This Turkie-Berry

June 8, 2015June 8, 2015 / The History Girls / 3 Comments

Recently commissioned to provide content for a local project exploring the history of the coffee house in England, I embarked on a period of study to refresh my knowledge on the origins of the bean and how it made its way onto our shores. This research brought me time and time again to the Bedouin, a semi nomadic tribal people living in an area that spans from North Africa to the Middle East. I was thrilled to see that these tribes drink their coffee with cardamom and other spices such as saffron and cinnamon. The Bedouin people also seem to drink their coffee strong – as did Restoration England – with very little milk and in the same quantities as I may drink an espresso.

Cardamom is one of my favourite spices and I couldn’t wait to taste it combined with coffee. Today I am sharing the instructions for a traditional preparation – adapted from The Book of Threes website.

Combine 1 lb. of a robust ground fresh coffee ( I used Java Jampit from local York Coffee Emporium) with 4-5 tbsp of ground cardamom and mix well.

To make the coffee take 30ml water, 1 tbsp of the coffee blend and 1 tsp sugar per serving.

Combine the water and coffee blend in a pan (or a traditional Ibrik as pictured below) and bring to a rolling ball. Take off the heat and leave to settle for 3-4 minutes.
Return the pan to the heat and and simmer the coffee for 10 minutes, adding extra spices such as cinnamon sticks or a pinch of saffron at this point.
Bring back to a rolling ball, sweeten with sugar and serve.

Viking Pie and Collaboration

February 17, 2015February 17, 2015 / The History Girls / Leave a comment

The joy of passion is being able to share it with others. A recent collaboration with Darren Wiseman and his team at The York Pie Company has finally reached its conclusion. The Viking Pie lives!

When I heard that Darren wanted to add a Viking Pie to his repertoire it seemed a perfect opportunity for The History Girls to share their knowledge. The chance to see a product reproduced in a commercial context was too good to miss. Evidence from archaeological finds here in York, an understanding of the meat, foraged goods and farming methods utilised by Vikings here in York in the 9th/10th centuries all influenced the recipe developed for this exciting project.The pie can be purchased from The York Pie Company and will have its first outing with the public at our upcoming tasting event, Taste Yorvik. (Tickets still available.)

As pastry was yet to be invented in Viking era York, it is true to say that this is a pie influenced by 10th century flavours as opposed to an actual Viking pie. The first step in developing a filling must surely be the choice of meat and we felt that options such as venison and wild boar were rather cliché. The most commonly farmed animal was the pig – as through much of history – followed by sheep which were valued for their wool. Once an animal outlived its usefulness, or became difficult to feed due to times of hardship, then it would be slaughtered.

There was the decision of flavourings. Archaeological evidence shows that Vikings in York ate both coriander and dill, perfect companions to mutton. This provided us with sound building blocks to a recipe. To supplement the mutton we investigated vegetable sources. The Vikings are thought to have consumed wild leeks picked on foraging trips, and were known to grow peas and broad beans. As both peas and leeks are an excellent match to dill they were added to list. To complete the aim for authenticity, and round off the flavour profile, we also included a combination of rye and barley flour in the pastry mix – common grains for the period.

So if you are in York and fancy a Viking influenced pie, keep an eye out for The York Pie Company. Or if you are a business and wish to collaborate with The History Girls on a similar project do give us a shout, we can help you put a little bit of history on your plate.

Collop Monday

February 16, 2015February 16, 2015 / The History Girls / Leave a comment

Today – the day preceding Shrove Tuesday – is traditionally Collop Monday. It derives from an old Norse word Kollop meaning meat stew. This came to mean slices of meat and finally and more specifically, slices of bacon and eggs. Collop Monday is the day allocated to eating up any meat before the fasting of Lent begins. Any fat from the meat should then be utilised when frying pancakes the following day.

Ginger and A Grateful Pudding

February 1, 2015February 16, 2015 / The History Girls / Leave a comment

May I with an apology. It has been a while since my last post and I promise to resume the momentum once again. Here in York we have been experiencing a harsh drop in temperatures, though thankfully not much snow. Such weather always throws me in to the kitchen in search of satisfying puddings, dried fruit and warm spices. So, in a break from the Healthy Eating series throughout January, I am going to share with you my favourite spice and a wonderfully named baked pudding.

Ginger is initially believed to have been imported for use in Ancient Rome from India ( via its native China) until the fall of the Roman empire in the 5th century. Arab traders then took control of the spice routes from the East and planted the rhizome in Africa and Zanzibar, trading with Greeks and Romans and introducing the spice to Europe along the way. Marco Polo also obtained ginger on his travels around Central Asia and China, and so began our worldwide love affair with Zingiber officinale.

First utilised as a medicinal plant, Ginger can be found in the anglo saxon manuscript Balds Leechbook alongside silk, frankincense, blood letting and buck’s liver as possible treatments for poor health. In the later medieval period, as diet and health is inexorably linked to the four humors, the spicy heat of ginger gave it a dangerous quality. It has often been included in aphrodisiac consumables such as gingerbread, or the fabulous sounding cordial Rosa Solis. In addition to cinnamon, ginger, clove and grains of paradise, this Italian cordial water held a suspension of coral, ground pearl and tiny flecks of pure gold. A more humble, delicious recipe for rhubarb and ginger cordial can be found in the Jamie Oliver Magazine. As regular readers know, my own passion for food history was sparked by medieval recipes for gingerbread, and in Gingerbread spice and all things nice I provide you with a spice mix for adding medieval flavour to any favourite baking recipe. Ginger also held great value great value as a digestif, to calm the system after eating and ‘close off’ the stomach a belief still in evidence today.

The recipe I have chosen this week makes very good use of ground ginger and is perfect for the chilly damp days of February. It is taken from the Victorian cookbook Everybody’s Pudding Book (1862) by Georgiana Hill. It was, I confess, the name which first drew me in to this dish, and the inclusion of ginger meant that I was always bound to have a go. The end result is reminiscent of a traditional suet dessert but lighter in texture and with the warmth of ground ginger running through.

A Grateful Pudding

Take half a pound each of breadcrumbs and dry flour, then beat the yolks of four eggs and the whites of two; mix them with half a pint of new milk; stir in the bread and flour; add half a pound of stoned raisins, half a pound of washed currants, a quarter of a pound of sugar, and a large spoonful of ground ginger. Mix thoroughly together and either bake it for three-quarters of an hour, or boil it for an hour and a half.

Please note: I whisked the eggs till light and frothy and reduced the dried fruit slightly. I then spooned the mixture into a baking tin and baked, sat in a bain-marie, for 45 minutes at 175C until lightly browned and cooked through.

A very British stoup

January 16, 2015February 16, 2015 / The History Girls / Leave a comment

One of the things I love about winter is the endless bowls of warming soup. Solid, honest food that wraps you in a fleece blanket and puts the fire on as you eat. Dried pulses, root veg and aliums seem to be grown for this form of cookery and you can almost feel it doing you good whilst you slurp out of a big heavy mug.

The next choice for the Healthy Eating from History series is not so much a recipe as a flavour profile from a particular time and place. The 9th century to be exact, the Anglo Saxon / Viking era and the place is Yorvik. Archaeological finds have discovered small amounts of evidence regarding our diet and there is much documentation as to farming methods, in addition to knowledge regarding edible native plants.

Beans and peas have formed an important part of our diets for centuries, and it is believed to be the broad bean which was most commonly seen in Anglo Saxon England. Grown as a field crop they would be dried on the plant and stored throughout the year. Out of necessity, meals were meat free and beans provided an excellent source of protein in addition to complex carbohydrates. There is something ancient and nutritious about eating dried beans and other pulses and I am inevitably drawn to throwing them in my stoup. Mine were recently picked up from a Newcastle deli and are British grown by Hodmedods in the south.

The second main ingredient for today is leeks. Anglo Saxons are thought to have eaten a lot of wild aliums, the family including leeks, garlic and chive. They would also have access to carrots and parsnips, both would be thin, woody and white in colour as orange carrots had not reached the shores of England. My recent vegetable bag from Goodness contained a combination of white and yellow carrots so I chop them up and toss them in too.

Last but not least I look to archaeological evidence from the dig sites in York’s Coppergate area for inspiration with flavourings. Samples of plant finds confirm the use of both coriander and dill in seed and probably leaf form. As dill is excellent with leeks and carrots I take this gently aniseed route. I also cheat with a vegetable stock cube, bay leaf and seasoning.

NB: In the photographs below you will have noticed a lamb bone peeking out of the top of the stoup. It was left over from a roast the day before and any viking cook would never let such a flavourful addition go to waste so neither did I. It was an added bonus and obviously should not stop you from having a go in the absence of a juicy bone!

Ingredients

250g dried broad beans or split peas
4 medium leeks
2 tsp dill seeds
2 carrots
Vegetable stock cube
2 small bay leaves
Optional: random left over bone

Method

Place the beans in a large pot and cover with plenty of water. Soak overnight.

The next day wash and slice the leeks. Fry gently in a large pan. Do not brown.

Whilst the leeks are cooking, chop the carrots and add to the pan along with the dill seed.

Cover the contents of the pan with one litre of water and stir in the vegetable stock cube and bay leaves. Bring to the boil then simmer for about an hour.

Towards the end of cooking time use a spoon to press and break up the broad beans. This releases the starch and thickens the stoup as you stir. Serve in whatever vessel you prefer.

Healthy Eating from History – Erbolate

January 10, 2015January 3, 2015 / The History Girls / Leave a comment

Welcome to the second instalment of the Healthy Histories series. We kicked off 2015 with the toothsome pudding from Turkey called Asure. Today I share with you a dish of baked egg and herbs. A simple supper made for Richard II, Erbolate appeared in one of the earliest cookery books in England, A Forme of Cury from 1390.

Duck, Old Blue Cotswold and modern speckled brown chicken egg.

From peahen to the much prized turtle, mankind has eaten eggs throughout culinary history. Extraordinary Roman chef Apicius, thriving in 25Bc, is thought to have invented many familiar egg recipes. He is the first to document a sweet baked egg custard. By the Middle ages eggs accompanied fish and almond milk as suitable alternatives to meat during fasting.

Many herbs from this period are no longer easily available and when they are found it is often in the context of herbal therapies. Indeed, many of the plants noted in this ‘receipt’ were likely included for their medicinal qualities.

Take and grind parsel, mynthe, sauery, sauge, tansey, veruain, clarey, rewe, ditaiyn, fenel and southernewood and grinde hem fyne.

Rue, Dittany and Southernwood are all extremely bitter tasting leaves which are toxic and should be used with extreme care. They were all believed to be beneficial to the digestive system as many bitter herbs were. In actual fact, Southernwood is the Mediterranean relative of Wormwood, infamous ingredient of absinthe and containing neuro-toxins. Tansy is another which should be used sparingly but will impart a unique aromatic flavour not dissimilar to nutmeg or clove. Tansy can be found growing wild across England if you are a confident forager.

Tansy – photographed on a guided foraging trip last year.

Clary, otherwise known as Clary Sage, was utilised by the Romans to make an eyewash and is believed to be good for easing muscle spasms. This is still in modern culinary and herbal use as is Vervain. Better known as Verbena, Vervain is thought to be one of the 38 plants used to make the tincture for Bach flower remedy.

The challenge when recreating Erbolate is matching the flavour profile with ingredients which are both flavoursome and easy to source. We are not as accustomed to bitter leaves here in Britain, though other parts of Europe still value them as part of a wide ranging diet. Frisee and dandelion leaves were excellent possibilities, along with the chicory and rocket I eventually decided upon. Parsley, Mint and Sage were obvious enough and I chose to add a little thyme to echo the qualities of the Dittany and Savoury. Finely, a little nutmeg grated sparingly over the top will do in the absence of Tansy.

Erbolate

or Baked Herb Omelette

Ingredients

1 handful of rocket leaves
1 chicory head
small amount of each fresh – thyme, parsley, mint, sage, fennel or tarrogan
3 duck eggs
salt and nutmeg for seasoning

Method

Serves two with salad

Preheat the oven to 175C.
Take a small baking dish and grease lightly with butter.
Gently tear the rocket leaves up and place them in the bottom. Break 2-3 blades from the bulb of chicory and lay them on top as seen in the picture below.

Finely chop the herbs and scatter on top of the chicory. Start with around about a loose teaspoon of each once finally chopped. You can then adjust according to personal taste if you wish.

Whisk the eggs and pour them over the herbs. Press everything down so that the chicory is coated and is less likely to catch in the oven. Chicken eggs could also be used, but I went with the more robust nature of duck eggs to stand up to the strong flavour of the other ingredients. Grate a little nutmeg over the top before placing in the oven. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes depending on how you like your eggs and the depth of your dish. Remove and serve. Leftovers can be eaten at room temperature the next day.

Healthy Eating from History – Noah’s Pudding

January 2, 2015January 25, 2016 / The History Girls / 1 Comment

NOAH’S PUDDING

Asure (ash-oo-ray)

There are times when a new recipe develops through hours of research. Others flash into life from a simple word, smell or taste whilst I’m thinking of something completely unrelated. Then, like this one, inspiration visits me via someone else. Noah’s Pudding appeared in a novel my husband was reading, the main character prepared and served the dessert for dinner guests. The description included grains, pulses and dried fruits combined in a sweet, porridge like consistency. John thought it sounded tasty and the name itself had me hooked. It also served as the prompt for this new series of posts as we begin 2015. Healthy Eating from History aims to share a number of recipes which should help in the age old New Year quest of resetting our constitutions.

The story behind the dish makes Asure one of the oldest desserts in history. Legend tells that, in the last few days of life on the Ark, with waters receding and food stocks running low Noah himself threw everything in a pot and hoped for the best. Every cook has at some point found themselves in a similar situation and will understand the trepidation that comes with impromptu cooking. As it happens the Asure was a hit and provided tasty sustenance until the Ark found dry land on Mount Ararat.

Back in the 21st century, Asure is now a sweet dessert eaten on the day of Ashura during Muharram. Ashura is a day to remind Shia Muslims of the sacrifices the Prophet’s family made for the sake of mankind. In Turkey it has come to represent diversity, peace and friendship and it is customary to make a large pot and share it amongst neighbours and friends.

There is no standard recipe for Asure, although there are a number of ingredients which form the initial building blocks. These include wheat, pulses, dried fruit, nuts, sugar or honey to sweeten and aromatics such as rose, orange blossom or lemon peel. It is a perfect way of satisfying the sweet cravings of a cold day and uses up many of the store cupboard leftovers from Christmas. The following recipe is The History Girls version of Noah’s Pudding.

Noah’s Pudding

Ingredients

130g pearled spelt
100g tinned chickpeas
70g pudding rice
250ml skimmed milk
350ml water
1tbsp honey
11/2 orange blossom water
small pinch ground cinnamon
60g of a mixture of walnuts, pistachios and hazelnuts
5 dried dates
3 ready to eat figs
20g sultanas

Almond slices, pomegranate seeds and pomegranate molasses to serve

Method

Pour the spelt into a large container with just enough water to cover. Leave to soak overnight.
The following day combine the spelt, chickpeas and pudding rice in a medium sized pan with the milk and water. Stir well and bring to the boil. Simmer carefully for 10 minutes, covered, stirring regularly to help release the starches.
Whilst the grains are cooking, finely chop the nuts, dates and figs.
After 10 minutes check the pan and stir in the honey, orange blossom water and cinnamon. Simmer for another ten minutes stirring regularly until the spelt and rice is cooked through. Add a little more water if you wish the texture to be thinner.
Take everything off the heat and fold in the dried fruit and nuts. Taste for sweetness, using a little more honey if desired.
Serve at room temperature in small bowls. Scatter with almond slices and the tart pomegranate seeds and molasses

Culinary Pleasures – A book review

November 26, 2014November 26, 2014 / The History Girls / Leave a comment

Culinary Pleasures

Cookbooks and the Transformation of British Food

Nicola Humble

After the positive reception to my first book review; A History of Food in 100 Recipes I decided to share a very different, but equally enjoyable piece of work by author Nicola Humble. Nicola is an experienced lecturer at Roehampton University and quite obviously holds a passion for food literature.

Unlike ‘A History of Food’ this book was purchased by myself on a whim. Occasionally I develop an overriding desire to find something new and this urge is so overwhelming that, despite there being no more room in our home for more culinary literature, I can focus on nothing else until I have fulfilled the craving. I picked up the beautifully covered Culinary Pleasures on one such foraging trip. Sadly though, I then seem to have placed the book on my shelf without actually reading it, and it became one of those books I would glance at guiltily thinking, ‘when I have time, I really must pick you up.’

A recent retreat to a log fired, countryside cottage became such an opportunity and I did not regret choosing Nicola Humble as my companion for a week of reading and eating. The book introduces you to a variety of food writers beginning with the infamous Mrs Beeton and the food of Victorian England, and ending with the phenomenon of the celebrity chef and the food trends seen at the time the book was written, 2005. If nothing else it serves as an excellent reference for budding foodies wishing to explore influential writers of the last 100 years. This is the least of it’s achievements however. Culinary Pleasures has the academic confidence that you might expect from an university lecturer but this is carefully tempered with an open, honest style which allows the reader to feel that they are standing in a room with Nicola, the cookbooks wide open on a table in front of them. In the process you are also guided through the development of the British diet and how, from two World Wars to Salmonella and B.S.E, the food we eat is irrevocably tied to the social and political issues of our time.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and, whilst the topic of food writing is one I am bound to be attracted to, feel that it is Ms Humble’s skill as an author which really makes this book stand out to me. It is a shame that she doesn’t seem to have published any more work since ‘Culinary Pleasures’ was released in 2005 as she seems to have a real flair for relating to the reader in a clear, but amusing manner.

Stir it up Sunday

November 23, 2014November 23, 2014 / The History Girls / Leave a comment

Stir up, we beseech thee, the pudding in the pot

and when we get home we’ll eat the lot!

Here we are at the end of November and believe it or not, stir it up Sunday is upon us. As some one obsessed with food and social history Christmas is a dream. There is a wealth of ritual and culinary superstition to choose from and my favourite tradition has to be making my own cake and pudding.

The origins of stir it up Sunday and indeed, the children’s rhyme above, relate to a reading in The Book of Common Prayer written in 1549. Still used in church today this piece is read out on the last Sunday before Advent and just 4 Sundays before Christmas. At some point it became popular for the family to return home from church after the reading and begin this first step towards the festivities.

This time around I shall concentrate on the making of Christmas cake. I am keen to share my family recipe with you and if I tried to include pudding too I could still be writing this as we head into December. But if you would like to have a go you can’t go far wrong using the Be-Ro Rich Christmas Pudding as your mother ship. Have a go, play around with the ingredients and make it your own.

The Cake

The indulgent combination of dried fruit, butter and eggs can be found as far back as the middle ages. These ‘cakes’ were actually a fruit bread risen with ale-balm, so called as it was scooped from the top of the current batch of brewing ale. I once had the good fortune of recreating a ‘Plumb Cake’ from the 18th Century ‘Kidder’s Receipts’ with a pound of flour, six pounds of currants and a quart of ale-balm from local microbrewery Treboom. It had a pretty good rise and was a monster of a cake!

Packed full of dried fruits, spice and sugar,the fruitcake has always been a cake for times of celebration and wealth. Despite attempts by Oliver Cromwell and the puritans to ban it just a century before, as we reach the Georgian Era it can be found eaten as part of the Twelfth Night celebrations and covered with icing. It is then, as with many of our modern Christmas celebrations, the influence of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria which brings us the tradition of our rich fruitcake eaten today.

The recipe I share with you today started life with a Mrs Holman, neighbour to my Nan Beryl Reed. Mrs Holman provided celebration cakes for people in the village and passed on her fruitcake recipe to my Mum. It was used for both my Christening and Wedding cakes and has it’s foundations in that good old stalwart mentioned earlier, the Be-Ro baking book. In the hands of my Mum, Aunt and myself we have all scribbled our own little alterations on ingredients, method and cooking times. This is mine.

The Perfect Christmas Cake

10 oz softened butter
10 oz brown sugar
5 medium eggs, beaten
1 tbsp black treacle
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp white pepper
10 oz plain flour
2 oz ground almonds
2 1/2 lbs of dried fruit – currant, sultanas, raisins, glace cherries, dates
Madeira wine for feeding

Directions

Line and grease a 28cm (11 inch) round cake tin. Preheat your oven to 150C.
Place all the dried fruit in a bowl and mix with a tablespoon or so of the flour to coat all the fruit. Set aside for later.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Spoon in the treacle before mixing in the eggs, a bit at a time. if the mixture starts to curdle add in a spoonful of flour and mix again.
Fold in the rest of the flour, ground almonds and spices, then the dried fruit to finish. Don’t forget to make a wish!

Bake for three and half to four hours or until firm on the top and a skewer comes out clean. Cover the top of the cake with a disk of greaseproof half way through to prevent burning.
Feed twice a week with the Madeira until ready to eat.

Pumpion Pie from Robert May.

November 9, 2014November 9, 2014 / The History Girls / 1 Comment

With the passing of Halloween and the coming of Thanksgiving, it seems almost inevitable that I offer a recipe for pumpkin pie. It is a relatively new addition to my baking reportoire and has a longer history here in Britain than you might imagine. The spice combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove hark back to the Medieval origins of the dish when spiced, stewed ‘pumpion’ was encased in a so called coffin of pastry before baking. The filling would be eaten and the pastry discarded, used to thicken stews or taken for food by poorer members of the household.

The recipe I have adapted for today’s blog was published by Robert May, author of The Accomplisht Cook in 1685. This restoration period receipt sees many familiar ingredients as well as a combination of fresh thyme, marjoram and rosemary. He also fries his filling like a pancake before layering with apples and dried fruit in the casing. I loved the idea of including a sharp burst of apple as a contrast to the sweet, aromatic filling. It just happens that I acquired some heritage cookers at the same festival where I picked up my pumpkin, so after a little experimenting and lots of tasting I present you with my version of this 17th century recipe.

Pumpion Pie another way

For the pastry

110g plain flour
115g wholemeal plain flour
pinch of salt
50g salted butter
1 egg

For the filling

500g peeled, chopped pumpkin
75g caster sugar with more if needed
20g salted butter
2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks
70ml single cream
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon each ground mace and white pepper
pinch of ground clove
one sprig each of fresh rosemary, thyme and greek basil
1 large cooking apple peeled, cored and sliced
small handful sultanas

Preheat oven to 170C. Grease a deep, loose bottomed 27″ cake tin.

First make the pastry. Combine flours and salt before rubbing in the butter to fine breadcrumb texture. Using a cold knife mix in the egg and enough cold water to make a firm pastry dough. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Place the chopped pumpkin in a large pan with just enough water to cover. Bring to the boil and simmer until just tender. Strain and set aside.

Whilst the pumpkin is cooking prepare the herbs. Strip and finely chop the leaves and discard the stems. Pour 75g of sugar and the herbs into a mortar and combine the two with your pestle. Add the spices and stir.

Return the cooked pumpkin to the pan and mash well. Stir in the butter, sugar/herb/spice combination and taste. Add more sugar if required and leave to cool.

While the filling is cooling roll out the pastry and line your cake tin. Prick the base with a fork and blind bake 25 minutes. Increase the temperature to 180C and bake 5 minutes more until lightly coloured.

Place your apple slices in the bottom of your cooked pastry case and scatter the sultanas on top. Set aside.

Once the pumpkin filling has reached room temperature beat in the eggs and cream with a wooden spoon. Place the pan back on a low heat and gently warm through, stirring all time. The mixture should thicken slightly, this may take 10 – 15 minutes but you must be patient or the eggs will scramble. Pour the hot filling on top of the apples and tap the tin on the counter to remove air bubbles. Bake for 50 minutes until slightly puffed up and firm to the touch. Cool in the tin before serving as desired!