The following recipes come from a book called The Tudor Kitchen: What the Tudors Are and Drank by Terry Breverton. I have had it for some time as it makes for a fascinating reading. As it was my birthday recently and with nothing better to do during lockdown, I decided to make some of the recipes to try them out. I used to volunteer as a period interpreter in one the Shakespeare properties where I was involved in cooking recipes from the time period over an open fire, and loved talking about the ingredients and food traditions in general. The smells were reminiscent of those times and I loved making it, although I only had a modern kitchen to use. Pork is also traditionally served at Christmas in Bulgaria, so the roast pork was definitely a trial run for those celebrations. Conclusion: make this!!!! Its delicious!!!
Ingredients:
1 Kg pork loin, covered in a layer of fat
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Salt, to taste
6 garlic cloves, grated
80 ml red wine
100 ml red wine
Method:
Place the coriander seeds and caraway seeds in a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder.
Add the black pepper, salt to taste, ground garlic cloves and 80 ml of the wine. Mix well together.
Trim the layer of fat from the pork and rub the wine mixture into the meat. Leave the meat to marinade, covered, for a couple of hours.
When ready to cook, place the pork in a roasting dish (I used a Bulgarian ceramic pot with a lid) with the layer of fat on top. Mix the leftover wine and herb mix with the 100ml wine and pour over the meat. Roast the meat, uncovered at 220 degrees C for 30 mins, then reduce the heat to 160 degrees C. Cover with foil (or lid in my case) and bake for 50 mins per kilogram hereafter, basting with the juices occasionally.
When the meat is cooked, remove from the oven and rest for 15 minutes, covered, before carving and serving.
Pour the juices in a deep pan and bring to the boil. Cook until thickened to make the gravy. I speeded up the process by mixing 1 tbsp corn flour with a little water into a paste, then mixing it with the juices until thickened.
Side 1: Sweet Cooked Salad
Don't let the name put you off. Although there is sugar in here, there is also spices and vinegar making the flavour akin to Chinese sweet and sour. Tudor food, especially for the wealthy who could afford the sugar and exotic spices used here, was spicier than we'd think nowadays. They also liked mixing sweet, salt and sour together. It was a way to show off one's wealth and resources by using such ingredients.
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp butter
Dash of Vinegar (Malt is what was easily accessible at the time as it is a by product of ale going sour. I used balsamic as I prefer the flavour and sweetness to go with the sugar)
1/8 cup currants
1 hard boiled egg, shell removed and cut into wedges
Method
Cut the cauliflower into florets and parboil until tender, adding the currants halfway through. Drain.
Heat the butter in a pan and the the cauliflower and currants. Add the spices, sugar and vinegar. Fry for a few minutes.
Put in a serving dish and place the egg wedges around as garnish.
This should have the hard boiled egg on it, but I completely forgot about it.
Frumenty
There are many versions of this dish available, both savoury and sweet. Its made out of cracked wheat boiled down and flavoured with stock, milk, cream, spices etc and formed the main carbohydrate of a meal at a time when potatoes were not used in British cooking. The potato arrived from America sometime around 1586 and was initially treated with some suspicion as it grew underground, pointing towards the devil. It is also a member of the Deadly nightshade family with the leaves, if anyone tried to use them in salads, being poisonous. It therefore took some time before potatoes began to be used regularly in food. Other root vegetables that grow underground, like carrots and turnips, were used in food but mainly by the poorer members of society, who could not afford meat. Meat was a huge status symbol and formed a staple of the rich person's diet.
The recipe calls for 275 g bulgar wheat, 150 ml chicken or vegetable stock and 1.1 L water
The instructions state that the wheat should be boiled with the plain water for 15 mins first, then removed from the heat and rested for another 15 minutes, by which point the water should be absorbed. Add the stock at this point and bring back to the boil, serving hot.
I skipped the first step requiring the wheat to be boiled in plain water first to make it quicker and it worked out well. I placed the wheat into the pot and covered it with chicken stock, bringing it to the boil. Reduce the heath and cook for 10 minutes. If it starts looking dry before the timer ends, add a little more water. Turn off the heat and leave to rest for 15 minutes. I should note that I didn't use any measurements here instead eyeballing how much water to use per wheat. If you want to try this, ensure the liquid covers the wheat fully coming up to your first knuckle when you stick your finger in.
The crackling was the best part, with the leaner meat very moist.
I had plenty of leftovers from the roast so I served it the next day on top of potato waffles. I also remembered to put the boiled egg on top of the cauliflower.
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