The following was published in Stormscroll July AS XL 2014 p. 24[1]
Lady Auicia le Redde
For this investigation Samon roste in Sauce was the chosen dish to discuss. Cooked by Furgus, this dish was liked by all, even those who had expressed concern at the choice of dish, as they have never liked fish. The original recipe is from Harleian MS 4016, circa 1450.
Take a Salmond, and cut him rounde, chyne and all, and roste the pieces on a gredire; And take wyne, and pouder of Canell, and drawe it thorgh a streynour; And take smale minced oynons, and caste thereto, and let hem boyle; And then take vynegre or vergeous, and pouder ginger, and cast there-to; and then ley the samon in a dish, and cast the sirip theron al hote, and serue it forth.
The following is Furgus’ interpretation:
Sweat shallots and garlic in butter until soft. Add the wine and simmer, until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain the liquid into a saucepan, reserving the shallots and garlic for later. Add thyme to the wine for a minute, before removing. Add the vinegar and bring to a boil. Whilst maintaining a boil, add cold cubes of the remaining butter, whisking briskly to form an emulsion.
Meanwhile heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the salmon, skin-side down and fry until the skin becomes crispy, then turn over and cook the salmon until just cooked. Serve the salmon with the shallots and garlic, with the sauce poured over the top.
Whilst the spices were excluded from this dish, following a more modern interpretation, the acidic tang of the fish followed medieval cooking principles, those of Galen’s humoural theories. Here the cold and moist salmon was balanced by the heat and dryness of the onion and vinegar. Whilst the use of the butter in the sauce is not commonly used in period dishes, it was used to thicken the sauce, which would otherwise spill away from the fish when served. The use of shallots and garlic here reflect the changes in onions over the centuries, which, in the medieval period were small and clumping in habit, much like shallots, rather than the large onions we know today.
As previously stated, there were several of the food tasters who expressed great concern at being served salmon, on the basis of not liking fish. Obbi in particular stated that for twenty-eight years he has never, ever liked fish, especially not salmon, however, after tasting this dish has decided to try cooking it for himself as he enjoyed it immensely. Lord Stoff was also one who has never been particularly fond of fish, however quite enjoyed it.
Lord Toof called the dish excellent, whilst Lord Rioghan felt that the shallots would be better served as a part of the sauce. I found the sauce to be excellent, even just served with bread to mop it up, after the fish was eaten.
As a part of a feast, the salmon would want to be a feature dish, due to the cost of the meat, but is a definite worthy addition, as even the non-fish eaters loved the dish.
Phoenix Rise