Recipes

Take three handful of spinnage, boile it in faire water, when it is boyled, put away the water from it and put the spinnage in a stone mortar, grind it well with two dishes of butter melted, and foure rawe egges all to beaten, then straine it and season it with suger, Sinamon and ginger, and lay it in your Coffin, when it is hardened in the oven, then bake it, and when it is enough, serve it upon a faire dish, and cast upon it Suger and Biskets.
Line a flan dish with shortcrust pastry - use about 6 ounces flour for a medium flan – and bake blind for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile thoroughly wash a bunch of about 4 ounces of fresh spinach and strip off any large, tough stalks. Melt a little butter in a saucepan; add the spinach without any extra water and cook gently over a moderate heat for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Drain off any excess liquid; add 1-2 ounces of butter; mix well and allow to cool a little. Now add 2-4 beaten eggs, about 1 teaspoon each of cinnamon and ginger and a little sugar if you wish. Blend thoroughly and then put into the part-baked flan case (the “Coffin” of the original recipe) and bake for a further 30-40 minutes at about 350°F.
This can be served as it is or sprinkled with a little sugar and/or fried breadcrumbs or crumbled oatcakes.
If you like spinach, this flan makes a great change from cheese flans. Its intense green colouring makes it an ideal choice for a traditional May Day feast when green foods are eaten to celebrate the coming of summer. It is excellent eaten cold. Feel free to vary the flavourings according to your own taste. A few chopped spring onions or chives give an alternative piquancy if the spices are not to your taste. When you have perfected the recipe to your own preferences, record your quantities for future reference.

If you have never made a raised pie, take heart!- it is much easier than you might think.
For a family sized pie or 2-4 small pies you will need:
1 lb plain flour
2 teaspoons of salt
4 ounces of lard, margarine or butter
1⁄4 pint water
4 tablespoon milk
Heat the fat, water and milk until boiling and melted. Meanwhile prepare the dry ingredients and make a well in the centre. Pour the liquid into this and beat with a spoon to form a soft dough. As soon as it is cool enough to handle, knead it well. You will need to reserve about a quarter of the dough for the lid. Roll out the dough on a piece of muslin or clingfilm to make it easier to transfer to your tin or dish but don’t worry if it tears – it is very easy to stick back together. You can make small pies in straight-sided bowls or a large pie in a loose-bottomed cake tin. (If using the cake tin, roll out the pastry for the top and use the bottom as a template to cut out a perfect circle for the lid.) Transfer the pastry to your dish and repair any tears or holes by simply pressing it together with your fingertips. If it won’t stick to the sides, make sure the bottom is sound and add the filling a little at a time as you work your way up. Dab the top edge with a little water to help the lid to stick. When you have laid the lid on top, pinch the edges together to make a firm bond. Prick holes in the pastry to let steam escape. Use leftover pastry to make decorations if you wish: if you are serving several different pies, the decorations will distinguish them.
Pre-cooked fillings will speed up the cooking process to 45-60 minutes at 350°F. If using raw ingredients, you may wish to cover the top with foil to prevent it from burning as it will need at least one and a half hours of cooking, beginning with about 15 minutes at 425°F and then reducing to the moderate heat. For a truly authentic Tudor pie, glaze with equal quantities of butter, sugar and rosewater melted together. You can also glaze with beaten egg. Brush the glaze on about 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
You can put almost anything in a pie: invent your own recipes or try an authentic medieval or Tudor one.
NB Raised pies were very popular as, until cut, the pastry preserved the ingredients – a little like tinned food. They are equally nice eaten hot or cold. The crust here described was known as a “coffin” and was usually discarded unless you were particularly hungry. There was a strict hierarchy: the high status members of the household were offered the perfect pie. Servants fed on the “broken meats”. Leftovers would be offered to the poor. Anything left after that would feed the dogs, chickens or pigs.

Pottage is a thick soup, and makes an excellent lunch-time meal. Besides the particular recipes such as pease pottage, it can be made with virtually anything to hand. A basic pottage benefits from onions in any form ie leeks, garlic, spring onions, chives. It often incorporates root vegetables such as carrot, swede, turnip, parsnip but the potato is a later introduction so don’t use it if you are trying to be authentic. Also the medieval carrot was the purple variety which is supposed to be being re-introduced but we have yet to find either vegetable or seed so we use the now standard orange carrot.
All manner of “worts” (ie leafy vegetables) are used, especially cabbage. These are best added towards the end of cooking time. Celery gives an excellent flavour and if you lack celery, its seed is a good alternative.
Meat was a rarity but do use meat stock if you can – leftover gravy or boiled bone stock.On a special day you can add some bacon, chopped into small pieces.
The pottage is more satisfying if pulses are used ie peas, beans, lentils. These can be fresh, tinned or dried. (The dried ones usually need soaking beforehand.)
Another way of increasing the bulk of the pottage is with grain: use pearl barley, oatmeal, ground rice, breadcrumbs etc.
Fresh or dried herbs are also used freely. An authentic pottage is only lightly salted and the herbs give flavour.
Fat such as oil, lard or butter also improves the pottage.
Here is a good basic method:
Fry onions and bacon( if used) until a good caramelly base is formed and then add stock and/or water.
Add dried pulses/barley next as they need longest to cook.
Add chopped root vegetables about 20 minutes before the pulses will be done.
Add fresh pulses/oatmeal/breadcrumbs 10-15 minutes before end of cooking.
Add chopped leafy vegetables, garlic, spring onions 5-10 minutes before serving.
Season with salt and pepper and throw herbs in last of all.
Serve with wholemeal bread and butter. You can put finely chopped or grated cheese and/or fried bread in the pottage.
Not only is this a delicious meal, it is also very economical and healthy. If you don’t habitually use fresh vegetables, start now: the flavour is better, the seasonal changes are to be anticipated with pleasure for they will ring the changes in your pottage and, with a little practice, preparation is very speedy. Save the waste to make compost for your garden. Think how many plastic bags you won’t be putting in landfill sites!