Showing posts with label Soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soup. Show all posts

Per far minestra di Lenti secche - To prepare a thick soup of dried lentils

 

Esau and the Mess of Pottage, by Jan Victors (1619-1676)

I love lentils! They are one of my favorite legumes and they have a very long history of cultivation dating back between 8000 and 10000 years ago.  When I found this recipe in Scappi's Opera I knew I had to try it.  It makes a delicious  (and inexpensive) soup, but an even better salad.  

I have to confess, I cheated and used canned lentils for the salad, but you could make this even less expensive and purchase dried lentils and cook them yourself according to your packages directions.  I have included the soup recipe here, along with the changes I made to convert this from a soup to a salad.

When/if the SCA allows us to cook feasts again, you will be seeing this soup at a future event. 

Per far minestra di Lenti secche - To prepare a thick soup of dried lentils

Clean dirt off the lentils and put them into a pot with warm water; remove any that float and boil the rest in the same water. While they are boiling, with a large, holed spoon lift out any that rise to the top and put them into another pot: that is done so that the sand that sometimes gets into their little hole will come out and drop to the bottom of the pot. Put good lentils into a pot with oil, salt, a little pepper, saffron, water and a handful of beaten fine herbs; finish off cooking them. For the dish to be good, make the broth rather thick. Cloves of garlic can also be cooked with them, and bit pieces of tench and pike.

1 ½ c. lentils
2 ½ c. water
2 T olive oil
1 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic chopped
3/4 tsp salt
¼ tsp. Pepper
Herbs to taste; basil, rosemary, oregano, fennel, thyme, parsley or sage  
Pinch saffron

Opt: Onion (for modern taste), additional olive oil, lemon

The beauty of lentils is that they do not need to go through a prolonged soaking period. Do make sure to rinse your lentils before you add them to your pot of water, and do make sure that as they cook you remove any that rise to the top, and any scum that forms while they are cooking. You can if you choose cook your lentils in vegetable stock but it is not a necessary step.  

Cook your garlic in your oil, add all other ingredients with the exception of salt.  Bring water to a boil, lower heat to a medium-low and simmer your soup until lentils are tender.  You may add any herbs you wish.  I usually add a handful of kale to this soup along with some onion (which I've cooked with the garlic), thyme, basil and parsley. 

To serve, garnish with a drizzle of oil and a squirt of lemon. 

To Make into a "Salad" -  Make a dressing using lemon juice or vinegar (about 1/4 cup), olive oil (about 3/4 cup), herbs and spices, and mix with your lentils while warm.  Serve warm or cold. 

An Onion Pottage, The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May


An Onion Pottage

Fry good store of slic’t onions, then have a pipkin of boiling liquor over the fire, when the liquor bils put in the fryed onions, butter and all, with pepper and salt: being well stewed together, serve in on sops of French bread.

Interpreted Recipe

3 tbsp. olive oil
½ pound of onions peeled and sliced 1/4 “thick
4 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet, add sliced onions and sauté for about 10 minutes or until golden brown stirring occasionally. Bring broth to boil, add onions and cook over medium heat for ten minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Put toasted bread in individual bowls, pour broth over the onions and serve immediately.

For Gusset that may be another potage, A Proper Newe Booke of Cookerye, Anonymous

 


Note: For this dish the chicken was poached in the seasoned broth.  Sliced and then served over sippets of bread.  It was very well received. 

For Gusset that may be another potage.

Take the broathe of the Capons and put in a fayre chafer, then take a dosen or syxtene egges and stere them all together whyte and all, then grate a farthynge whyte loafe as smale as ye canne, and mynce it wyth the egges all togeather, and putte thereto salte and a good quantite of safiron, and or ye putte in youre egges, putte into youre brothe, tyme, sauerye, margeron and parseley small choppd, and when ye are redye to your dynner, sette the chafer upon the fyre wyth the brothe, and lette it boyle a lyttle and putte in your egges and stere it up well for quaylinge the less. The less boylynge it hathe the more tender it wyll be, and then serve it forthe two or three slyces upon a dysshe.

Interpreted Recipe

4 C clear chicken broth
1 tbsp. Minced parsley
1 tsp. Salt
Pinch of saffron
⅛ tsp. each marjoram, thyme, savory
2 eggs
2 tsp . bread crumbs
3 slices hot buttered toast


Add parsley, salt, saffron,marjoram, thyme, and savory to chicken broth and simmer for 15 minutes. Beat the eggs with the bread crumbs and stir them into the broth. Turn off the heat and let the broth simmer for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Divide the toast among individual soup bowls and pour the hot broth over it immediately.

Crown Tournament 10/19/2019 - Suppon Nabe - カメのスープ - (Turtle Soup)

 Suppon Nabe - カメのスープ -  (Turtle Soup)

I know it's been awhile since I posted anything to the blog. My mind has been on other things. However, I am back in the groove and will be completing the posts for Crown Tournament in the next few weeks.  

My wonderful assistant, Miguel Mono De Hierro, whom you may remember made the Himono (grilled dried fish) volunteered to make this luscious Suppon Nabe, a simple and super rich turtle soup most often served in the fall for this event. This was my personal favorite dish of the entire event and I am so grateful that he made it. The third tray of Iemetsu's banquet consisted of two showy dishes and two soups. In lieu of the Carp Soup (Funa no Shiru) Suppon Nabe was served.  To continue the fall dishes in this course, ginger pork rolls stuffed with miso eggplant and braised pork belly with quail eggs served as the main dishes. 

Fowl served with its wings (hamori) - spectacle dish

Carp soup - Funa no shiru 鮒の汁 (Crucian Carp Broth) Use a miso above the grade of nakamiso, and it is good to add dashi. Wrap the funa (crucian carp) in wakame (Undaria pinnatifida seaweed) or kajime ( Ecklonia cava (species of brown alga)) and simmer it. When the umami flavor is light, add ground katsuo (bonito). However you do it, it is good to bring the miso to the start of a boil, like dashi. Boil it well and pour in salted sake. Sanshô powder is used as a suikuchi.

Turbo (sazae) Sazae 栄螺 (Horned turban, Turbo cornutus) - It is good to make with such things as the insides of yonaki (spindle tailed snail), mirukui(Mirugai clam), torigai (Cockle), and tairagi(Fan mussel). Scald, and dress with wasabi and miso vinegar

[Spiny lobster] served in a boat shape (funamori) - spectacle dish

“Cloud hermit” (unzen)soup - Unzen (or unzenkan) was a Chinese dish adopted in the Muromachi period, a gelatin made from grated yam, sugar, and scrambled egg, which was steamed to form a cloud shape when floating in soup.

"The carp in the second soup was the favorite fish of the Muromachi period before sea bream surpassed it in popularity in the Edo period, when it still had its fans. Carp, wrote Hayashi Razan, was both a delicacy (bibutsu) and an auspicious delicacy nicknamed a “gift to Confucius” since the Chinese scholar received one when his son was born. However, two other dishes, which also date to Muromachi-period culinary customs, were especially objects of attention (Rath, Banquets)." 

Here is the instructions in his own words on how to make this soup. Here is a link to a video that shows the entire process--warning--it might be a bit graphic as it does show how to kill and clean the turtle.

How to cook most expensive turtle stew.

Suppon Nabe

Two medium soft shelled turtle or 1 large soft shelled turtle 
1 litre sake 
1 litre water 
1-1/12 cupsLight japense soy sauce 
2-3 leeks ( well roasted)

The hardest steps involve processing the turtle whole.

If using a fresh turtle, kill the animal by removing it's head and inserting the knife at the base of the neck on the dorsal side of the animal and drain the blood into sake to prevent clotting. Allow the blood to drain for several minutes. Ten remove the plastron ( underside of the turtle from shell), intestines and other internal organs. Cut out esophagus and remove from neck. Remove leg quarters from shell/ plasteron and cut off nails from each foot.  You then remove the soft portion of shell from bone. Finally you rinse all meat pieces and remove excess blood

Next boil a large pot of water and dump this over the turtle chunks, shell and plasteron.  Then you peel off the skin from all the legs, head, shell, and plasteron.

In a large pot mix 1litre of sake and 1 litre of water to a boil. Add all the turtle pieces to stew and add urikasi ( light ) soy sauce. Skim excess foam from the top of the soup. Allow this to boil until the meat is soft (45 mins to 1 hour), add extra soy sauce and sake as needed to restore fluid levels and to taste.

Once the turtle meat is tender remove the large meat from the stock. While meat is still hot remove any bones ( be sure to get as many of the metatarsels and digit bones as possible, then add the meat back to broth and add slow roasted leeks . Simmer to allow leeks and broth to meld

The collagen in this soup is amazing and the different meats of the turtle (supposedly there are seven) add an odd textual component while still giving lots of flavor. I allowed mine to simmer for extra time before serving to reduce an odd aroma and let the leeks percolate in the broth and take off some of the gameiness of the turtle.

For more information you may want to read Eric Rath's "Banquets Against Boredom:Towards Understanding(Samurai) Cuisine in EarlyModern Japan."

Crown Tournament 10/19/2019 - Sumashi-jiru すまし汁 (Clam Soup) & Yuzuke ゆずけ (hot water over rice)

Sumashi-jiru すまし汁 (Clam Soup)
Picture by Avelyn Grene (Kristen Lynn)
According to the Ryōri Monogatari,“Suimono” refers to a clear (or relatively clear) broth. The bowls should obtain few ingredients and should not feel crowded. In keeping with the tradition of one soup, and "X" number of sides, the soup that was provided in the second round was a suimono that would normally contain oysters, but, clams were substituted via cook's prerogative because the cook (me) does not care for the taste of oysters. Perhaps it has something to do with being land locked? Oysters come canned or frozen, but not exactly fresh?

Kaki かき (Oysters) - Put in salt, leave a good amount, and put in the oysters. When it steams, season to taste. If there is too little broth, then water or dashi can be put in. It can also be done without putting in the salt. Adding sakeshio is good.

Note: Clams substituted for Oysters

Interpreted recipe:

1 lb.clams (live, in shell, about 12 to 16)
5 cups water
Salt to taste
To garnish: lemon peel /or  mitsuba  (wild Japanese parsley)

Soak clams in salted water overnight, or at least for several hours. Heat basic clear soup to boil, drop in clams. After shells open up, place in a small soup bowl. Strain soup stock. Bring stock to a boil, and garnish with strips of mitsuba.

Note: The Japanese store where I purchased most of my items had frozen clams in the shell in 2 pound packages.  I used these for the feast. 

DASHI だし (BASIC STOCK) Chip katsuo into good size pieces, and when you have 1 shō worth, add 1 shō 5 gō of water and simmer. Sip to test and should remove the katsuo when it matches your taste. Too sweet is no good. The dashi may be boiled a second time and used.

Note: In Japanese cooking there are five different types of dashi:

Kombu Dashi - made from dried kelp (kombu)
Katsuo Dashi - made with katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
Iriko Dashi - made from iriko (dried anchovies), or niboshi (dried sardines)
Shiitake Dashi - made from shiitake mushrooms that have been dried
Awase Dashi - made from a combination of any of the above.

Many of the dishes I prepared used Awase Dashi as the stock, either a mixture of kimbu and katsuo or kombu and shiitake. The instructions for the dashi used for this dish can be found here.

Yuzuke ゆずけ (hot water over rice)
Garnished with Furikake and Umeboshi
Picture by Avelyn Grene (Kristen Lynn)
Yuzuke ゆずけ (hot water over rice)

Eric Rath advises that a "typical formula for describing the organization of trays and dishes at honzen banquets was “seven, five, three”. This indicated three trays each with a soup, and seven, five, and three side dishes on them respectively. This was the format of the banquet for Iemitsu in 1630, and one that was typical service for the shogun in the Edo period." It is believed that the discovery of "yuzuke" was an accident, attributed to the third Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358–1408)  when he became drunk at a party, poured hot water on his rice, and ate it.

He further explains:
"Three trays was a typical formulation for shoguns, but the number of trays and the number of dishes on them varied for guests of other rank. Large banquets in the Muromachi period might have up to thirty-two side dishes, although some of these dishes, like a few described below, were decorative and not meant to be consumed.In the Edo period, most samurai including daimyo were, like commoners, limited by sumptuary legislation to just two trays of food at banquets, albeit daimyo that held their own provinces (kunimochi) were allowed seven side dishes, but commoners and hatamoto could only have five side dishes."

One of the more historically interesting dishes that was served at the feast was Yuzuke. Introduced in the Heian era, "yuzuke",  is a bowl of rice and hot water poured on top. It became f a formal banquet dish during the Muromachi era.  It is speculated that it may be a precursor to ochazuke. The "Ryori Monogatari (Story of the meals)" a recipe similar to ochazuke which combies rice, chestnuts, or sweet potato with tea. I include the information from the Ryori Mongatari for interest, but it was NOT served at feast.

NARA CHA 奈良茶 (NARA TEA) - First, roast the tea, put it in a bag, and boil just the tea and azuki. Next, put in beans and rice, and roast half of them. Make sure to cut the beans open and discard the shell. Alternatively, add such things as sasage, kuwai, or roasted chestnuts. Season with sanshō powder and salt. Whatever you season with is very important.

The Yuzuke that was served at feast consisted of rice with hot water poured over it and was garnished with umeboshi and furikake. It was visually stunning and so simple to put together.

Crown Tournament 10/19/2019 - Aemaze あえまぜ - Fish Salad (aka Fish Shooters), Sakabite さかびて - Fish Flavored with Sake & Dashizake だし酒


 Aemaze あえまぜ - Fish Salad (aka Fish Shooters)
Picture by Avelyn Grene (Kristen Lynn)
The main tray of Iemetsu's Banquet in 1630, contained Aemaze あえまぜ and Sakabite さかびて . Because this banquet was the inspiration for Crown Tournament, I wanted to ensure that as close as possible these dishes were featured in the feast on the main tray. As a reminder, the dishes served on the first tray of the inspiration feast are listed below:

Main Tray

Grilled salt-cured fish (shiobiki)
Octopus
Fish-paste cake (kamaboko)
Chopsticks
Fish salad (aemaze)
Hot water over rice (yuzuke)
Pickles
Fish flavored in sake (sakabite)
Fermented intestines of sea cucumber (konowata)
Salt for flavoring (teshio)

Research indicated that aemaze's originates in the Muromachi period. It is the predecessor of namasu (raw salads), which is itself the predecessor of modern day sashimi. Further research indicated that Namasu typically consisted of slices of raw fish with vegetables or fruit with a vinegar based dressing. Aemaze, is a similar dish of fish that has been marinated in a sake based dressing. Finding information on how to recreate this dish is very, very scarce. Below is my interpretation based on research. Caveat: This may not have any resemblance to the intended dish that was served to Iemetsu. This was one of the most popular and requested dishes of Crown.

Aemaze

Ingredients

6 oz. sushi-grade fresh fish (I used red snapper)
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp mirrin
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp. sesame oil
Juice from one tangerine, lemon or lime
1 tbsp. finely chopped green onion
thinly sliced tangerine

Please note--you should use sushi-grade fish, however, talk to your grocer! Sushi grade fish is expen$ive. This salad is a ceviche style salad and when I asked my grocer about that he explained that I could used any fresh fish for ceviche, as long as I made sure that the fish "cooked" in its marinade. He further explained that the acids that were used would denature the protein in the fish, and while this would not kill the bacteria present it would cook the fish. I cannot stress enough if you are planning on using this recipe your fish absolutely MUST BE FRESH!

I marinated the fish overnight in the same cure that I used for the sakabite (below). Remove your fish from the marinade, rinse and then dry it off. Thinly slice your fish and lay the slices onto your serving plate.

Mix together the soy sauce and sesame oil. Add green onion and tangerine juice. Drizzle the sauce over the fish slices. Garnish with the thinly sliced pieces of tangerine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Another dish that was recreated for Crown Tournament was the Fish flavored with Sake. I was able to locate instructions for this in the Ryōri Monogatari.

SAKABITE (さかびて)
Gather an assortment of things that have a good salty manner from among such things as salted tai (red snapper), abalone, tara (codfish), salmon, or ayu (trout); karasumi (salted mullet roe); kabura hone(turnip bones? whale bones?); swan; wild goose; or wild duck. Ken is kunenbo (mandarin orange or yuzu). There are other directions besides this. It is good to pour dashizake over it.

Fish flavored in sake (sakabite) (さかびて) - Gather an assortment of things that have a good salty manner from among such things as salted tai (red snapper), abalone, tara (codfish), salmon, or ayu(trout); karasumi (salted mullet roe); kabura hone (whale bones?); swan; wild goose; or wild duck. Ken is kunenbo (mandarin orange, yuzu). There are other directions besides this. It is good to pour dashi-zake over it


1 pound fish of choice (I used whiting)
2 ½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sake

Cut your fish into bite sized pieces, pat dry and then place into a food storage bag or a lidded glass dish. Sprinkle salt and sake on your fish, making sure that each piece is evenly coated. Cover the container and refrigerate over night. You can refrigerate up to 36 hours, turning fish every 12 hours, however the longer the fish marinates the saltier it gets until it becomes unpleasantly salty.


Remove fish from the marinade, rinse off any remaining salt before cooking it. I broiled the fish in my oven until it started to turn brown and was very fragrant (this took less then five minutes!).

DASHI だし (BASIC STOCK)

Chip katsuo into good size pieces, and when you have 1 shō worth, add 1 shō 5 gō of water and simmer. Sip to test and should remove the katsuo when it matches your taste. Too sweet is no good. The dashi may be boiled a second time and used.

6 cups cold water
1 ounce dried kombu (kelp)
~1 cup dried katsuboshi (dried bonito)

Bring water and kombu just to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Remove from heat and remove kombu. Sprinkle bonito over liquid; let stand 3 minutes and, if necessary, stir to make bonito sink. Pour through a cheesecloth lined sieve into a bowl.

DASHIZAKE だし酒 (SAKE STOCK)

Add a little salt to katsuo. Add one or two splashes of new sake, boil and cool.

1 tbsp. katsuo (bonito)
1/4 c. sake
1-2 tbsp. salt
2 3/4 c. water


Bring water and sake just to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Remove from heat and sprinkle bonito over liquid; let stand 3 minutes and, if necessary, stir to make bonito sink. Pour through a cheesecloth lined sieve into a bowl. Serve.

Crown Tournament 10/19/2019 - O-zoni お雑煮 - Rice Cake and simmered vegetables with fish paste cake


 O-zoni お雑煮 - Rice Cake and simmered vegetables with fish paste cake
Picture by Avelyn Grene (Kristen Lynn)

One of the quintessential dishes of the samurai cuisine is O-zōni, a meal originally thought to have been prepared in field battles consisting of mochi, vegetables and dried foods. This meal was once exclusive to samurai and so it became an essential dish to include in the Crown Tourney feast.

In the Muromachi period, O-zōni was considered an essential dish for welcoming guests to a honzen ryori (a formally arranged dinner) meal. Today, this soup is served traditionally at New Year's. The soups may differ from region to region, but one ingredient is essential--rice cakes also known as mochi. The soup that was served at feast features square rice cakes called kaku-mochi in a clear broth. These rice cakes were common in the Edo period.

According to Eric Rath, the "rice cake soup in Ryōri Monogatari calls for a stock made from miso or clear stock (dried bonito flakes, konbu and salt) and [white/yellow] rice cake, taro, and daikon, [black] dried sea cucumber intestines (iriko), abalone on skewers, large flakes of dried [red] bonito (hiragatsuo), and green shoots (kukitachi)--enough varied ingredients to suggest a five color combination.

28. ATSUME JIRU あつめ汁 (GATHERED BROTH)

It is good to add dashi to nakamiso. Alternatively use a suimono. It is good to put in such things as daikon, gobō, imo, tōfu, bamboo shoots, skewered abalone, dried fugu, iriko, and tsumi’ire (fish ball's made from pilchard, horse mackerel or saury). There are various others.

Creating this soup requires multiple steps.  I must admit, I did "cheat" a little bit and completely bi-passed making the rice cakes in favor of purchasing already made kaku-mochi from the Japanese market where I did most of my shopping.  Each step is easy to do, and the finished product is beautiful to look at.  Bonus is that many of the ingredients can be made in advanced and store well. 

Because I wanted this dish to appeal to most vegetarians, I chose to start the dish with making a vegetarian dashi broth. 

Vegetarian Dashi ベジタリアンだし

4- 2-inch squares kombu (about 1 1/2 ounces)
2 dried shiitake mushrooms
2 quarts cold water

Combine the kombu, mushrooms, and water in a large container and let stand for at least 30 minutes, or up to 12 hours. It gets stronger as it sits, and the taste can vary depending on what type of kombu you use, so with a few rounds you’ll find your preference. If you plan to let it stand for more than 4 hours, place it in the refrigerator, lidded or covered with a piece of plastic wrap.

Alternatively, bring the water to a bare simmer in a saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the kombu and mushrooms, and let stand for 30 minutes.

Discard the kombu (alternatively, chop it up and use it as a nutritious addition to salads and bowls of rice and other grains or to make homemade Furikake (ふりかけ) seasoning to top rice). Pick out the mushrooms and trim off and discard the stems. Reserve the mushroom caps for another use. You may want to strain the dashi through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth if there are small pieces of kombu left behind (I didn't do this)

Vegetarian dashi can be stored in an airtight container for 2 or 3 days.

Kamaboko Fish Paste Cake かまぼこ - makes 2 rolls ~ 18 ½” rounds

1 pound fish fillets (traditionally catfish but I used whiting)
1 egg
½  tbsp. ginger paste
2-3 Tbsp. cornstarch (note: you can substitute arrowroot or rice starch)

Grind white fish in a blender with a little bit of water until it forms a smooth paste.  Add egg, ginger and starch and blend well. Divide fish paste into halves. Coat aluminum foil with vegetable oil and shape the fish paste into logs about  2” in diameter. Roll up and seal both ends of the foil. Steam for 30 minutes over high heat. To test for doneness insert a bamboo skewer into center. If skewer comes out clean, it is done. Refrigerate until cool and then slice into 1/4" rounds.

To color the paste, remain part of it and add juice of young ginger or food coloring. I used pink.  Using a sushi mat covered with plastic (placing it inside of a gallon zipper bag works very well), spread the white fish paste in an even layer over the mat, then spread the colored fish paste above it.  Roll as if for sushi and steam as above.

Kaku-mochi - Rice Cake - 角餅

Glutinous sticky rice
Potato or Rice Starch
Water

Coarsely grind the rice in a food processor and soak for one hour in enough water to cover. Drain the rice and cook in a rice steamer until soft. Allow to cool for about five minutes. Wet your hands and transfer some of the rice to a mortar and pestle. Pound the rice for ten minutes or so until if begins to form a large sticky mass. Add small amounts of water so that the rice does not stick to the sides.

Sprinkle rice starch onto a clean fat surface, transfer the mochi onto the surface and begin to knead until the mochi is no longer sticky. Divide it into smaller portions and continue to knead until smooth, adding more rice starch as needed.

O-Zoni Soup お雑煮

6" length daikon (white radish)
1/2 bunch spinach
1 medium carrot
1 cake kamaboko (fish cake)
4 cups dashi
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
Rice cake

Pare the radish into hexagonal shape and then cut into slices about 1/4" thick. Parboil in lightly salted water until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. (Hexagons make up the tortoiseshell pattern. The tortoise is a symbol of longevity.)

Peel the carrot and cut into 1/4" rounds. Cut into flower shapes. Parboil in lightly salted water until almost tender, about 10 minutes.

Slice the fish cake into 1/4" half rounds.

Bring the dashi just to a boil in a pot. Turn down heat and keep at a simmer. Then stir in salt and soy sauce and season to taste.

Arrange spinach, single carrot slice, single daikon slice, mochi and fish cake in soup bowl. Ladle hot broth into bowl. Garnish with sprigs of mizuna.

Note: Substitute for Mizuna - arugula, young mustard greens, or tatsoi in equal amounts.

How to make Puffed Rice to be used as a garnish (not used at feast)

Oil heated to 425 degrees
1 cup rice (any rice)

Once oil is heated, pour in a cup of rice--rice will puff up in about 10 seconds. Drain through a metal sieve, season to taste, use as garnish.

Furikake (ふりかけ) is a dried Japanese seasoning which is sprinkled on top of cooked rice. Ingredients include a combination of dried fish flakes, dried egg, dried cod eggs, bonito flakes, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed and other flavorings.

½ oz reserved kombu (from making dashi)
1 oz reserved katsuobushi (from making dashi ;slightly wet)
1 Tbsp white toasted sesame seeds
2 tsp black toasted sesame seeds
nori seaweed
1 tsp sugar (add more to your taste)
2 tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp salt (kosher or sea salt; use half if using table salt) (add more to your taste)

Gather all the ingredients. Make sure the kombu and katsuobushi are well drained.

Cut kombu into small pieces.Put kombu and katsuobushi in a saucepan and cook on medium-low heat until katsuobushi becomes dry and separated from each other.Cook on medium-low heat until the liquid is completely evaporated.Cook on medium-low heat until the liquid is completely evaporated.

Transfer the furikake to a tray or plate and let cool. Once it’s cooled, you can add toasted/roasted sesame seeds and nori seaweed. You can break katsuobushi into smaller pieces if you prefer.

Put in a mason jar or airtight container and enjoy sprinkling over steamed rice. You can refrigerate for up to 2 weeks and freeze for up to a month.

Crown Tournament 10/19/2019 - Tsuru no shiru 鶴の汁 (Crane Broth)

Tsuru no shiru 鶴の汁 (Crane Broth)
Picture Courtesy of Avelyn Grene (Kristen Lynn)

The samurai considered Crane soup a prized dish and a luxury. By the sixteenth century, it was a necessary served at formal warrior banquets. The recipe for the dish that was served in Iemetsu’s banquet closely resembles a recipe published in the Guide to Meals for the Tea Ceremony (Cha no yu kondate shinan, 1676), written by Endō Genkan (n.d.). Commoners were prohibited from eating crane and other fowl at banquets, it was a dish reserved for the elite.


The dish that was served at Crown Tournament is my interpretation from the Ryōri Monogatari. according to Endō Genkan, Crane soup could be prepared with crane that was fresh or crane that had been preserved in salt.  The most important aspect of the preparation was to ensure that each bowl of soup contained one or two pieces of the leg meat of the crane.

Tsuru no shiru 鶴の汁 (Crane Broth)

Add the bones [of the crane] to broth and decoct. Prepare with sashi-miso. The seasoning of the sashi are important. For tsuma, something seasonal is good. It is good to put in any number of mushrooms. Whenever you make it, put aside the sinew. For suikuchi: wasabi and yuzu. Alternatively, from the start you can even prepare in nakamiso. You can even use a suimono.

Crane Broth

1 ½ pounds Peking or Muscovy duck breast or skin on, bone in chicken thighs
Salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice vinegar)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon tamari or light soy sauce
8 ounces soba (buckwheat noodles) - Note: For feast shiritaki noodles were used
8 ounces sugar snap peas or snow peas, trimmed
8 cups water
2 medium leeks, white and tender green part, diced, about 2 cups
1/4 cup white miso or to taste - Note: Miso was omitted at feast
5 ounces baby spinach, about 4 cups
A few basil or shiso leaves, julienned

Place whole duck, or chicken into a pot and add ginger and garlic. Cover with water and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and simmer until meat is tender. Allow to cool over night.

Next day remove the fat from the broth. Remove meat from the bones keeping it in large chunks. Reheat broth to just under a boil, add water, mirin, sugar, and tamari. Taste broth and adjust for salt if necessary. Add miso to broth right before serving.

If using soba noodles, cook according to package directions in a separate pot. Shiritake noodles should be rinsed before serving.

Bring a small pot of salted water to boil. Add snap peas, mushrooms and leeks and simmer 1 minute, then drain and refresh with cool water. Leave at room temperature.

To serve, reheat broth to just under a boil. Dilute miso with a little hot broth and whisk into soup. Layer noodles, meat, peas, leeks and spinach into a bowl and ladle hot broth over it. Top with shiso or basil.


References

“Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan.” Google Books, Google, https://books.google.com/books?id=_m6g_8Aw_IsC&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=Commoners+were+prohibited+from+eating+crane+and+other+fowl+at+banquets,+it+was+a+dish+reserved+for+the+elite.&source=bl&ots=5ulOnQbw98&sig=ACfU3U2qRbwtQs1Ys3JJshTELMJEBCEy-w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjEkPfs1t3mAhXULc0KHfRrBcoQ6AEwAHoECAoQAQ#v=snippet&q=crane soup&f=false.


C, Eric, and Rath. “EARLY MODERN JAPAN 2008 Banquets Against Boredom: Towards Understanding (Samurai) Cuisine in Early Modern Japan.” Academia.edu - Share Research, https://www.academia.edu/6397005/EARLY_MODERN_JAPAN_2008_Banquets_Against_Boredom_Towards_Understanding_Samurai_Cuisine_in_Early_Modern_Japan.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .lxxxxiij. Walkys*. [Whelks. ] in bruette.


Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) -  .lxxxxiij. Walkys*. [Whelks. ] in bruette.

The last of the seafood shellfish recipes that I found in Two fifteenth-century cookery-books : Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430), & Harl. MS. 4016 (ab. 1450), with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1439, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS. 55 Thomas Austin was for whelks, which is a kind of snail that was plentiful in the late Medieval period and still enjoyed in Europe today.
Whelks are difficult to get where I live, so the Cook's Thesaurus suggested periwinkles or conch, again, difficult ingredients to obtain fresh where I live.  I finally settled upon clams, which are locatable but are a bit firmer and stronger in flavor then whelk, conch or periwinkles.  The taste testers and I really enjoyed this dish, made all the better through the use of a strong home brewed beer (a lager) courtesy of my son, and dried parsley from my garden.  This is a dish that I will make again. 

.lxxxxiij. Walkys*. [Whelks. ] in bruette.—Take Walkys [supplied by ed.] an sethe in Ale, þen pyke hem clene; þan wasshem in Water an Salt be hem-self, & fyrst wyth Ale & Salt, an do so whele þey ben slepyr*. [Slippery; slimy. ]; þen putte hem in [leaf 18 bk.] Vynegre, an ley Perceli a-boue, an serue ynne.

93 - Whelks in Bruette - take whelks and boil in ale, then pick them clean; than wash them in water and salt by themselves & first with ale & salt, and do so while they be slimy; then put them in vinegar and lay parsley above and serve in.

Interpreted Recipe                                                                          Serves 2 as main, 3 or more as side

1 cup beer of choice (lager)
1 can of clams (or 1/2 pound fresh clams cleaned well)
1 1/2 to 2 tsp. vinegar or to taste
1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
Parsley for garnish

Before using fresh seafood, which I would have preferred but the poor dears sitting in the ice looked half dead and there was a fishy smell in the air the day I went to purchase at the grocery so I used canned clams instead (trusting they would be safe!), make sure that you clean your seafood very well.  There are multiple sites available on the internet with instructions to clean the shellfish of your choice.  In my case, I simply opened a can and drained off the juice, which I used in the oyster recipes.

Bring your beer to a boil, and cook your shellfish, either until the shells open (which would be a lovely sight to see), or until they are heated through.  Here you have a choice.

A) I added the vinegar and salt to the broth and topped with dried parsley and it was divine!

B) Remove your shellfish from the broth, place on the serving dish, liberally add salt, dip your parsley in vinegar and then serve.  I would probably serve with more vinegar on the side.

I went with option A because this is supposed to be a pottage, a dish cooked in a pot, and to toss the broth seemed like a waste, it was very flavorful.  The instructions are quite clear, that the whelks are to be boiled in ale long enough to loosen the muscle and allow you to remove them from their shells. If my understanding of cooking whelks is correct, they would need another boiling in salted water to remove any slime that may exist.

Another method of cleaning whelks is to place them is to soak them in water for several hours and change the water a few times. The fear is that twice boiling them would make them rubbery and difficult to eat.

We really liked this dish and I look forward to making it again when I can use fresh clams, which I can readily get.  I would definitely serve this at a feast, luncheon or, if using tinned shellfish, as a quick and easy camp supper along with some crusty bread to soak up all the yummy broth.


Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .lxxxxij. Oystrys in bruette.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .lxxxxij. Oystrys in bruette.


The last pottage recipe in Two fifteenth-century cookery-books : Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430), & Harl. MS. 4016 (ab. 1450), with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1439, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS. 55 Thomas Austin  for oysters is Oysters in Bruet.  It is very similar to  the previously published xl. Oystrys in grauy bastard.  The difference is in the spicing (adds cinnamon), and in the specific set of instructions "Take an schene Oystrys", indicating that for this dish the oysters should be removed from their shells.  

.lxxxxij. Oystrys in bruette.—Take an schene*. [for schele. ] Oystrys, an kepe þe water þat cometh of hem, an strayne it, an put it in a potte, & Ale þer-to, an a lytil brede þer-to; put Gyngere, Canel, Pouder of Pepir þer-to, Safroun an Salt; an whan it is y-now al-moste, putte on þin Oystrys: loke þat þey ben wyl y-wasshe for*. [on account of. ] þe schullys: & þan serue forth.


92. Oysters in Bruet - Take and shell oysters, and keep the water that come of them, and strain it, and put it in a pot, and ale there-to, and a little bread thereto; put ginger, cinnamon, powder pepper there-to, saffron and salt; and when it is enough almost, put on your oysters; look that they be well washed for the shells: and then serve forth

Interpreted Recips                                                             Serves 2 as main, 1 as side

1/2 cup Ale (dark to compliment the oysters)
1/2 to 1 can oysters 
1/2 cup oyster liquor, fish stock or clam juice
1-2 tbsp. bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. pepper
2-3 threads of saffron
salt to taste

For instructions on how to properly clean fresh oysters, please refer to xl. Oystres en grauey .

Bring ale and oyster liquor (fish stock or clam juice) to a boil in the pan, slowly add bread crumbs and spices.  When the mixture starts to thicken add your oysters. Cook until heated through and serve.

This was another example of using the wrong ale ruining the dish :-/ Having had such dim luck with the ginger flavored ale, I used a darker lager, which unfortunately made the dish taste muddy and slightly bitter.  The taste testers were not impressed.  BUT--they did agree that the addition of the cinnamon and not including sugar, this dish was a bit more elevated then  xl. Oystrys in grauy bastard.

My taste tester did agree that they would try this dish if it were served to them at an event, but strongly suggested that less ale, or a different ale be used (Might I suggest Guinness, porter or a stout?) If you should try any of these recipes--please leave feedback.

Oysters...strike 2!

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - ixl. Oystres en grauey

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - ixl. Oystres en grauey 

It is rumored that King Henry IV enjoyed oysters so much that he consumed 400 in a single sitting! Bear in mind that he was probably eating the much smaller, and more delicate European (commonly known as belon) oyster (ostrea edulis).  The Romans prized oysters.  They were (and still are) considered an aphrodisiac, but they also believed that consuming oysters would improve your prowess on the battlefield.  So it should come as no surprise that guards were posted to protect oysters beds and that the cost of an oyster could be valued at a denarius--the value of a days labor.

Oysters in Gravy was the first of several recipe's I prepared featuring oysters from Two fifteenth-century cookery-books : Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430), & Harl. MS. 4016 (ab. 1450), with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1439, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS. 55 Thomas Austin .  This is most likely one of the earliest versions of a well known classic--oyster stew, and it received the best reviews. I also prepared .xl. Oystrys in grauy bastard (oysters cooked in ale, thickened with bread and seasoned with ginger, sugar, saffron, pepper and salt) and .lxxxxij. Oystrys in bruette (oysters stewed with oyster liquor, ale, bread, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, saffron and salt). 

.ixl.*. [i.e. i from xl. ] Oystres en grauey.—Take gode Mylke of Almaundys, an drawe it wyth Wyne an gode Fysshe broþe, an sette it on þe fyre, & let boyle; & caste þer-to Clowes, Maces, Sugre an powder Gyngere, an a fewe parboylid Oynonys y-mynsyd; þan take fayre Oystrys, & parboyle hem in fayre Water, & caste hem þer-to, an lete hem boyle to-gederys; & þanne serue hem forth.

ixl - Oystres en grauey. Take gode Mylke of Almaundys, an drawe it wyth Wyne an gode Fysshe brothe, an sette it on the fyre, and let boyle; and caste ther-to Clowes, Maces, Sugre an powder Gyngere, an a fewe parboylid Oynonys y-mynsyd; than take fayre Oystrys, and parboyle hem in fayre Water, and caste hem ther-to, an lete hem boyle to-gederys; and thanne serue hem forth.

39. Oysters in gravey - Take good milk of almonds, and draw it with wine and good fish broth, and set it on the fire, and let boil; and cast there-to cloves, mace, sugar and powder ginger, and a few parboiled onions minced; then take fair oysters, and parboil them in fair water, and caste them there-to, and let them boil together; and then serve them forth.

Interpreted Recipe: 

1 c. almond milk (made by adding 1/4 c. almond flour to 1/2 cup white wine and 1/2 cup oyster/clam broth)
1 clove
1/8 tsp. mace
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 c. parboiled onions
1 can oysters
salt and pepper to taste

Purists may cringe that I used canned oysters, unfortunately getting good seafood where I live is tricky.  It has usually been frozen and then thawed and put out on display, or, it has arrived fresh off the boat still living but costs an arm and a leg. Part of the goal in creating these posts is to make sure that they are cost friendly if you are cooking in very large quantities.  Buying fresh *might* be preferred, but purchasing canned ones (for me) is cost effective and eliminated the need to "þan take fayre Oystrys, & parboyle hem in fayre Water, & caste hem þer-to".

Should you be lucky enough to be able to use fresh oysters you will first want to clean them. Oysters are a filter for the ocean (they can filter 30-50 gallons of water a day), and their shells collect a lot of debris.   You will want to make sure they are fresh, and that they are still living.  To test for life, try to open up the shell, if the shell is cracked, damaged or open, or if it does not snap back when trying to open it, discard it.  It could make you sick.

To clean,  you will need to place oysters in a colander and rinse them under cold running water.  Scrub the shells with a brush (toothbrushes work), making sure that you clean out all the dirt and the debris that has collected not only in the shell but in the creases. Once clean it is necessary to shuck the oyster to remove it from it's shell.  There is a ton of information available on how to do this on the internet.  Be sure not to spill the oyster liquor (the liquid inside of the oyster). Also, make sure to use them within two hours of opening to avoid them spoiling. 

Parboil your onions if you have not done so, otherwise, add all ingredients accept for the oysters to the almond milk and bring to a boil.  If you are using fresh oysters, you will want to parboil them while the broth is cooking. Once the almond milk has come to the boil, add your remaining oysters and cook until oysters have been thoroughly heated through, and then serve.

God bless the taste testers! Of the four recipes that were interpreted this was by far the favorite and the one that  they stated they would eat again if served at a feast. It was likened to a "high end oyster stew".  Oysters are -not- for everyone I would use caution if serving this at an event. Also, due to the likelihood of quick spoilage, you may want to consider serving them at a smaller event or luncheon. I would even caution against bringing them to a camping event, unless you are absolutely certain that they will be eaten immediately and that any leftovers will not be stored. 

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Forme of Cury (England, 1390)

OYSTERS IN GRAVEY. XX.VI. I. Schyl Oysters and seeþ hem in wyne and in hare own broth. cole the broth thurgh a cloth. take almandes blaunched, grynde hem and drawe hem up with the self broth. & alye it wiþ flour of Rys. and do the oysters þerinne, cast in powdour of gyngur, sugur, macys. seeþ it not to stondyng and serue forth.

Enseignements qui enseingnent a apareillier toutes manieres de viande (France, ca. 1300 - D. Myers, trans.)

Oysters in gravy, first cooked in water and onions, with pepper and saffron and with an aillie of almonds. Oysters again with salt and bread well leavened.

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .xxxviij. Storion in brothe - Sturgeon in Broth

Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430) - .xxxviij. Storion in brothe - Sturgeon in Broth

The Two fifteenth-century cookery-books : Harleian MS. 279 (ab 1430), & Harl. MS. 4016 (ab. 1450), with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1439, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS. 55 Thomas Austin feature quite a number of recipes that include various kinds of fish. This comes as no surprise though with the number of days meat was forbidden. Prior to the 15th century, the church had declared Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays as 'fysshe" days. During Lent and Advent all animal products such as eggs, butter, cheese and meat were forbidden. With fish days, fasting, advent and lent, fully one third or 140-160 days of the year, fish was the only meat you were allowed to eat.

Because of the prohibition on eating meat or meat products, it was necessary for our ancestors to find alternative foods to eat.  Vegetables and fish were often substituted, and on days that butter, cheese and eggs were allowed those were also eaten.  Fish eventually became symbolic of a "monastic" diet, and of purification and renunciation. It was considered a food of the nobles and the rich, even though it was a common food found in any river or the sea.  Part of the paradox surrounding fish is that it is not easily transportable and needed to be preserved in some way.  Sturgeon was one of the favored fishes and in England was reserved for the King.

.xxxviij. Storion in brothe. —Take fayre Freysshe Storgeoun, an choppe it in fayre water; þanne take it fro þe fyre, an strayne þe brothe þorw a straynoure in-to a potte, an pyke clene þe Fysshe, an caste þer to powder Pepir, Clowes, Maces, Canel; & þanne take fayre Brede, and stepe it in þe same lycowre, & caste þer-to, an let boyle to-gederys, & caste þen Safroun þer-to, Gyngere, an Salt, & Vynegre, & þanne serue it forth ynne.*. [i.e. into the dining-room. ]

xxxviij - Storion in brothe. Take fayre Freysshe Storgeoun, an choppe it in fayre water; thanne take it fro the fyre, an strayne the brothe thorw a straynoure in-to a potte, an pyke clene the Fysshe, an caste ther to powder Pepir, Clowes, Maces, Canel; and thanne take fayre Brede, and stepe it in the same lycowre, and caste ther-to, an let boyle to-gederys, and caste then Safroun ther-to, Gyngere, an Salt, and Vynegre, and thanne serue it forth ynne. (Note: i.e. into the dining-room)

38 Sturgeon in Broth - Take fair fresh sturgeon, and chop it in fair water; then take it from the fire, and strain the broth through a strainer into a pot, and pick clean the fish and caste there to powder pepper, cloves, mace, cinnamon; and then take fair bread, and steep it in the same liquor, and cast there-to, and let boil together, and cast then saffron there-to, ginger, and salt, and vinegar, and then serve it forth in.

Interpreted Recipe                                                                                    Serves 1 as a main, 2 as a side

1/4 pound fish per person -Sturgeon is a fatty, firm textured fish; if you cannot find it you can easily substitute salmon, swordfish, halibut, tuna, whitefish, or any combination of these fish
1 cup water
1/8 tsp. each pepper, mace, cinnamon
1 tbsp. (or to taste) bread crumbs
pinch of saffron
1/8 tsp. ginger
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tsp. vinegar

This is perhaps one of the easiest recipes I have come across.  With the exception of cleaning the fish the most difficult part of it was waiting for it to finish cooking.  Most fish comes already cleaned and prepared, however, if you choose to use whole fish, please clean properly before adding to your water then make sure you strain the broth as you clean your fish once it has been cooked.  I used a combination of Tuna and Swordfish for this recipe as sturgeon is a darker colored fish. I was unable to locate sturgeon when I had decided to interpret this dish.   I added the (frozen) fish to the water along with the pepper, mace and cinnamon and allowed to simmer gently until the fish was cooked thoroughly through.  At this point I used a fork to break up the fish into chunks, added the remaining ingredients and cooked until I was satisfied with the color of the broth. 

The taste testers really enjoyed this dish.  I believe this would be a very suitable dish for any feast as it is a fix and forget it dish, the longer it cooks the more flavorful it becomes--I would just caution against overcooking. This was a very meaty dish and I imagine if you were serving at an event you could easily stretch this out with the addition of fish stock to the soup. Do not be put off by the cloves, mace, cinnamon or ginger that is added to the dish. I realize they are unusual ingredients to be paired with fish, but the flavors were well balanced and complimented each other.  If I had one complaint, it was that I was not as assertive with the vinegar.  That was a personal choice on my part, so I have added an additional teaspoon to the interpretation.

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Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany (England, 1460)

Storgeon. Take a storgeon cut the vyn from the tayle to the hedde & cleve hym as a samon & cut the sydys yn fayre pecys & make the same of watyr & salt when it boyleth scome hit clene & cast the pecys ther yn & let hem boyle y nowghe then take hem up & serve hem forth with levys of percelley wete hem yn venygger cast hem in disches & the sauce ther to ys venygger.

Gentyll manly Cokere (MS Pepys 1047) (England, ca. 1500)

Sturgeon. Take and lay hym in Water over nyght seth hym and let hym kele and lay hym in vyneAger or yn Aysell that sauce is kyndely ther to serue hit furth.

Thomas Awkbarow's Recipes (MS Harley 5401) (England, 15th century)

Storgeon in Broth. Recipe fresh storgeon; perboyle it in fayr water & chop it small, & strene þe broth with a streneзour in to a pot, & pyke clene þat fysh, & cast þerto small mynced onзons, peper & clows, macis & canell; & take fayr brede & stepe it in þe same licoure, & draw it with a streneзour, & let it boyle to gydere, & cast þerto powdyr of gynger, vinagre, & saferon & salt, & serof.