Richmond Castle Saturday Recipes

This is part one of two posts...

So, as well as being a costumer I do the cooking for my re-enactment group, Conquest.

We're doing an event at Richmond Castle this weekend, so I thought I'd share the recipes.

Please be aware these are much in the vein of actual medieval recipes, which don't contain ingredient quantities - though I try to write them with the items in the largest amount first.

Beef Stuffed with Lamb

Talk to your butcher to get a cut that will stand up to both being bashed, and being rolled and cooked relatively quickly.
Because the other ingredients (lamb, etc) are already cooked, you can cook the beef to your preference.  Just make sure it's cooked to a safe temperature - I use a meat thermometer to check on camp (which I really recommend, even in a home kitchen, they're really useful), but you can do it by hand or by poking with a skewer. 

Beef steaks, about 1.5cm or 2cm thick, (or a piece of beef that you cut up)
Minced lamb or minced mutton
Onion, very finely chopped
Cinnamon, ground
Pepper, ground, black
Ginger, ground
Nutmeg, ground
Cloves, ground
Sea salt
Vegetable oil

Lay the slices of beef on a chopping board. Cover with a clean cloth (in a modern kitchen, put between two pieces of cling film or paper parchment) and flatten slightly with a rolling pin or similar.

Fry off  the onion in a little vegetable oil till it softens.  Add the spices, including a little salt.  Add the minced lamb or mutton straight away, and fry till it's cooked through and slightly browned.  Drain the lamb / mutton.

Put a dollop of the lamb/mutton mix onto the beef, and spread out. Leave a gap without the lamb/mutton on at the end. 
Roll up the beef and tie securely with string.

Roll up the beef, and tie into place securely with string.

Either pan fry the rolls,  or gently roast on skewer gently until cooked.  (In a modern kitchen you can also cook it in an oven, about 180 till it cooks through, or you can cook it on a barbecue.)

To serve remove the string and slice.

Funges

When buying mushrooms, don't just get one kind.  Supermarkets have loads of different kinds these days.  At the weekend, I'll be using a combination of normal white closed cup mushrooms, chestnut mushrooms, portobellini mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and woodland mushrooms.  There's no need to peel the mushrooms, but obviously they should be washed.
The other mushrooms can be cut into large chunks (quarters or sixths, half if they're small), but for the oyster mushrooms, just tear them by hand.
For the mushroom stock I just use Knorr 'stock pots', but you can make your own if you prefer. 
There is no salt in the recipe because of the soy sauce, which should be added to taste.  The soy sauce is a replacement for a medieval fermented sauce called 'murri', which as far as I know, nobody has so far managed to recreate.  At least not safely.

Mushrooms, assorted, chopped
Mushroom stock
Leeks, finely sliced
Soy sauce, light
Cloves, ground 
Pepper, ground, black
Vegetable oil

Fry off the leeks and mushrooms.

Add the stock, cloves, pepper and soy sauce.

And then one of my favourite phrases from medieval recipes, 'cook it until it is done'.

Cucumber salad

You can dispense with the allium flowers and cucumber flowers if you can't get them - in the UK, I use westlandsuk.co.uk - if you omit the allium, I'd suggest adding in some chopped chives.
The galangal paste can be replaced with minced or grated fresh galangal if you prefer - I find the paste easier to get (though you can usually get fresh from The Spice Shop).
The garlic can be crushed in a garlic press in a modern kitchen (we don't have one in the group kitchen, because they didn't exist yet).  You could also use garlic paste.  If using jarlic, you'd probably need to do more chopping as it won't be fine enough.
For the cucumbers, cut them into four along the length (assuming normal size), then cut each piece into strips.  You can peel them if you prefer - or you can use them skin-on - your personal preference is fine.

Cucumbers, peeled and cut into strips
Fresh mint, chopped
Cucumber flowers
Allium flowers
Galangal paste
Garlic, minced 
Sea salt
Olive oil, ideally extra virgin

Mix garlic, galangal, salt, mint, and oil together.  (Put the other ingredients in a small pot and add a spoonful of the oil to get it started, then add more.)  Let stand to allow flavours to blend.

Arrange the cucumber and in a bowl, and coat with oil.

Add the flowers over the top

Rosehip Pudding

At the weekend, I'm using modern plant Elmlea (fake cream) to handle a lactose intolerance, but the standard recipe calls for double cream.  We whisk this lightly by hand, using a bunch of wooden skewers, to comply with modern food hygiene standards - medieval people would have used a birch whisk (made from twigs that had been stripped of their bark, and tied together at one end).  It's easier to thicken it if you let it come to room temperature first - this may not be a concern if using a modern whisk.
The xanthan gum is a replacement for a wheat starch, which you would cook in a solution with water, then add to the cream.  (We have a coeliac member, so I'm compromising.)  Because the xanthan gum doesn't need to be heated to thicken, we can skip that step.
The violet petals are a dressing - you could use any edible flower, including rose petal if in season, or candied petals if out of season.
The honey is added for flavour, not sweetness - you could also used a little dark brown sugar - not too much, we don't want the pudding to be too sweet.
The sugar added at the end is cut straight from the block.  The sugar can be bought as jaggery from Asian shops, but if you can't get it, sprinkle some normal brown sugar on top (not too much).

Double cream (plant Elmlea) - whisked
Rosehip syrup
Dark honey
Violet petals
Xanthan gum
Saffron
Cone sugar (jaggery)
Water (tiny bit)

Add warm water to saffron and let it sit (not loads, a couple of table spoonsful). 

Whisk the cream (or 'cream') till it thickens.

Add the saffron liquid and strands, gradually, to a couple of tea spoonsful of xanthan gum, stirring all the time to avoid lumping.
Add the rosehip syrup and the honey to the saffron liquid.
Mix the rosehip mixture into the cream (or 'cream').

Put it all in a serving dish, sprinkle with the rose petals, and some flaked sugar.

Eggs in Rosewater

This is a very... odd... dish.  It's like Turkish delight flavoured eggs.
The original recipe says to use just rosewater, but I've found that using half rosewater and half plain water is plenty strong enough.  Feel free to try it with just rosewater if you like.
Effectively what this is is eggs, separated, and just poached in rosewater.  Keeping the eggs separate is quite easy, as long as you don't break the yolk.

Egg yolks
Rosewater
Water
Cinnamon
Brown sugar

Put rosewater and water in small cauldron, about 50/50.

Mix some cinnamon and sugar together, and set aside.

When the water/rosewater is boiling (or at least hot), separate the yolks from the whites, and drop them into the water, without breaking the yolk and trying to keep them separate.

Let them cook till the yolks harden.  You're going for hard boiled egg consistency.

To serve, remove from the water, put on a serving dish, and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mix.

Cardamom Cakes

These are medieval cakes - not necessarily the modern fluffy and light cake that we're used to - and not as sweet.

Plain flour (300g)
Butter (230g)
Brown sugar (200g)
Currants (150g)
1 whole egg, beaten
Juice of half a lime
10 cardamom pods, crushed

Cream the butter and sugar, then add in the beaten egg.

Mix in the other ingredients, and knead till well incorporated.  

Let the dough rest for about an hour (yes, dough, not batter).  Meanwhile, pre heat the oven to about 180C.

Form the dough into small rounds, about 2.5cm across or so, and place on a greased or lined baking tray.  Bake for around 10 minutes till they're firm.  They should not be particularly browned.

Allow to cool.

Dandelion and Burdock

Please see Sunday's recipe post, so I don't have to type it all out twice *grin*.