A Tudor MenuBy Garin Davies

The Drinks

Wine

Ale Beer

• The Starters

•Hirchones (sausage hedgehogs – seasoned pork sausages with almonds)

•2lbs ground pork, 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp of salt, I tsp of sugar, 2 oz almonds.

•Mix pork and seasoning together. Form mix into 2 inch oval shaped balls. Insert almonds into meat shapes into a quill like pattern (to create the idea of hedgehogs). Aprrox 8+ per sausage. Fry and the then grill tops.

• Frytour of spices (spiced fritters – sweet batter fritters with spices)

•1 package dried yeast, warm water,8 oz flour (wholemeal or plain), 2 oz sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, half tsp cloves, quarter tsp ground cloves, quarter tsp salt, Honey for sauce, double cream for sauce, butter.

•Dissolves yeast into quarter cup lukewarm water, stirring. Mix in flour , water, spices, sugar and salt. Add enough warm water to make a stiff batter. Cover and set in warm place for 1 hour. Drop spoonfuls into hot oil and deep or shallow fry. Moisten surface and sprinkle with sugar

• Mosserouns Florys (glazed grilled mushrooms with bacon)

•1lb large mushrooms, 2oz fatty bacon (streaky), 2 egg yolks beaten, salt, 1 – 2 pinches of grounded cloves, 1 -2 pinches of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg.

•Blanch bacon in boiling water for 5 mins. De-stalk mushrooms. Plunge caps into boiling water for 1 – 2 mins, drain. Place on skewers with bacon and grill/fry. Mix spices into egg yolks and beat together. Pour over egg yolks at end of the cooking.

The Main Courses

Suet Blanc (Chicken in Elderflower sauce )1 large chicken, 2 – 4oz ground almonds, Elderflowers, salt to taste, 4 egg yolks, 1tsp ground ginger.

Poach chicken in broth for 1 hour +, Use 2 cups of broth to mix with almonds. Add elderflower ( or cordial if no flowers are available). Strip and shred chicken. Mix sauce into chicken shreds and serve with sauce.

Sawge yfarcet (fried pork balls in sage leaves)16oz pork mince, 2 eggs beaten, 2 – 4 tsp breadcrumbs, quarter of tsp all spice, quarter of tsp ground ginger, quarter tsp pepper, pinch ground cloves, pinch saffron, 1 oz pine nuts, 1 tsp salt, 20 -30 sage leaves

Mix pork, crumbs, nuts and seasoning with one of the beaten eggs. Form into small balls 1” diameter. Moisten sage leaves and wrap around balls (one or two per ball). Dip balls in egg and breadcrumbs and shallow fry.

Bruet of Sarcyness (Saracen stew – spicy aromatic beef stew)2 - 4 ground almonds, 2lbs boneless stewing steak in chunks, 20z breadcrumbs, 1 tbsp sugar, half tsp of ground cloves, 250ml red wine, half tsp allspice, half tsp pepper, 1 tsp ground mace, 1 tsp salt.

Make an almond milk. Add spice and pepper to breadcrumbs. Roll beef chunks in the breadcrumbs and brown in fat. Put into clean pot. Dissolve sugar and cloves in wine and pour over. Add sufficient water to just cover meat. Simmer for 45 mins, do not let the meat dry out, but allow sauce to reduce. Add breadcumbs from earlier. Simmer for 15 mins more, or until ready to serve. Just before serving stir in almond milk

The Desserts

Emeles – Almond and honey cakes

1 cup breadcrumbs, 4oz ground almonds, quarter cup sugar, half tsp salt, 2 eggs, oil/fat for frying.

Combine all dry ingredients (except 2 tbsp sugar) with eggs and blend. Chill batter for approx 1 hour. Divide batter into approx 20 balls and flatten into cakes. Heat oil/fat in frying pan. Turn over once. Drain and sprinkle with remaining sugar.

Gingerbrede – Gingerbread

4oz clear honey, I loaf bread – at least 4 days old finely crumbed, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, eighth tsp ground white pepper, and eighth tsp cloves.

Bring homey to boil and skim off any scum. Keep pan on very low heat and stir in breadcrumbs and spices. When combined into a thick, well blended mass – press firmly into cake tin. Cover and leave in cool place overnight or for several hours. Allow to harden – slice and serve.

Syllabub - whipped sweet cream

1 pint double cream, dark sugar (muscavado), currants and raisins, dried peel etc, rum/brandy

Whip cream to s stiff liquid (not solid). Mix in sugar, dried fruit and alcohol to taste.

Typical Meals

Henry VII (of Lancaster) married Elizabeth of York thereby joining the white rose of York with the red rose of Lancaster. This made a new symbol - the Tudor rose.All through Tudor times it was very fashionable to have the Tudor rose made up in fondant cream as part of the sweetmeat course (the banquet) at the end of a meal.

Tudor Merchants House, Tenby.

It is a late 15th century town house, over looking the small harbour. It is the kind of middle-class house a quite successful Tudor merchant would have lived in with his family. They lived on the first and second floors, with the merchant trading from the room nearest the street entrance, whilst the servants prepared the family food around the great fireplace on the ground floor.

The first floor is where the family lived, played, fed and received visitors. The room is bright with colour, with wall hangings, coats of arms and tapestries. The table would be laid for a meal, with a red woollen “Borde – Clothe”, covered by two white linen “Napes”, to use less than two or re-use one, was to invite a death. Lime was painted on the wainscot (wooden panelling) twice a day as a form of insecticide, herbs were hung to make the air sweet, and discourage plague or the Evil Eye.

The top floor is where the family slept (they shared one bedroom), windows tightly shut against poisonous and noxious things. A jug of Loosestrife is put in the room to keep away the Black Death. Servants slept round the kitchen fire place.

Tudor Fireplace

Christ Bread

Tudor Tapestry

Tudor Dining table

Me at the writing table

Plaque at the entrance to the Merchant’s House

Tudor bed

Tudor plaque

The end