As published in Stormscroll April AS XLVIII pp.20-21 [1]
Lady Auicia le Redde
A group of us have begun to investigate medieval recipes and it is our aim to cook a few recipes at least once a month. After sampling these dishes we will share the recipe of most interest. This month we have chosen to discuss capon crowned with eggs from the Forme of Cury, which is attributed to the master cooks of King Richard II, with the original manuscript thought to date to 1390.
Take capouns and rost hem right hoot, that they be not half ynough, and hewe hem to gobbettes, and cast hem in a pot; do therto clene broth. Seeth hem that they be tender. Take brede and the self broth and draw it up yfere; take strong powdour and safroun and salt and cast therto. Take ayren and seeth hem harde; take out the yolkes and hew the white, take the pot fro the fyre and cast the white therinne. Messe the dysshes therwith, and lay the yolkes aboue hool and flour it with clowes.
Through following a modern adaptation by Maggie Black, and our own interpretation, we followed this recipe:
Serves 6
Pre-heat the oven to 220ºC. Cover the breast of the bird in the butter and roast it for 20-25 minutes, until browned. Allow it to cool before boning and skinning it, and then chop the flesh into bite sized pieces. Place the meat into a pan with the stock and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the meat is cooked. Whilst cooking, take 3 or 4 tablespoons of stock into a separate bowl and steep the saffron in it.
Take the crusts of the slices of bread and finely chop it to form breadcrumbs. When the chicken is cooked, add the breadcrumbs, salt and spices, and simmer for a few minutes until the stock thickens.
Carefully chop the eggs so as to remove the white from the yolk, leaving the yolk whole. Chop the whites finely. To serve the dish, garnish with the egg whites and sprinkle with cloves, before placing the egg yolk carefully on top, so as the “crown” the dish.
The initial reaction whilst Betranus and I prepared the dish was that using chicken breast rather than a whole bird would make the dish significantly easier to prepare, as boning half-cooked chickens on a larger scale takes time, and did get rather messy.
Upon tasting, all found the dish to be delicious, however felt that improvement could be made in the serving. Ludewicus found the consistency to be a little unusual, and felt that it would be better if the sauce was thinner, and chicken pieces small, therefore more soup like, or thicker like a stew. This can be altered by the quantity of stock and breadcrumbs added. He also stated that it would make an ideal accompaniment or side dish. Obbi simply stated that the dish needed a starchy accompaniment, such as bread, or mundanely, potatoes, rather than being served as a stand-alone dish. Rioghan felt that whilst the dish was lacking starch, it was simply morish.
Overall it was agreed that the dish was worth repeating, following the suggest alterations, and that it would be a worthwhile, and simple addition, to any feast.
Phoenix Rise