in the shiitake, onions, and garlic; cook until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the cognac, wine, and bouillon cube, simmer for 30 seconds to remove the alcohol flavor and dissolve the bouillon.
Stir in the venison, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer gently until the venison is tender, about two hours or more; adding water as needed.
If using baby carrots, add them during the last half hour of cooking. When the venison is tender, you may wish to thicken the sauce by dissolving the flour in 2 tablespoons of water and stirring it into the sauce.

Fish Stew

1/2 large onion

1/4 cup butter ot margarine

2 cups water

3 cups diced, peeled potatoes

1 pound fresh or frozen cod fillets, cut into large pieces

1 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 cup milk

1 (12 fl oz) can of evaporated milk

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon pepper

In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, saute onion in butter. Add water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes; cook for 10 minutes. Add fish and lemon juice; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add milk, evaporated milk, salt and pepper and cook an additional 10 minutes.  Serve in a bread trencher.

Trout baked in Clay

18	–21 dried cornhusks (the kind used to make tamales)
18	pounds nontoxic Terra Cotta Cone 04 to 5 clay (about 3 pounds per trout)
6	whole fresh trout, about 12 ounces each
1½	teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1½	teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
12	green onions, grilled
12	large sprigs thyme
12	sprigs whole fresh sage, or 18 sage leaves
12	strips applewood-smoked bacon

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
Soak cornhusks in warm water about 10 minutes, until soft and pliable. Remove from water and set aside.
Divide clay in six equal portions and cut one portion in half. On flat work surface or cutting board, use rolling pin to roll out, as you would pastry dough, each of the two lumps of clay to about ¼ inch thick. Make sure clay is about 1 inch larger than trout on all sides.
Open each trout, and season inside with salt and pepper. Stuff 2 grilled green onions into cavity, then add 2 sprigs thyme and 2 sprigs sage (or 3 sage leaves). Fold trout halves together. Wrap two strips bacon around fish, one near the head, the other near the tail.
Arrange two cornhusk sections with tapered ends pointing outward, to form a sort of cornhusk canoe. Wrap trout in husks, placing a third section of cornhusk on top. Overlap cornhusks so that no part of trout is exposed. Using cornhusk ties (rip one husk into small strips), tie cornhusk securely around fish at nose and tail, making sure fish is completely covered by husks. (You’ll need 3 cornhusks for each trout; depending on size, some may require a fourth husk.) Cornhusks help fish bake evenly and keep it from sticking to clay.
Place both pieces of rolled-out clay lengthwise on work surface. Place cornhusk-wrapped trout on one piece of clay, cover with second piece, and pinch edges together to seal. With knife, make 3–5 slits in top layer of clay. Place on baking sheet and set aside.
Repeat above steps until all trout are stuffed, wrapped in bacon and cornhusks, and sealed in clay.
Place clay-covered trout on baking sheet and bake in oven 20 minutes. (I usually use both oven racks, with 2–3 trout on each sheet.)
Trout is completely baked when color of clay has changed from dark to light; remove from oven. When clay is cool enough to handle, crack open with kitchen mallet. Clay will easily peel away from cornhusks and can be saved for future use.
Serve trout whole in husks, or cut off head and tail, make an incision down backbone of each fish, and remove spine, resulting in two fillets.

 

Making the "eight" on a Plate

The HBO Game of Thrones adaption added a new scene and a new phrase: "Making the Eight".  They even have a tee-shirt with a map and 8 "X"s.  A discussion about the kind of person who would wear this shirt, especially at conventions, really spoiled my amusement with it.

Then I thought that if women can take back "bitch" and "slut" and own them, maybe we non-pervs can take back "the Eight."

My idea is to "make the eight on a plate."  A dish from each of the eight regions highlighted on the shirt/map.
As much as I can, I'll use examples from the books.  Where I don't have examples, I'll look for authentic medieval recipes or close adaptions. (Click the links for the recipes)

1)  The North:  Honeyed Chicken, listed as part of the feast to welcome King Robert to the North (GoT).
2)  The Riverlands:  Trout Baked in Clay.  This is actually served during the feast after day one of the Hand's Tourney, (Jeoffery shared it with Sansa (GoT)) but with the trout being the fish of the Tully's I felt it was a good dish for the Riverlands.
3) The Iron Islands: Fish Stew with a thick cream sauce in a trencher of bread eaten by Theon at the "feast" on Pyke with his father and sister (CoK).
4) The Eyrie:
5) Lannisport/ The West Lands:  Henne Dorre (Golden Cardamon Chicken).  It took me a while to figure up a dish from the Westlands.  I haven't found any textual evidence of a specialty dish from here, so I went with a dish colored 'gold' in honor if the Lannisters.
6) Highgarden:   Baked Pears.  While a lot of the items served at the feast Cat attends in ACoK seem to be common throught the kingdom, the one that that always seems to be mentioned if fruit.  I think the pears would be the perfect dish to represent Highgarden.
7) Storms End: Braised Venison with Mushrooms. I haven't found anything yet in the books that is a dish from this area, but based on two things, I think it would be fair to assume venison would have been plentiful in the area: 1: the arms of Storms End is a stag's rack; 2) the location, near the Kingswood.
8) Dorne:  Dornish Eggs with Hot Peppers. On the day of Joffery's wedding (SoS), Sansa tries this dish, but finds it too hot.

Tart/Pastry Crust

Take fyne floure and a curscy of fayre water and a dysche of swete butter and a lyttel saffron, and the yolkes of two egges and make it thynne and as tender as ye maye. (16c English)
 
3/4 c flour
1 T + 1 t water
1/2 stick = 4 T butter
6 threads saffron
1 egg yolk
Cut butter into flour, then crush saffron into 1 t of water; mix that and the rest of the water with the egg yolk and stir it into the flour-butter mixture. Roll out.

A Tart of Strawberries

Take and strain them with the yolks of four eggs, and a little white bread grated, then season it up with sugar and sweet butter and so bake it. (16c English)
 
2 c strawberries
4 egg yolks
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/3 c sugar
4 T butter
9" pie shell

Force strawberries through a strainer or run through a blender, then mix with everything else (the butter should be melted). Bake crust for 10 minutes, then put filling into the crust and bake at 375deg. for 20 minutes.

Brie (or Cheese) Tart

tart de bry (14c English)
Take a crust ynche deepe in a trap. Take yolkes of ayren rawe & cheese ruayn & medle it & pe yolkes togyder.

10-12 ounces of semi-soft cheese, such as brie, that's not too soft - you want to be able to cut it into tiny pieces
saffron threads (soaked in 1tsp warm water for 5 minutes)
1 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
3 egg yolks
1/2 - 1  tsp sugar
pinch of salt

Mix egg yolks and saffron (with the water) together. Add the cheese and spices, whisk until smooth and pour into the crust.  Bake at 375 25-30 minutes.  It might puff up a bit, but it does flatton out as it cools.

Tart for an Ember Day

TART IN YMBRE  DAY. XX.VIII. V. (14th c. cookery)  (also, Ember days are fasr days before feast days when meat was not allowed)

Take and parboile Oynouns presse out the water & hewe hem smale. take
brede & bray it in a morter. and temper it up with Ayren. do therto
butter, safroun and salt. & raisouns corauns. & a litel sugur with
powdour douce. and bake it in a trape. & serue it forth.

6-8oz of cheese, grated
1lb onions (about 4 medium)
2 tbs fresh sage or 1 1/2tsp dried
3 tbs butter
4 eggs
1 tb sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
4 tbs currants
9" pie crust

Chop and boil onions 10 minutes, drain well. Mix everything, put in pie crust and bake at 350 until done (about 50 minutes--knife inserted in center comes out clean)

Bubblie Pies from Pern

"The Dragon Riders of Pern" was my first set of fantasy novels and I still enjoy reading stories of Pern.  In "The Harper Hall" trilogy we get some of the best looks at what they call "gathers" and a popular dessert snack called "bubblie pies".  As an adult I decided I wanted to try and create these bubblie pies myself, only to find out it had already been done.  "The Dragon Lover's Guide to Pern" by Joan Nye with Anne McCaffery included this, as well as other recipes from Pern.

The recipe falls into the "medivelish" catagory.  The ingrediants were all available as was the method of cooking.  To prove this, I once entered this into a medieal cooking contest as a joke. (my real entry was lamb roast stuffed with gingered apples). Unfortunately (sort of) the judges of our event that year had sweet tooths (sweet teeth?) and I was named "Grand Champion" for my bubblie pies and not even a nod to my roast. (I was a bit disappointed, to say the least.  The bubblie pies were a JOKE, for heaven's sake :P)

This recipe makes 6 tarts, that are 5" in diameter.

Crust
1/2 cup of butter
2tb sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 ts salt
1/2 cup cold water

Cut butter in chunks.  Combine dry ingredients. Work in butter with a fork.  Sprinkle with water, mix in. Divide into 12 balls and roll out.

Filling
5 cups blueberries (or 20oz frozen) or any berry [I used a mixture of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries]
1 cup sugar
1/4 ts cinnamon
2ts lemon juice
1-2 tb butter

Gently toss berries with sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Sprinkle juice over mixture.  Spoon into crust, dot with butter. Cover with top crust.  Bake 15-20 minutes at 350.  Serve hot.

Hot Pies!

I love pies!  Not just the sweet dessert kind, but the savory dinner kind as well.  Cooking medieval food, I have come across dozens of varieties of meat, egg, cheese, fruit and vegetable pies. Pies are often called "tarts" and if something is served in a "coffyn" then it is a pie with a top crust.

Many of the pies listed below are also part of the "Feasts of Ice and Fire"  collection (Hotpie is actually a minor, but very popular character in the books) but some are from other fantasy books or are modern recipes that are "medievalish"--that is to say they are made with ingredients available in medieval Europe and cooked in a style common then, but no recipe from the middle ages is found.

Bubblie Pies (from Pern)
Spinach Tart
Dothraki Blood Pies
Onion Tart
Tart for an Ember Day
Brie (Cheese) Tart
A Tart of Strawberries

Tart/Pastry Crust

Spinach Tart

10oz spinach, chopped
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
8 oz  of  cheese (I normally use cheddar and/or mozzarella)
1/2 t ginger
1teaspoon cinnomon
1 tablespoon sugar
9" pie crust

Cook the empty pie cust for 10 minutes at 400 degrees;
Mix the ingredients and pour into the crust; bake for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

This is adapted from a 14th centruy French recipe.  My son will not touch "spinach" so I tell him it is an "oregano pie" and he loves it.

Date Stuffed Pastries

Date stuffed pastries
8 ounces dates, pitted, roughly chopped
1/4 cup water
8 ounces flour
4 ounces butter, chilled, diced
2 teaspoons orange blossom water or rose water
2 tablespoons water
powdered sugar
Combine the dates and 1/4 cup water in a small pan over a gentle heat and cook until softened, then set aside to cool.
Sift the flour into a bowl, and add the diced, chilled butter and rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Combine the orange-blossom water or rose water with the 2 tablespoons of water and sprinkle over the flour; then mix into the flour using a round-bladed knife. Cover the dough and rest for approximately 30 minutes.
Take a spoonful of dough and shape into a round, make a hollow with your finger and spoon a little of the date stuffing into the hollow, then seal the opening and reshape into a round.
Place the pastries on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover loosely with foil and bake in a pre-heated 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Remove the foil about halfway through the cooking, but keep an eye on them to ensure that they do not brown.
Remove and cool on wire racks until firm. When thoroughly cooled, roll in sifted powdered sugar