{"id":9696,"date":"2010-03-05T18:03:19","date_gmt":"2010-03-05T17:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/?p=9696"},"modified":"2019-12-09T12:02:16","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T11:02:16","slug":"stock-for-lent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/stock-for-lent\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegetarian stock for Lent"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"PeasRecipes from the seventeenth century<\/h2>\n

During Lent, between carnival and Easter, the catholic church (and after the Reformation several protestant churches as well) restricted the faithful to a meatless diet. During the Middle Ages all diary products were also banned during Lent, later the use of butter was permitted. Almonds were used instead of meat (almond milk, almond butter, almond cheese, comparable to modern coconut milk, peanut butter and marzipan). For meat stock the alternative was\u00a0pea pur\u00e9e<\/em>. A recipe from\u00a0manuscript KANTL 15.1<\/a>\u00a0indicates that this pur\u00e9e certainly was not as thick as\u00a0modern pea soup<\/a>, but fairly thin: to make a brown sauce, toasted bread must be sieved with beer, verjuice, wine, or ‘purey van eruijten’ (pur\u00e9e of peas).<\/p>\n

On this page are some recipes for pea pur\u00e9e from the seventeenth century. The first one is from Pierre Fran\u00e7ois La Varenne, from\u00a0Le cuisinier Fran\u00e7ois<\/em>\u00a0(1651,\u00a0edition<\/a>). His cookbook is generally known as the first innovative cookbook since the Middle Ages, but some recipes are still purely medieval, like the pea pur\u00e9e described below. So La Varenne’s pea pur\u00e9e can be used for recipes prior to the seventeenth century.
\nThe two recipes from L.S.R. from\u00a0L’art de bien traiter<\/em>\u00a0(1674,\u00a0edition<\/a>) are much more modern, using butter and\u00a0fines herbes<\/em>. The first recipe is for pea pur\u00e9e all year round, the second one especially for Lent. More about L.S.R. and his cookbook in the recipe for\u00a0French peas<\/a>.
\nPea pur\u00e9e is used in the recipe for\u00a0Potage au Jacobine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The original recipes<\/h2>\n

Varenne’s recipe is taken from the\u00a0facsimile edition\u00a0by Hyman and Hyman, the English translation is from\u00a0Scully’s edition<\/a>(p.328). For the recipes from\u00a0L’art de bien traiter<\/em>\u00a0I have used the edition from 1693. Comparison with the edition in modern French from the first edition (1674) shows that the recipe has not been changed. See bibliography for the editions.<\/p>\n

Pur\u00e9e.<\/em>\u00a0(La Varenne, editie p.279)
\nPour faire pur\u00e9e claire, & qui soit bonne, faites tremper vos poix du iour au lendemain apres les auoir bien nettoy\u00e9s : apres quoy, vous les mettrez cuire auec de l’eau de riuiere ou de fontaine, estant tiede. Estant presque cuits, tirez vostre pur\u00e9e, & vous en seruez \u00e0 tout ce que vous voudrez.<\/em><\/div>
Pur\u00e9e.
\nTo make thin pur\u00e9e which is good, steep your peas overnight after having cleaned them carefully. Then set them to cook in warm river water or fountain water. When they are almost done, draw out your pur\u00e9e. Then use it for whatever purpose you like.<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n
Pur\u00e9e de pois communs pour le caresme<\/em>\u00a0(L.S.R. editie 1693 p.212)
\nPrenez des verts tant qu’il en aura, \u00e9pluchez-les, & lavez en eau tiede, que l’on mettra d\u00e8s le soir tremper pour les faire cuire le lendemain \u00e0 petit feu, avec fines herbes, peu de laurier ; qu’il y aye to\u00fbjours de l’eau chaude \u00e0 part dans un cocquemart pour les remplir au besoin, \u00e9crasez-les de temps en temps pour en oster plus facilement les \u00e9caflotes, quand ils seront parfaitement cuits et presque en bo\u00fcillie, passez-les proprement dans la passoire ordinaire, s’il vous manquait du bo\u00fcillon pour aider au reste, servez-vous de celuy d’amandes ou de poisson, ajo\u00fbtez-y quelques geroffles, peu de sel & de beurre, et la conserv\u00e9s pour les potages qui en auront de besoin.<\/em><\/div>
Pur\u00e9e of ordinary green peas for Lent.
\nTake as many green peas as you can get. Clean them and rins in tepid water, to let them steep from the night before to cook the next day, with\u00a0fines herbes<\/em>\u00a0and some bay leaf. Have warm water ready in a coquemar to refill if neccessary. Crush from time to time to easily remove any particles. Strain through an ordinary sieve when they are completely done and practically cooked to a mush. If you lack stock [liquid], use that of almonds or fish. Add some cloves, a little salt and butter, and keep it for the pottages that need it.<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n
Pur\u00e9e de pois verts<\/em>\u00a0(L.S.R. editie 1693 p.211)
\nEmpotez trois ou quatre litrons de gros pois ram\u00e9s, admirables pour cecy quand ils ne valent que trois ou quatre sols le litron, fines herbes, beurre frais, laictu\u00ebs pomm\u00e9es, sel, \u00e9pices, forces oignons blancs, le tout en eau presque bo\u00fcillante,\u00a0 faites les bien cuire & consommer jusques \u00e0 ce qu’ils se mettent en bo\u00fcillie, passez-les avec du m\u00eame bo\u00fcillon, & en conservez le coulis \u00e0 part pour la garniture de vos potages.<\/em><\/div>
Pur\u00e9e of green peas.
\nTake three or four\u00a0litron<\/a>\u00a0large marrowfat peas, admirable because they cost no more than three or four sous the\u00a0litron<\/em>,\u00a0fines herbes<\/a>, unsalted butter, butterhead lettuce, salt, spices, and lots of white onions, all in near-boiling water. cook them well and let them simmer until they are cooked to mush. Strain with the cooking liquid, and keep the sauce on the side to finish your pottages.<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n

Modern adaptation of the recipes<\/h2>\n

The peas have to be steeped in water overnight, according to the recipes, so whole green peas are used and not split peas. However, split peas are just green peas without the husk that keeps the halves together. So use split peas that don’t need steeping if you want to. On the picture below are the floating husks of boiled green peas. By the way, split peas with the husks already removed did not come into production until late nineteenth century.<\/p>\n

Pea stock from La Varenne for Lent<\/h3>\n

\"TheWhat does La varenne mean with\u00a0pur\u00e9e claire<\/em>? Pur\u00e9e is never ‘clear’, least of all pea pur\u00e9e. I think it just means thin pur\u00e9e, and Scully has used the same interpretation.<\/p>\n

Preparation in advance<\/em>\u00a01 night soaking<\/span><\/span>\u00a0(when using whole green peas); preparation<\/em>\u00a060 minutes<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

150 gr (\u00be cup) whole dried green peas or split peas
\n1 litre (1\u00be pints) water
\n1 tsp salt<\/p>\n

Preparation in advance<\/h3>\n

When using green peas, rinse them, and steep them overnight in ample water. Split peas can be used at once.<\/p>\n

Preparation<\/h3>\n

Bring the green peas to the boil with the\u00a0water. When using split peas, add about a quarter amount more water. Cook until the peas are almost done (45 minutes for split peas, 60 minutes for green peas). Pur\u00e9e the stock by straining or using a food mill (passevite). With split peas you can also use a blender.
\nThe resulting liquid is thinner than peasoup, but when it has cooled it will be thick. Reheating will make the pea pur\u00e9e thin again.<\/p>\n

Use this\u00a0stock for Lent<\/em>\u00a0for all medieval recipes that need pea pur\u00e9e.<\/p>\n

Pea stock from L.S.R. for Lent and outside of Lent<\/h3>\n

The recipe from L.S.R. makes it clear that the pur\u00e9e can thicken too much during preparation, you have to have warm water at hand to add if necessary. The addition of butter certainly is not medieval, especially not during Lent, when all dairy products were off limits. Because the recipes for Lent and outside of Lent are much the same, I have combined the two.
\nFor these recipes split peas work best, as you won’t have to remove the husks first before pur\u00e9eing using a blender. For 1 litre\/2 pints.<\/p>\n

150 gr (\u00be cup) split peas
\nsome sprigs of parsley, tarragon, chervil and chives
\nsalt
\n1 litre (1\u00be pints) boiling water
\n3 cloves
\n3 Tbsp unsalted butter<\/p>\n

During Lent<\/em>
\n1 bay leaf<\/p>\n

Outside of Lent<\/em>
\n2 onions, chopped
\n\u00bd head butterhead lettuce, washed and chopped coarsly
\n1 tsp of combined spices (pepper, nutmeg, mace)<\/p>\n

Preparation<\/h3>\n

Add everything but butter and cloves to the water in a pan, bring to the boil and let simmer for 45 minutes. For a stock for Lent add bay leaf. When preparing this stock outside of Lent, add onions, lettuce and spices. When the peas are done, pur\u00e9e everything in a blender or by working it through a strainer or food mill. Add butter and cloves to the still warm pur\u00e9e.<\/p>\n

How to keep and use the stock for Lent<\/h3>\n

All the stock on this page can be frozen. Freeze in amounts varying from 1 tablespoon to a cup or a pint, because for some recipes you’ll only need a spoonful, other recipes have the stock as one of the main ingredients. See also the introduction to\u00a0making stock<\/a>\u00a0on this site.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h2>\n

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

<\/a>Peas<\/h4>\n

The\u00a0Pisum sativum<\/em>\u00a0belongs to the family of\u00a0Leguminosae<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Fabaceae s.l.<\/em>. The seeds (peas) grow in pods which are some also eaten (snow peas). In the seventeenth century the eating of unripe, fresh green peas became very popular (see\u00a0this recipe<\/a>). Dried green peas have to be steeped in water before cooking, and the husks have to be removed. Split peas are dried peas from which the husk is already removed, and they can be cooked without steeping them first. Peas were an important part of the medieval diet, along with lentils and broad beans.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Fines herbes<\/h4>\n

Parsley, chives, tarragon, chervil.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Litron<\/h4>\n

French measure: 831cc or 8,3 deciliter (about 3 1\/2 cups, in Parijs, elsewhere there were different values).<\/p>\n

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

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