Chawatteys – Medieval Pork & Veal Pie with Fruit and Spice (Harleian MS. 279, c. 1430)

Chawatteys pie baked golden brown in a pastry crust — Chawatteys (Harleian MS. 279, c. 1430)

Originally published: 2017 — Updated: 2025

Chawatteys is a late medieval pie blending pork or veal with dried fruit, saffron, eggs, and warm spices. The mix of sweet and savory, baked in a pastry shell, reflects the luxury tastes of fifteenth-century England. It comes to us from Harleian MS. 279, one of the great English cookbooks of the early 1400s.

Did You Know?

The name Chawatteys (also spelled Chawettys or Chywettes) comes from the Middle English word chewet, meaning a small pie. The word is thought to derive from Old French chouette (“owl”), since early chewets were sometimes shaped to resemble little birds. Over time, chewet came to mean any small meat pie, often filled with minced pork, dried fruit, and spices.

Modern notes: Can’t find verjus? Substitute with a splash of wine vinegar. Veal may be replaced with pork, or even chicken. If you want a vegetarian option, mushrooms or eggplant can stand in for the meat (though this moves away from the medieval version). Zante currants and saffron are both available online if your local shop doesn’t stock them.

The Original Recipe

Chawatteys (Harlieian MS 279, c. 1430) Take buttys of Vele, and mynce hem smal, or Porke, and put on a potte; take Wyne, and caste þer-to pouder of Gyngere, Pepir, and Safroun, and Salt, and a lytel verjus, and do hem in a cofyn with yolks of Eyroun, and kutte Datys and Roysonys of Coraunce, Clowys, Maces, and þen ceuere þin cofyn, and lat it bake tyl it be y-now.

Modern Recipe – Chawatteys (Medieval Pork & Veal Pie)

3 cups chopped pork or veal (about 18 oz)
3/4 cup red wine
5 threads saffron
3/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp wine vinegar (or verjus if available)
9 egg yolks
3/8 cup chopped dates
3/8 cup currants
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp mace
Double 9" pie crust

Cut the meat into small cubes (about ½"). Simmer in 1 ½ cups of water for 20 minutes. Drain well.
Prepare pie crust and line a 9" dish.
Fill with cooked meat, chopped dates, and currants.
Whisk together wine, saffron, spices, vinegar, and egg yolks. Pour over filling.
Cover with top crust, seal edges, and vent.
Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes, then increase to 400°F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Menu Placement

Pies such as Chawatteys often appeared in the second course of a feast, balancing hearty roasts with fruit-and-spice richness. Their elaborate fillings also made them suitable for display as a centerpiece dish.

Humoral Theory

This dish is warming and moistening. Pork was considered moist, veal more temperate; egg yolks were hot and moist; saffron, ginger, and pepper all warming. Dried fruit was thought to provide gentle heat and nourishment. Combined, this pie would be especially recommended for colder seasons or for those of dry, cool temperaments.

🥕 Dietary Notes & Substitutions

Contains: Eggs, gluten (pie crust)
Not suitable for: Vegetarians, vegans
Substitutions:
- Gluten-free: Use a gluten-free pie crust.
- Vegetarian: Replace meat with a mix of mushrooms and eggplant.
- Vegan: Use mushroom/eggplant filling and replace egg yolks with a thick almond milk custard or silken tofu puree (experimental, not period).
- No veal available: Substitute all pork, or use chicken/turkey.

Similar Recipes

Chawatteys belongs to a family of medieval pies that combined minced meat, dried fruit, eggs, and spices inside a pastry shell. A few close relatives include:

Chewetys (Chywettes) – small pies, sometimes fried, filled with minced pork, fruit, and egg yolk.
Pyes of Parys – a pork pie with figs, raisins, and dates, also from Harleian MS. 279.
Tart de Bry – a cheese and egg tart, showing how sweet and savory combinations extended beyond meat pies.
Pastys of Fysshe – a Lenten variant using fish instead of pork or veal.

Together, these recipes show how medieval cooks enjoyed the luxurious pairing of meat, fruit, and spice — especially at feast tables.

Sources

Harleian MS. 279 (c. 1430)
Hieatt, Constance B. & Butler, Sharon. Curye on Inglysch. Early English Text Society, 1985.

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