Atlantian 12th Night 2024
By Heinrich von Holstein
Course Menu
- King’s Hens (küneges hüenre)
- A Condiment (Ein condimentlin)
- A Carrot Puree (Ein morchen mus)
- A Sauce (Ein salse) with toast
For this feast I was tasked with creating a course entirely from Ein Buch von Guter Spise.
I looked for good “main” protein dishes in the text but so many of them either make heavy use of offal which are hard to get and unappealing for most modern diners, or are pastries which are hard to manage for a large feast. “The King’s Hens” stood out as one that is neither, and one that I’ve had experience with before.
“A Condiment” describes a pickle relish that I felt would make a great contrast with the rich, savory profile of the King’s Hens. However they remain connected by the use of anise, which is a signature spice that distinguishes medieval German cuisine from the rest of Europe.
“A Carrot Puree” seemed like a good starchy side to add, and the recipe’s flower petal garnish should make it very visually interesting.
Lastly, I felt the course was a bit too wet and soft texture-wise, and needed one more element. I didn’t want to work my own pastries, but found “A Sauce” that seemed like it would go very well spread on some toasted bread. This sauce also features sage, which is a common herb in this cookbook but missing in the other dishes.
Overall this course features distinctly medieval German flavor profiles, lots of flavor and texture contrasts, and plenty of visual flair.
King’s Hens
- Wilt du machen ein spise von hüenren (How you want to make a food of hens)
Diz heizznt küneges hüenre. Nim junge gebratene hüenre. hau die an kleine mursel. nim frische eyer und zu slahe die. menge daz zu gestozzen ingeber. und ein wenic enys. giuz daz in einen vesten mörser. der heiz si. mit dem selben crute. daz tu zu den eyern. damit bewirf die hüenre. und tu die hüenre in den mörser. und tu dar zu saffran und saltz zu mazzen. und tu sie zu dem viur. und lazze sie backen glich heiz mit ein wenic smaltzes. gib sie gantz hin. daz heizzent küniges hüenre.
This is called King’s Hens. Take young roasted hens. Cut them in small pieces. Take fresh eggs and beat them. Mix thereto pounded ginger and a little anise. Pour that in a strong pot, which will be hot. With the same herbs, which you add to the eggs, sprinkle therewith the hens and put the hens in the pot. And do thereto saffron and salt to mass. And put them to the fire and let them bake (at the) same heat with a little fat. Give them out whole. That is called King’s Hens.
A rich, spiced dish truly fit for a king: ginger, anise, saffron, and young roasted hens? A young hen still has years of egg-laying potential, so to eat one in medieval times would be truly extravagant! The text of the recipe suggests preparing and serving in a hot stone or iron pot (mörser/mortar) as sort of an egg and chicken casserole. However, serving individual stone pots at a feast is cost-prohibited, so I will be cooking these in aluminum pie tins. The type of fat used for topping is not specified, but beef tallow seems appropriately rich for this dish.
Ingredients:
- ½ lb chicken
- 8 large eggs
- 1 tsp ground anise
- 2 tbsp ginger
- 1 pinch saffron
- Butter, oil, or grease
- Beef tallow
Cook (toast or grill or saute) the chicken and chop into small pieces. Preheat oven at 350. Beat the eggs and mix in half of your ginger and anise. Pour eggs into an 8 ¾” greased/buttered pie tin. Coat the chicken in the remaining ginger and anise, then add to the pie tin and distribute evenly. Drop several small (¼ tsp) dabs of beef tallow on top. Grind or chop up the saffron and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the egg has set and the surface is slightly crispy. Gently slide out of the pie tin, slice, and serve.
A Condiment
- Ein condimentlin (A condiment)
Mal kümel und enis mit pfeffer und mit ezzige und mit honige. und mach ez gel mit saffran. und tu dar zu senf. in disem condimente maht du sulze persilien, bern und clein cumpost oder rüeben, waz du wilt.
Flavor caraway seeds and anise with pepper and with vinegar and with honey. And make it gold with saffron. And add thereto mustard. In this condiment you may make sulze(pickled or marinated) parsley, and small preserved fruit and vegetables, or beets, which(ever) you want.
This is a sweet pickle relish (compost) recipe that shows off the iconic medieval German spice pairing of caraway and anise. The author leaves it up to the cook as to which vegetables are pickled. I have decided to use their suggestion of beets but also add cucumbers and onions, which will hopefully cue modern diners into the idea that this is a pickle relish, and that the flavors will be very strong.
Ingredients:
- 1 cucumber
- 1 can pickled beets
- 1 cup wine vinegar
- 1 onion
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup mustard
- 1 tsp caraway
- 1 tsp anise
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 pinch saffron
Mix vinegar, honey, and mustard in a pot and heat until honey can be dissolved. Grind the spices and add to the pot. Cut the beets, onion, and cucumbers down into small pieces/strips. Place beets and cucumber in a glass pickling jar. Pour hot liquid on top (for fast pickle) or allow it to cool if you can afford a longer pickling time (3+ days).
A Carrot Puree
- Ein morchen mus (A carrot puree)
Der wölle machen ein morchenmus. der nem morchen. und erwelle daz uz einem brunnen. und geballen uz eime kaldem wazzer. und gehacket cleine. und tu ez denne in ein dicke mandelmilich. und mit wine wol gemacht die mandelmilich. und die morche dor inne erwellet. und tu dorzu würze genue. und ferwez mit fialblumen und gibz hin.
How one wants to make a carrot puree. One takes carrots. And boils them in water and rolled (to remove the skin) in cold water. And chopped small. And add it then in a thick almond milk, and the almond milk was well made with wine. And the carrots boiled therein. And add thereto herbs enough. And color it with violet flowers and give out.
Pureed/mashed carrots appear in several medieval cookbooks and this one is no exception. The author almost certainly intends for these to be white carrots because the violet petal garnish is only used with other white foods (blancmange) in this cookbook. However, white carrots are somewhat difficult to get in large quantities today. Parsnips would be a decent white substitution, or just use orange carrots.
Though the given translation of “würze” is “herbs”, I believe that “seasoning” is more accurate. As such, I’ve decided to season it with cinnamon, ground cloves, and black pepper. Normally this medieval spice blend would include ginger, but I’ve decided to omit it because this course already has a dish that strongly features ginger in it and I want to leave some contrast there.
Violet petals are also somewhat hard to get, so I recommend cornflower petals as a visually appealing subtitution (especially if using orange carrots).
Ingredients:
- 1 lb carrots or parsnips
- ~1 cup almond milk
- ¼ cup white wine
- Spices (cinnamon, clove, pepper)
- Violet petals or cornflower petals
Peel (if necessary) and cut carrots down to small pieces. Boil until tender. Drain out the water then mash or blend. Add almond milk and wine until desired consistency. Season to taste. Garnish with flower petals.
A Sauce
- Ein salse (A sauce)
Nim sure winber. und tu dar zu salbey und zwei knobelauchs haubt und spec. und stoz daz zu sammene. drückez uz und gibz für eine guten salse.
Take sour grapes and add sage and two cloves of garlic (lit. two garlic’s head) and fatty bacon thereto and pound that together. Squeeze it and give (out) for a good sauce.
This is a very unusual sauce of ground bacon, garlic, grapes, and sage. Simple, but packed with strong flavors. Technically the recipe does not say to cook the garlic, but it also doesn’t say to cook the bacon, which would be necessary. I think cooking the garlic makes for a smoother sauce and better flavor. Sour grapes seem about impossible to get these days, so I substituted with verjus, which can be more easily obtained online or at Middle Eastern grocery stores. You could also probably use cooking wine, grape juice, and/or vinegar.
Controlling the texture of this dish is important. Too well blended and it looks like cat food. While that may have been acceptable to medieval diners, to modern ones it is not. Great care should also be taken with plating and garnishing to make it more appealing.
The recipe doesn’t specify what the sauce is for, but I think toasted bread is a good vehicle for it.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb bacon
- 4-8 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup verjus (or cooking wine or grape juice + vinegar)
- ~1 tbsp sage
Cut up the bacon and cook until crispy. Fry the garlic in the bacon grease. Blend the garlic until smooth, adding verjus as necessary. If the sage is whole, add it to the garlic and blend until it is chopped to small pieces. Reserve some bacon for garnish. Add the rest and blend more until the bacon is well crumbled but not completely smooth. Thin with verjus as necessary. Garnish liberally and spread on toast.
Source
Atlas, Alia “Ein Buch von guter spise”
Medieval Cookery 1993. Web.
http://www.medievalcookery.com/etexts/buch.html