To Stew Shrimps – A 17th-Century Dish from The Accomplisht Cook (c. 1660)
Source: The Accomplisht Cook, c. 1660 (Robert May).
Originally published 10/29/2017. Updated 9/19/2025.
Historical & Culinary Context
This shrimp dish comes from Robert May’s The Accomplisht Cook, one of the most influential English cookbooks of the seventeenth century. First published in 1660, May’s work reflects both medieval traditions and the growing influence of Continental cuisine, especially French and Italian. His recipes were intended for professional cooks serving aristocratic and gentry households, showcasing both practicality and elegance.
Stewed shellfish such as shrimp, cockles, and prawns appear often in May’s book. They were common at English tables, especially in the second course of a banquet or feast, where lighter, more refined dishes were expected after heavier meats. The use of capers, wine, and butter in this recipe signals a clear French influence, blending sharp and savory flavors into a delicate sauce.
🍽️ Menu Placement
Dishes like To Stew Shrimps would likely appear in the second course of a formal meal, accompanying poultry, lighter meats, and vegetable preparations. Served on toast, it could also function as a transitional dish between heavier roasts and sweet entremets.
Humoral Theory
According to Galenic humoral theory still in use during May’s time, shellfish such as shrimp were considered cold and moist. To balance this, cooks paired them with warming, dry ingredients like mace, garlic, pepper, and toasted bread. The addition of vinegar and wine also sharpened and “opened” the dish, believed to aid digestion of the otherwise heavy shellfish.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Shrimp: Fresh or raw “peel-and-eat” shrimp work well. Pre-shelled shrimp save effort when cooking for a crowd.
- Wine: May’s recipe calls for claret, a light red wine. A dry white wine works beautifully in the modern kitchen.
- Capers: Add sharpness. Substitute chopped green olives if unavailable.
- Mace: The lacy outer covering of nutmeg. Substitute nutmeg in smaller quantity if mace is unavailable.
- Bread: Stale white bread was traditional. Any crusty white loaf or baguette makes a good toast base.
🥕 Dietary Notes
- Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free breadcrumbs and bread rounds.
- Dairy-Free: Replace butter with olive oil or dairy-free margarine.
- Allergens: Contains shellfish, eggs, and gluten unless substitutions are made.
Original Recipe (1660)
Wash them well with vinegar, broil or broth them before you take them out of the shells, then put them in a dish with a little claret, vinegar, a handful of capers, mace, pepper, a little grated bread, minced tyme, salt, and the yolks of two or three hard eggs minced, stew all together till you think them enough; then put in a good piece of butter, shake them well together, heat the dish, rub it with a clove of garlick, and put two or three toasts of white bread in the bottom, laying the meat on them. Craw-fish, prawns, or shrimps, are excellent good the same way being taken out of their shells, and make variety of garnish with the shells.
Modern Recipe – To Stew Shrimps
This adaptation simplifies Robert May’s original while retaining its elegant balance of flavors.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (or light red, like claret)
- 1 tbsp wine vinegar
- 1–2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 2–3 hard-cooked egg yolks, minced
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1/4 tsp ground mace (or pinch of nutmeg)
- 1–2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup butter (or dairy-free substitute)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Toasted white bread rounds, for serving
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine wine, vinegar, thyme, breadcrumbs, egg yolks, capers, mace, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Add shrimp and cook gently until just pink and tender (3–5 minutes).
- Stir in the butter and let the sauce thicken slightly.
- Rub serving dish with a cut clove of garlic, lay toasted bread rounds in the bottom, and spoon shrimp mixture over top.
- Serve hot, garnished with shrimp shells for decoration if desired.
🍴 Modern Recipe – To Stew Shrimps (Period-Accurate Adaptation)
This version follows Robert May’s original method more closely, including the vinegar wash, pre-cooking in shells, and garlic-rubbed serving dish.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs shrimp (raw, shell-on if possible)
- 1/4 cup claret (17th-century light red wine)
Modern substitute: dry white wine, rosé, or light red such as Beaujolais - 1 tbsp wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp capers
- 2–3 hard-boiled egg yolks, minced
- 3 tbsp grated bread (stale white bread, finely ground)
- 1–2 sprigs fresh thyme, minced
- 1/4 tsp mace (or pinch of nutmeg)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 clove garlic, halved
- 1/4 cup butter
- 4–6 slices white bread, toasted (rounds or trenchers)
Instructions
- Wash: Rinse shrimp briefly in diluted wine vinegar and water to freshen.
- Pre-cook: Poach or broil the shrimp in their shells for 1–2 minutes, then remove shells (reserve a few for garnish).
- Stew: Place peeled shrimp in a pan with claret, vinegar, capers, mace, pepper, grated bread, thyme, salt, and minced egg yolks. Simmer gently until shrimp are cooked and sauce has thickened.
- Finish: Stir in butter and shake the pan to blend the sauce smoothly.
- Prepare dish: Warm the serving dish, rub the bottom with the halved clove of garlic, and lay toasted bread rounds inside.
- Assemble: Spoon the shrimp mixture over the toasts. Garnish with the reserved shells for presentation. Serve immediately.
🦐 Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Shrimp: Fresh or raw “peel-and-eat” shrimp work well. Pre-shelled shrimp save effort when cooking for a crowd.
- Vinegar Wash: May directs that shellfish be washed with vinegar. This was partly for freshness and preservation, partly for humoral balance (drying out the “cold and moist” nature of shrimp). You can mimic this with a quick rinse in diluted wine vinegar or lemon water, though it’s not strictly necessary with modern seafood.
- Wine – Claret: In the seventeenth century, “claret” meant a light red Bordeaux wine, often pale and tart — more like a rosé or Beaujolais than today’s heavy reds. For seafood, a dry white wine or rosé works beautifully as a substitute, though a light-bodied red like Beaujolais can be used if you want to lean historic.
- Capers: Add sharpness. Substitute chopped green olives if unavailable.
- Mace: The lacy outer covering of nutmeg. Substitute nutmeg in smaller quantity if mace is unavailable.
- Bread: Stale white bread was traditional. Any crusty white loaf or baguette makes a good toast base.
📚 Sources
- Robert May, The Accomplisht Cook (London, 1660). Project Gutenberg edition.
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