Tartys in Applis (Alice's Saucy Tart) by Alice Percy

Within the Culinary Group, I'm known for my apple-based recipes. Sola (who was a beloved member of the group until she moved away) and her son call me "the apple lady." I'm not really sure when it became a thing, but for the first six months or so of our meetings, I pretty much just made variations on apple pie.

My favourite period recipe for apple pie is Tartys in Applis. This beautiful, simple and delicious recipe for a tart-like apple pie comes from Forme of Cury, which is also my favourite period cookbook:

"For To Make Tartys In Applis. Tak gode Applys and gode Spycis and Figys and reysons and Perys and wan they are wel ybrayed colourd wyth Safroun wel and do yt in a cofyn and do yt forth to bake wel."

I really like this one because has a nice mix of fruit - apples, figs, raisins, and pears - with spices, and because it's a recipe I interpret differently every single time I make it. It really shows the joys of the redaction process, and also that there's a whole lot of ways that you could plausibly make something "right." 

When I look at this recipe, I can feasibly see a sort of apple and tart sauce mixture spooned out of a thick pastry coffin as being correct. I can also see a sort of shallow tart filled with finely chopped fruit being correct. I can see many different ways you might take the information contained in this recipe and roll with it, and that's what I quite like about period recipes - they just let you get on with it. (Sometimes, at your peril!)

Play with this recipe and it will be kind to you. It's one of those great flavour combinations which always seem to work out just fine. I feel like all SCA cooks should have a go-to apple pie recipe, since it seems like somebody always wants one! 

Medieval Cookery has a really great redaction that you can use straight from page to pie, if you just want to make something tasty and don't want to think about it too much. 

This is my favourite tried-and-true way to put together this pie, though. The texture of the grated fruit is a little bit unusual, so if you don't like it, that's fine. Just chop your fruit up really small or in chunks or whatever makes your heart happy. Feel free to remove raisins or whatever you don't like; the ghosts of King Richard II's kitchen staff will not jump through your window in the night to punish you!

Tartys in Applis (Alice's Saucy Tart) 

4 tart baking apples (Granny Smith is good. If you absolutely HAVE to use a sweet apple, don't add any sugar and add a little more lemon juice.)

3 pears (Bartlett or Anjou) 

4 dried figs

1/2 cup raisins 

1 T apple pie spice or powder douce (if you have it)
2 T sugar

A few threads of saffron

1 egg yolk

1 tsp lemon juice
1 9" pie crust (I'm much too lazy to make my own, but any basic short pastry is fine) 

1. Peel your apples and pears. 

2. Using a box grater, grate the apples and pears into a large bowl. 

3. There will be a ridiculous amount of juice (trust me) so strain the grated fruit very well, pressing out excess moisture until it's no longer dripping. Get rid of the juice (or drink it, it's good for you!) 

4. Return the fruit to the large bowl and add the lemon juice. Chop your figs very small and add them to the bowl with the grated fruit, along with the sugar and spices and a couple of the saffron threads. Mix together.

5. In a pot, gently cook your fruits and spices together until they are translucent and the spices are fragrant. 

6. While the fruit is cooking, blind bake your pie crust based on your pastry's cooking instructions. 

7. Take your crust out of the oven, then spread the fruit mixture into the crust. Feel free to garnish with whatever makes you smile. 

8. In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk with a couple saffron threads. Brush all visible pie crust and the top of the pie with this mixture for a nice golden finish. 

9. Bake for a further 20 minutes or so (depends on your pastry) to set the mixture and finish off the crust. 

10. Serve warm or cool, preferably with a nice ice cream or dollop of 'snowe.' 

Until next time!

- Alice Percy

Spinach Tart by Tomas de Courcy

The recipe is from one of my go-to cook books Le Menagier de Paris as translated by Janet Hinson:

TO MAKE A TART, take four handfuls of beet-leaves, two handfuls of parsley, one handful of chervil, a bit of turnip-top and two handfuls of spinach, and clean them and wash them in cold water, then chop very small: then grate two kinds of cheese, that is one mild and one medium, and then put eggs with it, yolk and white, and grate them in with the cheese; then put the herbs in the mortar and grind them up together, and also add to that some powdered spices. Or in place of this have first ground up in the mortar two pieces of ginger, and over this grate your cheeses, eggs and herbs, and then throw in some grated old pressed cheese or some other such on to the herbs, and carry to the oven, and then make it into a tart and eat it hot.

Ingredients:

One bag spinach (this cooks down a lot, it’s less than you think)
Some swiss chard (for the colour so use as much or little as you want, but we want the bright red stalks to give the dish colour)
1 cup fresh parsley – diced
1 tbsp dried chervil
2 cups grated Mozzarella
1 cup grated Romano or Parmesan (feel free to use the dried stuff when in a hurry)
6 eggs
1 tbsp Powder Fort (substitute powdered ginger if needed)
2 tsp salt
2 pie crusts (make your own, or buy the pre-made crusts or a package of pre-made individual tart shells)

1. wash spinach and chard very well
2. chop spinach, chard, and parsley small (don't use a food processor, it doesn't have the right texture) 3. beat eggs
4. mix herbs and spices together
5. add spices and cheese to eggs and mix
6. pour egg mixture over greens and mix
7. spoon into pie crusts or tart shells
8. bake at 350 until cooked (depends on depth of pie usually an hour)

 The final result is kind of like a quiche but with the greens and egg percentages swapped.

- Tomas de Courcy (for more information on this and many other interesting recipes, be sure to check out his blog, too!)

Ása's Peeres in Confyt and 'Snowe' Cream

As part of the TUA feast, we were given the opportunity to make a gluten-free dessert for those in the populace who couldn't enjoy the apple strudel that Mistress Joan from Borealis made.

Ása decided to go with a recipe for pears poached in red wine. This is a classic dessert which is still really popular in England and the Commonwealth today, but it has its origins in the Forme of Cury - a 14th century English cookbook put together by King Richard II's cooks. We refer to this cookbook often, so I guess he had good taste! 

The recipe, as it is described in the Forme of Cury (transcribed by Samuel Pegge in 1780) is: 

"PEERES IN CONFYT. XX.VI. XII. Take peeres and pare hem clene. take gode rede wyne & mulberes oþer saundres and seeþ þe peeres þerin & whan þei buth ysode, take hem up, make a syryp of wyne greke. oþer vernage with blaunche powdour oþer white sugur and powdour gyngur & do the peres þerin. seeþ it a lytel & messe it forth."

There's an excellent redaction available on the website Medieval Cookery, but Ása's redaction is a little different and a little more modern. We served these with a 'snowe' cream. 

As there were a few children and adults who were gluten-intolerant and couldn't have alcohol, Ása also made a few pears in a simple syrup. These were equally popular! 

Ása's Peeres in Confyt

5 pears (Bartlett or Anjou)
6 cups red wine

4 cups sugar

Zest of an orange

2 sticks of cinnamon

1-2 T whole cloves

A knob of peeled ginger root 

1/2 cup of honey 

Peel your pears and cut them in half lengthwise. With a spoon or paring knife, cut or scoop out the inedible core of each pear half. In a large pot, set all other ingredients to boil. Place the pears in the boiling wine mixture and cook for 20-30 minutes, until the pears are soft enough to be cut with the press of a fork or a spoon. Remove the pears from the wine and set aside to cool. 

Continue to boil the red wine mixture until it becomes a thick syrup. Strain while hot, then bottle. 

To serve, place half a pear in the center of a plate or bowl, top with a generous dollop of 'snowe' or whipped cream, and drizzle with the reduced syrup. Makes 10 servings. 

*For a non-alcoholic version, simply replace the red wine with water. 

'Snowe' Cream 

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 T rose water***

1-2 T icing sugar

Snowe comes up a few times in English Renaissance cookbooks, and usually includes egg whites. I'm not comfortable serving raw egg whites to a large number of feastgoers, my skills at tempering them are not good enough for me to be certain they'd be safe, and I think the texture might put off some less keen feastgoers. Therefore, I decided to simply flavor some regular whipping cream with a little rose water to give folks the impression of snowe without the risk. 

Combine all in a bowl and whisk (hand or electric.) 

***You must be very careful with rose water! The concentration can range widely depending on which brand you buy. Test, test, and test again. Start by adding a tiny amount, then add more if necessary. Rose water can absolutely destroy a recipe if you slip and add too much! 

Until next time!

- Alice Percy

A Trio of Butters

For our Spring Grand TUA (The University of Avacal) feast, we decided to serve a trio of butters to go with the fresh-baked bread provided by the Borealis Culinary Guild. I'm not really sure what the period accuracy is of serving flavored butters with bread; however, it's an absolute SCA staple and I think it's just as important to acknowledge our internal customs and traditions.

For variety, we served a herb butter, a whipped butter, and a honey butter. I highly recommend whipping any butter you use for a feast - not only is it easier to spread, it will increase the volume of your butter and make it stretch a little further.

Two pounds of butter for each recipe handily made enough for ten tables of eight, with plenty extra to go around. 

Honey Butter

Honey butter is a feast staple around here. How strong you make it depends totally on your taste and the tastes of your populace. In general, you want between 1/4 and 1/2 as much honey as you have butter. 

1 cup softened butter (make sure it's really, really soft) 

1/3 cup runny honey 

1 T milk or water, for blending 

Combine all using a whisk, electric or hand. (Use a stand mixer if you're putting together a feast - trust me.) More honey will result in a firmer texture. 

Herb Butter

We adapted this recipe from Bóthæiðr's "Scarborough Faire" butter, which was a big hit in Northshield. She recommends using a strong gouda cheese rather than the parmesan, and in a larger amount.

1 cup softened butter (really soft!)
1/3 cup mixed fresh herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme)
3 T parmesan cheese (or aged gouda,) or to taste
1 T olive oil, for blending

Combine all using a whisk, electric or hand. (Use a stand mixer if you're putting together a feast.)

Whipped Butter

Butter is easy to whip, and it gives your feast a much more finished air than just dropping a brick of cold butter on the table. You'll find less will be wasted if it's whipped, since it stretches more and people are more likely to use it up if it's easier to spread on their bread! 

1 cup softened butter (very soft!)

1 T milk or water, for blending

Please note, this will not work if you butter is still even a little bit cold. You want it almost as soft as it can be before it melts! Combine your butter and the milk or water and blend with a whisk (electric or hand) until it reaches the desired texture. If it's not getting soft enough, try adding a little more milk. 

*Do not whip butter ahead of time and then pop it in the fridge! Once whipped butter gets cold, it will lose its texture and you're back at square one.  

Until next time!

- Alice Percy