{"id":3357,"date":"2013-09-17T13:11:18","date_gmt":"2013-09-17T11:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/?p=3357\/"},"modified":"2019-12-09T12:04:40","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T11:04:40","slug":"stuffed-omelette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/stuffed-omelette\/","title":{"rendered":"Nourishing square omelette"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Straight to the recipe<\/small><\/a><\/p>\n

Medieval stuffed omelette with marrow<\/h2>\n

\"Gathering<\/p>\n

Some years ago I prepared a menu in the\u00a0Culinair-historisch Kookmuseum\u00a0<\/em>(‘culinary cookery museum’) in Appelscha in the North of the Netherlands, consisting of medieval recipes with marrow from first course to dessert. The menu was called\u00a0To the bone<\/em>\u00a0(Tot op het bot<\/em>). The recipe below was one of the dishes served. It is a recipe from the\u00a0fifteenth century<\/span>\u00a0for a square omelette, stuffed with egg yolks, parsley, ginger and marrow. The source is the\u00a0English<\/span>\u00a0manuscript B.L.\u00a0Harleian 279<\/span>\u00a0(1435). This cookery book was published in 1888 together with some other cookery texts by Thomas Austin, and again in 1990 with a translation by Cindy Renfrow.<\/p>\n

Other medieval recipes with marrow on this site:\u00a0small pasties<\/a>\u00a0(there you can read more about marrow) and\u00a0stuffed quinces<\/a>. A recipe from the eighteenth century with marrow:\u00a0sweetbread pasties<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A curious recipe title<\/h3>\n

The medieval\u00a0omelette<\/span>\u00a0on this page is called\u00a0Hagas de Almaynne<\/em>, a name which raises some questions. According to Cindy Renfrow (Take a thousand eggs or more<\/em>, pp.310) the literal translation is ‘German\u00a0haggis<\/a>‘. The recipe can be found in several English fifteenth-century cookery books: manuscripts British Library Harleian 279 (the version I used here), British Library Harleian 4016 and Yale University Beinecke 163, and the first printed English cookbook\u00a0A Noble Boke of Festes Ryalle and Cokery<\/em>(1500). There are two earlier manuscript versions of this cookbook (Holkham 674 is one of them, see below). In manuscript Harleian 4016 this dish is called ‘haggis with almonds’ (Hagas de almondes<\/em>). However, the recipe is not German, it does not contain almonds, and it is not\u00a0haggis<\/em>\u00a0as we know it (the heart, liver and lungs of a sheep, prepared in its stomach, see\u00a0below<\/a>). Etymologically\u00a0haggis<\/em>\u00a0seems to be related to Dutch or German ‘haksel’, chopped stuff. That could be referring to the chopped stuffing of the omelette.
\nThe other word in the recipe title,\u00a0Almaynne<\/em>\u00a0(German), is harder to explain. I have perused several German cookery books from the fifteenth century (see\u00a0*<\/a>\u00a0at the bottom of this page), but found no omelette stuffed with yolks, parsley and marrow. What they did appreciate were whole eggs, roasted on a spit (look at\u00a0this recipe<\/a>\u00a0if you wonder how they did that).<\/p>\n

Square omelettes stuffed with egg yolks<\/h3>\n

All versions of this ‘haggis<\/span>‘ give clear instructions how to turn a round omelette into a square one by folding back the edges over the stuffing at four sides. In two recipes (in manuscripts Yale University, Beinecke 163 and Holkham 674) the centre of the omelette is covered by pouring an extra egg over it and let it consolidate. With or without extra egg on top, the omelette is turned over in the skillet before serving. The result is a stuffed omelette shaped like a square pillow with the seams underneath.<\/p>\n

Leche – lecher – licken – lekker<\/h3>\n

\"Illustration<\/p>\n

In the manuscript I used as the main source for this dish, B.L. Harleian 279, the recipe is in the section called\u00a0Leche Vyaundez<\/em>, or\u00a0Leche Metys<\/em>\u00a0as it is called in the index of the manuscript, with roasted, fried and deep-fried dishes. The first section is called\u00a0Potages dyuers<\/em>\u00a0(boiled dishes and sauces); the third and last section\u00a0dyuerse bake metis<\/em>\u00a0(baked dishes). All three sections contain dishes with fish, meat, game, vegetables or dairy. In the Middle Ages the word \u2018mete\u2019,\u00a0meat<\/em>\u00a0in modern English, had the wider meaning of\u00a0food<\/em>\u00a0or even\u00a0meal<\/em>, just as ‘vyaunde’ or ‘viande’ (‘meat’ in French). The Dutch word\u00a0proviand<\/em>\u00a0(‘provisions’) is a relic of this obsolete meaning.<\/p>\n

The meaning of \u2018leche\u2019 is more difficult to explain. The\u00a0Middle English Dictionary<\/a><\/em>\u00a0does not give an applicable meaning, and glossaries in editions of Middle English cookery books only mention \u2018slices\u2019 or \u2018in slices\u2019 and cite some recipe titles of dishes with no slices whatsoever without offering an alternative meaning. So I thought: could\u00a0leche<\/em>\u00a0be related to the Dutch (or German) word \u2018lekker\u2019 (tasty, pleasant, nice)? According to the\u00a0Collins English Dictionary<\/em>\u00a0the word\u00a0lecher<\/em>\u00a0is derived from Oldfrench\u00a0lecheor<\/em>\u00a0in the twelfth century. And\u00a0lecheor<\/em>\u00a0is related to\u00a0lechier<\/em>, \u2018to lick\u2019. The Dutch adjective\u00a0lekker<\/em>\u00a0(‘tasty’, ‘delicious’) is derived from an older version of \u2018likken\u2019 (‘to lick’). So,\u00a0Leche Metys<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Leche Vyaundez<\/em>\u00a0could both mean \u2018delicious dishes\u2019.
\nHowever, sometimes\u00a0leche<\/em>\u00a0just means \u2018slice\u2019, as in the recipe from the same section for\u00a0Storioun leche<\/em>, that is not a sturgeon, but a fake sturgeon of pressed veal that is served in slices (in section\u00a0Leche Vyaundez<\/em>\u00a0recipe xv).<\/p>\n

The original recipe<\/h2>\n

The recipe from B.L. Harleian 279 is cited from the 1888 edition by Thomas Austin (p.44, see bibliography), for the translation I also looked at the edition and translation by Cindy Renfrow (p.310, see bibliography), but mine is less verbatim. Other recipes from this manuscript on Coquinaria:\u00a0Strawberry pudding<\/a>,\u00a0Apple fritters<\/a>\u00a0and a\u00a0Fake hedgehog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hagas de Almaynne
\nTake Fayre Eyroun, \u00fee zolke & \u00fee Whyte, & draw hem \u00feorw a straynour; \u00fean take Fayre Percely, & parboyle it in a potte with boyling bro\u00fee; \u00fean take \u00fee zolkys of Eyroun hard y-sothe, & hew \u00fee zolkys & \u00fee Percely smal to-gederys; \u00fean take Sugre, pouder Gyngere, Salt, & caste \u00feer-to; \u00feen take merow, & putte it on a straynourys ende, & lat hange in-to a boyling potte; & parboyle it, & take it vppe, & let it kele, & \u00fean kytte it in smal pecys; \u00fean take \u00fee drawyn Eyroun, & put hem in a panne al a-brode, & vnne\u00fee ony grece in \u00fee panne, & cowche ye zolkys & \u00fee Percely \u00feer-on in \u00fee panne, & \u00fean cowche of \u00fee Marow pecys \u00feer-on, & \u00fean fold vppe eche kake by-ne\u00fee eche corner in .iiij. square, as platte, and turne it on \u00fee panne onez; let lye a litel whyle; \u00fean take it vp & serue forth<\/em><\/div>
German ‘haggis’
\nTake fair eggs, the yolk and the white, and draw them through a strainer. Then take good parsley and steep it in a pot with boiling broth. Then take the yolks of hard-boiled eggs and chop the yolks and the parsley finely. Then take sugar, powdered ginger and salt, and add it. Then take marrow and put it in the tip of a strainer and let it hang into a boiling pot. Parboil it, take it out, let cool and cut into small pieces. Then take the drawn eggs and cover the surface of a barely greased pan completely. Put the yolks and parsley on it in the pan and then put the marrow pieces on it. Fold up each ‘cake’ in a corner back into a square (?), flat, and turn it once in the pan. Leave it for a while, then take it up and serve.<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>Modern adaptation of the recipe<\/h2>\n

In my adaptation I have used an extra egg to cover the stuffing (as in some of the other medieval versions, see supra), but you can choose to forgo that. The parsley is used raw. I mixed the chopped marrow in with the egg yolks. And, because English cuisine frequently uses animal fat, I have fried the omelette in lard.
\nFor 6 to 8 persons<\/span>\u00a0as\u00a0side dish<\/span>\u00a0or first course, for 4 persons as main course;\u00a0preparation in advance<\/em>\u00a015 minutes<\/span><\/span>; preparation<\/em>\u00a010 minutes<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"The5\u00a0eggs<\/span>
\nflarge handful of\u00a0parsley leaves<\/span>\u00a0(or use frozen parsley)
\n3 hard boiled egg yolks
\n\u00bd Tbsp\u00a0sugar<\/span>
\n\u215b tsp salt
\n1 tsp ginger powder
\n30 to 50 gr (1 to 1.5 oz)\u00a0beef marrow<\/a>, chopped (1 to 4\u00a0marrow bones<\/span>, depending on their length)
\nsome\u00a0lard<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0suet<\/a> to grease the pan<\/p>\n

Preparation in advance<\/h3>\n

Beat four eggs together in a bowl, beat the fifth egg separately. Because the stuffing is already salted, you do not need to add salt to the beaten eggs.
\nChop the hard boiled egg yolks and parsley and add sugar, ginger and salt.
\nPrepare the marrow as described\u00a0below<\/a>. Boil fifteen minutes in water or broth. Push the marrow out of the bones, chop finely and add to the stuffing.<\/p>\n

\"WherePreparation<\/h3>\n

Lightly grease a pan with lard or suet and heat it. Pour the four beaten eggs in. Wait until the omelette starts to set underneath but is still moist on top, and sprinkle the spiced egg yolks and marrow in a square on top (see photo on the left). Fold the edges of the omelette over the stuffing, and pour the fifth egg over it (see photo on the right).\u00a0Cover the pan, or place it in the oven with heat from above so the top of the omelette will set. Turn it once, and leave for a few moments.
\n\"TheTurning the omelette<\/strong>\u00a0– Because of the folding, the stuffing and the added egg on top, it is wise not to turn the omelette by throwing it up in the air. Just slide the omelette onto a cover, or use two large scoops to transfer it on the cover. Add some extra grease to the pan, hold it upside down over the cover and turn both over in one movement. Put back on a slow fire for a minute.<\/p>\n

To serve<\/h3>\n

Present the omelette warm on a decorative dish, whole or divided into slices.<\/p>\n

Lacto-vegetarian version<\/span><\/h3>\n

Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the stuffing instead of marrow, and fry the omelette in butter instead of lard or suet.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h2>\n

All descriptions of ingredients<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Haggis<\/h4>\n

A savoury pudding containing sheep’s pluck (heart, liver and lungs) with spices, oatmeal and suet, originally boiled in the animal’s stomach. Modern\u00a0haggis<\/em>\u00a0is often prepared in sausage casing. Although this dish is mainly identified with Scotland, this manner of preparing offal in a stomach is much older. According to Alan Davidson (The Oxford Companion to Food<\/em>) this kind of dish is already mentioned in Roman antiquity, when organ meat was prepared in a pork caul. This way, the offal that would be spoiled within a day could be kept for weeks. The word ‘haggis’ is probably derived from an old German or Scandinavian version of ‘hacken’ (to chop). So, you could regard\u00a0haggis<\/em>\u00a0as a large meat ball of organ meat with grains. In the recipe on this page ‘haggis’ means ‘chopped food’, the chopped boiled yolks, parsley and marrow in the stuffing.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Preparing marrow bones<\/h4>\n

\"The<\/a>Before using bone marrow, you have to prepare it. The bones have to soak for at least twelve hours in salted water which has to be refreshed several times. You’ll see the water turn pink from the blood that is extracted from the bone marrow by the salted water. After soaking rinse the bones and pat them dry.
\nBone marrow can be prepared in to fashions: you can boil them or roast them. If you boil them, fifteen minutes is enough. Roasting takes about as much (or little) time, in a preheated oven of 225-240 \u00b0C\/435-465 \u00b0F. Just place the bones upright in a greased baking tray. When the bones are done, they are served on a plate with a special marrow spoon. The marrow is scooped out of the bones, spread on freshly toasted bread and sprinkled with salt.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Bibliography<\/h2>\n

The editions below were used by me. Links refer to available editions.<\/p>\n