The New Murrey and Blue blog

Some of you may have read a previous post of mine, describing a ‘Mediaeval Feast’ I cooked a few years ago, basing some of the dishes on those served at Richard III’s Coronation.

I thought you might like to try out some of the recipes from it, and others, for yourselves. Here is the first:

Bruett Tuskayne

This is a stew, in this case made with venison. I served it on bread trenchers, which I got in the supermarket – I think they are called cob loaves. They are round, plate-sized (luckily!) and flattish. If you’re very clever (or mad) you can make it yourself. I sliced them horizontally, making two ‘trenchers’ from each loaf.

Ingredients

• One pint / 500ml Fresh Stock (I made mine from lamb and chicken bones)
• Three and a half ounces / 100 g Fresh Parsley
• Two sprigs of Hyssop or 2-3 tsp / 5 – 15 g of dried Hyssop
• Two to three tsp / 5-15 g Savory
• Pinch or two of White Pepper
• Two tsp / 10 g Cloves (Beware! I used ground cloves which made it very bitter, so I suspect it means whole cloves)
• Pinch of Saffron
• One pound / 450 g of Venison (you can substitute beef or lamb if you prefer)
• One tablespoon / 15 g Flour or Crumbled Bread

Method

Put the stock on to boil. Meanwhile finely chop all the herbs. When the stock is simmering, add to stock, then add the pepper and cloves. (You will probably have to remove the cloves later if using whole ones).

Dice the meat and add to the saucepan.

Simmer until the meat is tender, adding more water as necessary. (You can cook it overnight in a slow cooker if you prefer).

If this ends up too bitter try adding red wine, cranberries and honey.

Mix the flour into a smoth paste with cold water. Slowly add to the stew stirring out any lumps OR crumble in enough bread to thicken the stew.

Serve hot, on bread trenchers if you are using them. I also served it with Frumenty.