Straight to the recipe Playing with colours During Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday before Easter, eggs were banned from the table. But as the days started to grow longer again after the winter solstice, hens began laying their eggs again! So you can bet that on Easter Sunday, when…
Meat nor fish (vegetarian)
Medieval pea soup
Very simple The recipe is taken from ms KANTL Gent 15, second part. Edition: W.L. Braekman,Ā Een nieuw zuidnederlands kookboek uit de vijftiende eeuw. Scripta 17, Brussel, 1986, recipe nr 92 (edition p.53).Ā About this manuscript. TheĀ erweijtenĀ (peas) in this recipe can mean either green peas or marrow fat (or field) peas. The liquid in which peas were…
Recipes – Diet
The recipes in these indices can be found in four ways: by sourceĀ (only historical recipes), on their place in the menu, by originĀ and by food preference. You can also click on a category in the sidebar for a view with pictures and descriptions. Straight toĀ VegetarianĀ – Pescetarian Vegetarian Aubergines in aubergine sauce. (hist) Barley Soup from…
Parsnip salad
Straight to the recipe A sixteenth-century Dutch recipe This winter salad for parsnips is taken from a Dutch cookbook from the middle of the sixteenth century. It is a translation from a recipe by the Italian humanist Platina (Bartolomeo Sacchi) inĀ De honeste voluptateĀ (published in 1474,Ā edition Milham, see bibliography). The Dutch cookbook bears the titleĀ Eenen nyeuwen…
Mille-feuille the Dutch way
Straight to the recipe Tompouce is the Dutch version of mille-feuille. It is popular throughout the year, but on some days, it is almost traditional to eat this pastry. And on those days, the tompouce is not decorated with the customary pink glaze, but with orange glaze to emphasize the connection to our royal family…
An old family recipe
I have good memories of this salad. My grandmother (on the right, with me on her lap) prepared it during long vacations during the summer in Maastricht, the Southern-most city of the Netherlands, when it was very hot. My mother also had it on her repertoire as an easy meal during heatwaves. So this is…
Medieval onion stew
Straight to the recipe The recipe for this nourishing dish has survived in several medieval English manuscripts. Although it is not stated explicitly, the dish is typically meant for Lent. It contains olive oil and almond milk, and lacks any meat or dairy products. The main ingredient are onions. In the picture a man and…
Cheese biscuits
Straight to the recipe The first recipes for 2019 both concern hot, mulled wine. To accompany these wines, I have added this recipe for cheese biscuits from a French cookery book that we used for our Christmas dinner 2018: La cuisine de monsieur Momo, cĆ©libataire. This was originally published in 1930. These biscuits were served…
Braised Belgian Endives
Straight to the recipe Belgian endives are not widely appreciated. It does not look very attractive once it is cooked, with its grey and slimy exterior. That is why generally speaking, today this vegetable is eaten raw as salad, or only slightly cooked. Imagine my horrified surprise when I read the recipe for Belgian endives…
Broccoli in the ‘Opera’
Straight to the recipe TheĀ OperaĀ from this recipe has nothing to do with music, and everything with theĀ opus magnusĀ of Italian cook Bartolomeo Scappi, which appeared in print in 1570.Ā OperaĀ means ‘the work’ (in Italian, in Latin it would have been ‘the works’). Nowadays the cookbook is mainly known for its magnificent engravings which illustrate all kinds of…
Quince pie
Straight to the recipe A very special pie from the sixteenth century There is a growing interest for vegetables and fruit from the past.Ā Compared to, say the seventeenth century, the variety in apples, pears and plumbs has become less and less. Nowadays it is mainly those varieties that are easy to grow, have a high…
Tourte de fonges
Straight to the recipe Mushroom pie from Lancelot de Casteau This mushroom pie from 1604 is much more modern than the MĆ©nagier’s from the fourteenth century. No spices and sugar, but herbs to bring the stuffing to taste. The recipe comes from theĀ Ouverture de cuisine, published in 1604 by Lancelot de Casteau. He was, according…
Rice Pudding for Lent
Straight to the recipe This fourteenth-century recipe is especially forĀ Lent, the period between carnival and Easter. Meat and dairy products were banned from the table (see the recipe forĀ Fake Fish), and inventive cooks would create delicate dishes within these limitations, even though meals during Lent should be sober occasions. This sweet almond-rice pudding with raisins…
Sup with prunes and raisins
Straight to the recipe A dish for Lent This recipe for a ‘sup’ from the middle of the eighteenth century demonstrates the original meaning of the word soep (soup in English). The (toasted) bread at the bottom of the dish soaks in the juices of the dish, and adds filling carbohydrates to it. Often the…
Fritters from vine leaves
Grape vines do not just yield grapes. During the summer the leaves can be picked and pickled or used straight away. The best-known use of vine leaves is the Greek dolma, where they are used to wrap around rice. However, in this eighteenth-century recipe the vine leaves themselves are the main ingredient. Just in case…