Category Archives: Historical

Apple Snow – 1880s

This recipe comes from Mrs. Rorer’s Philadelphia Cookbook, a small unassuming brown book that I had grown used to seeing on my grandmother’s basement bookshelf. Only years later, after I had inherited boxes of those same books, did I sit down and begin to appreciate the coolness of it.

Originally published in 1886, it’s full of strange and wonderful recipes. The pistachio ice cream, for example, uses clover for green coloring. Should you find yourself without clover, lawn grass may be substituted. There are even beautiful, handwritten recipes scattered throughout.

  

See? It’s the coolest.

This recipe for Apple Snow results in a simple yet satisfying, easy to make dessert. It only takes around 15 minutes, including prep time, and the finished dessert is a light, fluffy, barely sweetened bowl of apple flavored fluff. 

Apple Snow Recipe

makes 6 servings  –  prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 6 good-sized apples
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • Juice of one lemon
  • Whites of six eggs

Pare, core and steam the apples until tender, then press them through a sieve and put aside to cool; when cold, add the sugar and lemon juice. Beat the whites of the eggs to a very stiff froth, and add the apples to them by large spoonfuls, beating all the while. Serve immediately, in glasses.

Now, I went fully old school with this one. I pressed the apples through a sieve, as per the instructions, and beat the eggs in a copper bowl, rather than use a hand mixer.

To me, there is something inherently wonderful about making such a simple recipe as it was originally intended. Unlike the whir of the electric mixer, the metal-on-metal of the whisk and copper forms a sort of tenuous thread backwards in time. It’s easy to imagine a cook whipping up such a recipe in the kitchen of a fine Victorian home around the turn of the century. 


Onion Broth w/bits of Goat and Carrot

“The stewards began to bring out the first dish, an onion broth flavored with bits of goat and carrot. Not precisely royal fare, but nourishing; it tasted good enough and warmed the belly. Owen the Oaf took up his fiddle, and several of the free folk joined in with pipes and drums. The same pipes and drums they played to sound Mance Rayder’s attack upon the Wall. Jon thought they sounded sweeter now. With the broth came loaves of coarse brown bread, warm from the oven. Salt and butter sat upon the tables.” -A Dance with Dragons

Onion Broth with Goat and Carrot

Our Thoughts:

Zounds!

This is the most flavorful, delicious, unique broth we’ve ever encountered. Rich and full, heavily tinged with the salt from the pork, with the underlying flavors of the herbs and onions. We wouldn’t have expected the combined mint and sage to be pleasing, but as usual, we were wonderfully rewarded by following the original recipe. On the whole, it’s a nice, nuanced combination of flavors for relatively little effort.

Consider pairing this broth with a loaf of our Black Beer Bread, but go light on the butter; you only have a bit left, and winter is coming…


Stewed Goat Recipe

Goat Kid or Mutton, with Thick Broth. Get kid or mutton and cut it into small pieces, and put it into a pot with salt pork; then get sage, mint and onion, and cook everything together; then get good spices and saffron, distemper them with the meat’s broth and let everything boil together until the meat falls apart; then lift the meat out into a dish with the thick broth. -The Neapolitan recipe collection, Italy, 15th c.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 lb. salt pork
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cup dark beer or ale (drink the rest while you cook! ;) )
  • 2 small sprigs sage
  • 2 small sprigs mint
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • poudre forte (equal parts black pepper, cinnamon, mace, clove, long pepper, ginger, etc)
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped small
  • 1-2 Tbs. bacon fat or duck fat
  • ground goat meat, 1 lb.

Combine the salt pork, water, ale, herbs, and onions in a large pot. Simmer for 45 minutes.

Strain the broth into a clean pot, reserving the onions if you would like to add them back in. Season with a pinch of spices, and add the chopped carrots.

In a separate skillet, brown the goat meat in the fat, then add it to the broth pot. Let everything simmer together for 15 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Skim some of the fat off the top if you like, then serve hot.

Prep:  15 minutes     Cooking:  1 hour

Serves 5-6

 

 

 

Encamped

  There is rarely anything cooler, in my opinion, than experiencing history by living it.

Whether you are the sort who prefers historical Wars and Battles, or larger time periods, such as the Regency, or Middle Ages, or even if you have just been to one of the more hokey Renn fests, you have perhaps experienced the excitement that comes from seeing history firsthand.

Being able to smell the sharp smoke from muskets, watch a craftsman shape antler into buttons, and taste rugged campfire cooking all give one a deeper appreciation for the people who came before us, and the skills they employed.

In an age when information is available with a flurry of keystrokes, and just about anything can be delivered to one’s door, I think it’s important to take a step back in time, and reevaluate what’s really important.

Pease Pie laced with Bacon

Medieval Pease Pie laced with Bacon

“We must take you out of that vile dungeon, then. Scrub you pink again, get you some clean clothes, some food to eat. Some nice soft porridge, would you like that? Perhaps a pease pie laced with bacon. I have a little task for you, and you’ll need your strength back if you are to serve me.” -A Dance with Dragons

Modern Pease Pie

Modern Pease Pie labeled

 

Our Thoughts:

If you love peas, then this is the dish for you. But I mean really, really love them, because that is a lot of peas… The bacon helps to alleviate the near overdose of peas, but still.

The medieval pease pie was a delight to discover in our cookbooks. Sadly, the reality didn’t quite live up to our hopes. The flavor of the juices was overwhelmed by the sheer number of peas. Additional bacon might have helped this, as well as the occasional pearl onion. The pie also had some serious structural issues, as the crust got soggy, and the peas rolled everywhere when a slice was dished out.

The modern pease pie solved all of these problems. Because the peas are mashed, they hold their shape when the pie is cut. We used a little extra to make the tart in the photo above, but a closed top pie will ensure the peas don’t burn. The flavors are much better rounded and full, the shallots and mustard coming to prominence. We also used purple pearl onions for a splash of color.

Conclusion? The modern pie is definitely the winner in this mash up.


Medieval Pease Pie Recipe

To make a close Tart of greene Pease. Take halfe a peck of greene Pease, sheale them and seeth them, and cast them into a cullender, and let the water go from them then put them into the Tart whole, & season them with Pepper, saffron and salte, and a dishe of sweet butter, close and bake him almost one houre, then drawe him, and put to him a little Vergice, and shake them and set them into the Ouen againe, and so serue it. -The Good Housewife’s Jewell, 1596

Our changes: to better match the description in the novel, we added bits of crunchy bacon to the pie. We also substituted the verjus for more readily available grape juice. We also downsized from half a peck (~5 lbs!) to an amount of peas that would actually fit into a modern pie pan.

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups shelled fresh green peas, or most of one 32 oz. bag frozen, thawed
  • pastry crust, top and bottom (get a recipe)
  • 3 Tbs. butter
  • pinch saffron
  • pinch each salt and pepper
  • 4 strips bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
  • 1 Tbs. grape juice
  • 1 Tbs. lemon juice
  • 1 Tbs. cider vinegar
  • 1 egg for glaze

Preheat oven to 425.

Divide your pastry dough in half. Roll out one half and lay in a pie pan. Set the other half aside.

Put your peas into a saucepan with water, and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. Drain in a collander, then pour into your prepared pie crust.  Using the palm of your hand, press firmly down on the peas to pack them down.

Melt 3 Tbs. butter, and add the saffron to it. Allow to cool slightly, then pour over the peas. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and spread the crumbled bacon on top of everything.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Fill the prepared shells with the cooled peas and top with some small pieces of butter.  Lay remaining dough circles over tops of tarts.  Pinch crusts together, using a little brushed-on water as glue.  Trim off any excess dough, and crimp.  Make a few slits in the top crusts with a sharp knife so that steam can escape.  Brush top crusts with beaten egg.

Bake until brown, about 30 minutes.  Let settle on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Be careful as the peas will roll and spill from the sliced pie.

 

Modern Pease Porridge Recipe

Ingredients:

  • Pastry dough for a large 9″ pie dish, or similarly sized springform pan
  • 2 lb. peas
  • 2 Tbs. butter, divided
  • 1 cup rough cut bacon
  • 3-5 shallots, sliced thin
  • 1 tsp. mustard
  • 2 Tbs. Parmesan cheese, shredded
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 egg, beaten

Boil the peas until they are soft enough to be thoroughly mashed, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash them with 1 Tbs. butter.

In a separate pan, fry up the bacon until just shy of crispy, then scoop it out with a slotted spoon and add it to the mashed peas. In the remaining bacon grease, cook the shallots until they are soft. Add them to the peas and bacon, followed by the mustard, cheese, and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

Roll out your pastry dough and line the pan with it. Spread the remaining butter over the bottom of the pastry, then dump the filling in. Smooth it out, and cover with remaining pastry. Brush with beaten egg and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.

Roman Sweets

“…next I sing of honey, the heavenly ethereal gift…” -Virgil

Roman Stuffed Dates

Our Thoughts:

These are a purely natural, gluten and sugar free powerhouse of nominess. The texture of chewy date is complimented by the crunchy nut filling, and the whole is dripping with honey. They fit perfectly with my mental preconceptions of Ancient Roman dining. Imagine reclining on elegant couches, opulent fabrics rippling underneath you toward the exquisite mosaic on the floor. Course after course of decadence is served, yet this dish stands apart as the epitome of simple, delicious sweets.

Go on. You know you want to.


Roman Stuffed Dates

DULCIA DOMESTICA: LITTLE HOME CONFECTIONS (WHICH ARE CALLED DULCIARIA) ARE MADE THUS: LITTLE PALMS OR (AS THEY ARE ORDINARILY CALLED) DATES ARE STUFFED—AFTER THE SEEDS HAVE BEEN REMOVED—WITH A NUT OR WITH NUTS AND GROUND PEPPER, SPRINKLED WITH SALT ON THE OUTSIDE AND ARE CANDIED IN HONEY AND SERVED.

Ingredients:

  • Dried dates, pitted
  • crushed nuts – hazelnuts and cooked chestnuts are perfect
  • cinnamon and long pepper (or black pepper), 1 tsp. per 1/2 cup of nuts
  • honey to cover the stuffed dates
  • a jar to store them in

Chop the nuts small, and mix with cinnamon and pepper. Carefully stuff this mixture into the pitted dates, taking care to not overstuff and tear the fruit. Place the stuffed dates in a jar, propping the dates up to keep the nuts from spilling out. Continue this process until the jar is full. Pour honey over the stuffed dates until all the crevices are filled.

Pigeon Pie, version 2.awesome

Pigeon Pie with Bacon and Artichoke Hearts

Our Thoughts:

We couldn’t have made up a better pie than this. It’s absolutely incredible. AND it’s historically authentic. Utter win.

This is completely unlike any meat pie I’ve previously tried. The artichoke hearts are sort of a baffling yet intriguing addition. Because there are so many other ingredients, the pigeon doesn’t really get a chance to shine in its own right, but the spices help bring it forward. We used a very flavorful bacon, which was one of the strongest elements, while the egg yolks and meatballs just added some depth and body.

Overall, much more interesting and dynamic than our original Pigeon Pie recipe, but definitely for those more adventurous epicureans.


Medieval Pigeon Pie

After ye pidgeons are made fitt to put into your pye season them with grose pepper, salt, mace & nutmeggs then lay ym into your Pot; you must have palatts ready boyld and cut into what bigness you like and lay over your pidgeons with ye yolk of hard egg, e marrow and balls of meat, made of ye lean of a legg of veal. Beat in a mortar with beef suett and some bacon amongst it when ye meat is a small as for sausages. Then add as much spice as is agreeable to your taste and a few sweet herbs. You may put in artichoke bottoms. This pye must be baked in a patty pan. -Lucayos Cookbook, 1690 

My Changes: I, personally, did not include the tongue from the original recipe. However, many people swear by it as a tasty ingredient, so if you would like, feel free to add it, and let us know how it turns out! I also swapped out the beef suet and marrow for a dash of grease left over from cooking the bacon.

Ingredients:

  • 1 springform pan with high sides
  • Pastry dough (get the recipe)
  • 5 pigeons
  • 1/4 tsp. each pepper, salt, mace, nutmeg
  • boiled palatts (tongue! – optional)
  • 3 hard boiled egg yolks
  • 3 large meatballs, preferably of veal (cooked or uncooked)
  • 1/2 cup cooked chopped bacon
  • artichoke hearts
  • 1-2 Tbs. bacon grease
  • 1 egg for glazing

Roll out pastry dough and drape over the pan. Gently press the dough into the pan to make sure it molded to the sides and bottom. Trim the excess dough and reshape into a ball- this will be your lid.

Put your pigeons in a large pot and cover with water. Simmer for around 45 minutes, or until the meat can be easily pulled from the bone. Remove all the useable meat and discard the bones.

Season the meat with your spices, then lay in the bottom of the pastry. If using tongue, lay over the pigeon meat. Crumble the egg yolk over top of the meat, then flatten or crumble the meatballs to form the next layer. Sprinkle the bacon over that, then lay sliced artichoke hearts on the very top. Pour the bacon grease evenly over the top.

Roll out the remaining pastry dough and cut into a circle the size of the bottom of the pan. Lay this circle over the pie filling, brush the edges with water, and roll the outside dough down until it touches the top crust. Pierce the top of the pie in several places to vent the steam, flute the edges in a decorative pattern, and brush the whole thing with beaten egg.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour, until the crust is golden.

Fig Tarts, basted with Honey

Medieval Fig Tarts

Thoughts:

These are slightly addictive little morsels, and with good reason. Take a fruit as tasty and decadent as figs, dice them, spice them, put them in buttery pastry, then fry them? Yes. The unique spice forte mix gives the tarts a really unexpected bite without interfering with the innate sweetness of the figs. I used a Killer Bee honey to baste mine, which upped the flavor to a wonderful new level. 

Why it should be in the Next Book:

It’s figs! It’s fried! All it’s really missing to be the ideal GRRM dish is bacon. Which isn’t that bad an idea… Overall, though, this is a great medieval recipe, and well worth a try at home!

Medieval Fig Tart Recipe

Take figus & grynde hem smal; do þerin saffron & powdur fort. Close hem in foyles of dowe, & frye hem in oyle. Claryfye hony & flamme hem þerwyt; ete hem hote or colde. –Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century 

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz. fresh Figs
  • pinch of Saffron
  • 1 tsp. Powder forte – a Medieval blend of strong spices. For this recipe, use 2 parts cinnamon to one part each a combination of pepper, ginger, mace, and clove, to your taste.
  • 1 Tbs. your favorite variety of honey, plus more for basting
  • Pastry dough- enough for 2 9″ shells (see this recipe)
  • Oil enough to coat the bottom of the pan

Finely dice the figs as small as possible by hand or purée with a processor; mix in the saffron, powder forte spice mixture, and the 1 Tbs. honey. Roll out the pastry dough and cut into medium-sized circles. On one pastry circle place a spoonful of figs, then cover with another circle of dough; seal the edges well. Fry the pies in hot oil until lightly browned & crispy; remove from heat and allow to drain. In a pot, heat the honey, skimming off any scum that rises. As soon as the pies have drained, brush on the honey. Eat hot or cold.

Medieval Fruit Tarts- blueberry, strawberry, apricot, cherry

“A man was pushing a load of tarts by on a two-wheeled cart; the smells sang of blueberries and lemons and apricots. Her stomach made a hollow rumbly noise. ‘Could I have one?’ she heard herself say.” -A Game of Thrones

Medieval Fruit Tarts

Thoughts:

These are a wonderful treat that really showcase the fresh fruits of summer. We went all out and made all the varieties mentioned in the books: blueberry, strawberry, ambiguous berry, and apricot. We also added a cherry version because we found a tasty recipe for it, and cherry pie is a Father’s Day favorite.

Of all these tarts, our favorite was probably the apricot one. It had the most complex assortment of flavors, followed by the cherry tart. What all of these tart recipes have going for them, though, is that after eating several slices of each, you won’t feel bogged down by sugar, because there isn’t all that much in any of the recipes. The real focus of each tart is the fruit, and the flavors of the berries in particular comes across beautifully. In short, these are the perfectest herald of summer.

Basic Medieval Pastry Dough Recipe

Take fine floure and a curtesy of faire water and a disshe of swete butter and a litle saffron and the yolkes of two egges and make it thin and tender as ye maie. –A Propre new booke of Cokery, 1545

Ingredients

  • 3 cups Flour
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • 1-2 sticks Butter (we used one, could do with more!)
  • pinch of saffron
  • 1 Egg yolk, slightly beaten
Dissolve the saffron in your 1/2 cup water. While that is going, rub in the butter to the flour, then add the egg yolk and saffroned water. Stir until entirely incorporated, adding more water very gradually until everything just sticks together.
To pre-bake a shell, line a pan with dough, rolled very thin. Using a fork, poke holes all over the bottom of the pan, or use a pie weight. Bake for around 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Don’t let it start to brown! Remove from oven and fill as per the recipe.

Makes enough for 8-4 inch tart pans and one 9 inch pan.

Medieval Cherry Tart Recipe

To make a close Tarte of Cherries. Take out the stones and laye them as whole as you can in a Charger and put in synamon and ginger to them and laye them in a tart whole and close them and let them stand three quarters of an hour in the oven, then take a sirrope of Muscadine and damaske water and sugar and serve it. –Thomas Dawson, The Good Huswifes Jewell, 1596

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lb. whole cherries
  • dash of rose water (optional)
  • 1/4 cup sweet red wine
  • 1/4 cup honey or sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. ginger
  • dash of red wine vinegar (to taste)
  • pastry dough for 1-9 inch pan, or 8-4 inch tart pans

Combine cherries, wine, and vinegar in a saucepan. Cover and simmer for around 1/2 hour, or until the pits can be easily removed by squishing the cherries through a colander. Put cherry puree in a bowl and add the sugar and spices. Allow to cool. Line your tart pan with pastry dough (recipe above), and trim the edges. If you like, you can make decorative shapes with the dough remainders to place on top of your filled tarts.

Add rosewater and port to cherries. Add enough sugar to sweeten, but not make it cloy, plus the ginger. Add a little vinegar or lemon juice to sharpen. Cook for 45 minutes or until flavors are mingled. If needed, you may thicken with bread crumbs. Let cool. Fill shells, close, bake at 375º F for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Serves 4-6

Apricot Tart Recipe

Leche frys in lentoun. Drawe a thik almaunde mylke wiþ water. Take dates and pyke hem clene with apples and peeres, & mynce hem with prunes damysyns; take out þe stones out of þe prunes, & kerue the prunes a two. Do þerto raisouns, coraunce, sugur, flour of canel, hoole macys and clowes, gode powdours & salt; colour hem vp with saundres. Meng þise with oile. Make a coffyn as þou didest bifore & do þis fars þerin, & bake it wel, and serue it forth. -Forme of Cury, 14th Century

Our Changes: The original recipe for this is sort of a hodgepodge of fruit. We took out the apples, pears, and dates, replacing them with fresh apricots and dried ones. The yellow-orange of the apricots is beautiful against the red of the almond milk filling.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups extra thick Almond Milk
  • 1/2 cup dried apricots, sliced lengthwise
  • 3-5 fresh apricots, diced
  • 1/2 cup pitted prunes, sliced lengthwise
  • 1/2 cup currants
  • 2 Tbs sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. each cinnamon, mace & cloves
  • 1/4 tsp. each ginger, nutmeg, white pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • few drops red food coloring (in substitute of sandalwood)
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • one 9-inch pre-baked pie shell, or 8-4 inch pre-baked tart shells

Mix together well the almond milk, sugar, spices, oil, and food coloring. The color should be a brilliant red; the mixture should be thick but runny. In a separate bowl, mix together the fruits. Add the almond milk mixture and thoroughly blend. Place this filling in the pie shell. You may find that you have to put the fruit in the shell first, then spoon the almond milk over that. Bake at 375° F for 45 minutes, or until the filling is set and the top has slightly browned. Remove from oven; allow to completely cool before serving. Serves 4-6.

Medieval Berry Tart Recipe

Daryoles. Take wine & Fresh broth, Cloves, Maces & Marrow, & poweder of Ginger & Saffron & let all boil together & put thereto cream (& if it is clotted, draw it through a strainer) & yolks of Eggs, & mix them together, & pour the liquor that the Marrows was seethed in thereto; then make fair coffins of fair paste, & put the Marrow therein, & mince dates & strawberries in time of year, & put the coffins in the oven, & let them harden a little; then take them out & put the liquor thereto, & let them bake, & serve forth. -Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks

Our Changes: We took out the marrow. Yeah. Not needed here. We also used this recipe for the blueberry and ambiguous berry tarts.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 c. cream
  • 1/4 c. wine (we used a sweet red, like that for the cherry tarts)
  • 1/4 c. milk
  • 5 egg yolks + 1 egg
  • 1 pint strawberries, or other berries of your choice, or a mix
  • 1/2 c. chopped dates
  • 1/2 c. honey
  • 1/4 tsp each saffron & ginger
  • 1/8 tsp each mace & ground cloves
  • 2 pre-baked pie shells, or 8-4 inch pre-baked tart shells

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, wine, saffron and other spices, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. In a separate container, beat egg yolks and honey together. While beating, add a bit of the hot milk mixture. Pour this back into the pot with the hot liquid while whisking furiously. Place the cut strawberries and dates in baked pie shells and spoon the cream mixture over fruit and into the shells. Bake at 375° F for 45 minutes, or until the filling has set. Serves 4-6.

Medieval Black Pepper Sauce

Poivre Noir : Black Pepper Sauce

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

165. Poivre noir: Black Pepper Sauce. Grind ginger, round pepper and burnt toast, infuse this in vinegar (var.: and a little verjuice) and boil it.  – Le Viandier de Taillevent, 14th century

This recipe makes a lovely, rich sauce that pairs well with robust red meats, such as venison, boar, and beef.  The quantities of ingredients can be tweaked to make the sauce thicker or thinner to your preference, and you should also feel free to adjust the amount of pepper to taste.  The tartness of the vinegar might surprise you on first taste, but after a little acclimation, we think you’ll like it as much as we do.  The charred tasted of the bread combined with the bite of the pepper rounds out the flavor sensations that go with this sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1 slice bread, toasted until black
  • 1/3 cup verjuice, or equal parts cider vinegar and water
  • 1 Tbs. wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbs. ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Soak the burned bread in the liquid until it has fallen apart; mash with a fork.  Stir in the spices and slowly bring to a boil.  For a thinner sauce, add more liquid; for a smoother version, press through a sieve.

Spiced Plum Mousse w/Honey

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox 

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast 

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

-William Carlos Williams, 1934

Thoughts:

Ohmygoodness, but this is GOOD.  Like, crazy delicious.  This is an instant favorite, and will probably be made several times during every holiday season for the rest of our lives.  The recipe is simple, the texture is smooth, and the flavor can’t be beat. The strong spice mixture leaves just a slight tingle on the lips. And with the onset of summer, and with it fresh fruits, this dish is a must!

Why it should be in the Next Book:

Didn’t you read that?  Or look at the photo?  This is a phenomenally good dish, one that is authentically medieval, yet interesting and exotic enough that any character in Westeros would be delighted to partake.  We imagine it in Highgarden, down on The Arbor, or over in Pentos.

 

Spiced Plum Mousse with Honey- Recipe

Take bolas and scald hem with wyne, and drawe hem thorow a straynour; do hem in a pot.  Clarify hony, and therto with powdour fort and flour of rys.  Salt it & florissh it with whyte aneys, & serve it forth. -Forme of Cury, 1390

Prep time: 15 minutes     Cook time: 10 minutes

Makes around 4 servings

Cook’s Notes: Yellow plums and white wine yield a golden-colored mousse, while purple plums and a red form a quite different but equally delicious mousse.  We opted to leave the anise out of our mousse, but have included it in the ingredients to keep consistent with the original recipe.  We also think that some candied orange peel garnish would be a fantastic addition to this dish.

Ingredients:

  • ~1 pound of plums, purple or yellow
  • 1 1/3 cups wine, red for purple plums, white for yellow plums (we used a syrah)
  • 4 Tbs. honey
  • 1 Tbs. rice flour
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of Powder Forte (see below)
  • 1 Tbs. candied anise seeds (optional)

Candied anise seeds can be purchased inexpensively in Indian groceries or, at great cost, in fancy French groceries as anis de Flavigny.

Wash and pit the plums, cutting them in half, or pieces. Meanwhile, bring the wine to the boil in a stainless steel or other nonreactive pan. Add the plums and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the plums are very soft. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the wine.

Press the plums through a sieve into a heavy saucepan. Place this saucepan over low heat and stir in the honey. Stir the rice flour into the 1/4 cup of the reserved wine, then stir this mixture into the plum puree and add the salt and spices. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, until thickened. Pour into a serving bowl and cool slightly before serving. If you like, decorate with the candied anise seeds just before serving. 

Powder Forte: 
Mix equal parts black pepper, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves.  You may also include long pepper, but it is very hard to come by.  The most determined of cooks may find it in Indian markets.