Le Viandier de Taillevent - Translation - Thick Pottages without Meat

THICK POTTAGES WITHOUT MEAT

73. Fish cumin dish.

Cook it in water or fry it in oil. Grind almonds, [soak] in your broth, puree of peas or boiled water, and make [almond] milk. Grind ginger and some cumin steeped in wine and verjuice, and boil with your milk. For invalids, you need some sugar in it.

74. Bright green soup of eels.

Skin or scald them, and cook them in wine and water. Crush bread and parsley, with just a bit of saffron in the greens (to make it bright green), and soak in your broth. Crush ginger steeped in verjuice, and boil everything together. You can add good cheese cut into little cubes if you wish.

75. Loach stew.

Take browned bread, some wine, puree of peas or boiled water, strain everything through cheesecloth, and boil. Grind ginger, cassia, cloves, grains of paradise, and saffron (to give it colour), all steeped in vinegar. Take some chopped onions fried in oil, and boil everything together. Fry your loach without flour, and do not boil it, but set out your fish in bowls. It should be yellow.

76. Chowder with pike.

Roast your fish. Take bread, puree of peas or boiled water, wine, verjuice, ginger and saffron, sieve, and boil. Throw onto your fish with (if you wish) just a bit of vinegar. It should be yellowish.

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77. Soringue.

Scald or skin the eel, cut it into sections, and fry it lightly in oil with leafy parsley and onions sliced into rounds. Take browned bread, puree of peas or boiled water, and wine (mostly), sieve, and boil with the eel. Take ginger, cassia, cloves, grains of paradise and saffron (to give it colour), steep in verjuice, and boil with the eel. Season it with vinegar.

78. Saracen soup.

Take cassia, long pepper and saffron (to give it colour) steeped in wine and verjuice. Boil everything together with your eels. It should not be too thick, for it thickens itself.

79. Oyster ragout.

Scald them, wash them well, and fry them in oil. Take browned bread, puree of peas or some of the water in which the oysters were scalded (or other hot boiled water), and wine (mostly), and sieve. Take cassia, ginger, cloves, grains of paradise and saffron (for colouring), steeped in vinegar. Add onions fried in oil, and boil together. It should be very thick. Some do not boil the oysters.

80. Mustard sops.

Take wine, water, and some oil in which you have fried or poached eggs, and boil everything in an iron pan. Take bread crust, brown on the grill, make cubes of it, and boil them with the broth. Drain your broth, dry your sops again, and tip them onto a plate. Put a bit of very thick Mustard [Sauce] in the pan with your broth, and boil everything.

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81. Egg stew.

Poach them in oil. Fry onions sliced into rounds in oil, boil with some wine, verjuice and vinegar, and boil everything together. When you set out your broth, set it out on your eggs. It should not be thick. Then make some Mustard Sops as above.

82. German egg soup.

Poach them in oil. Take boiled almond milk, and onions sliced into rounds fried in oil, and boil together. Grind ginger, cassia, cloves, grains of paradise and a bit of saffron, all steeped in verjuice, and add without boiling too much. It should be very thick, and not too yellow. Make some Mustard Sops if you wish.

83. Thickened cow's milk.

Boil it for an instant, and remove it from the fire. Thread in plenty of egg yolks [directly] or through cheesecloth. It should be very thick and a rather yellow colour, but not too [yellow?]. Poach some eggs in water, and add them without boiling [again].

84. Green egg and cheese soup.

Take parsley, a bit of sage, just a bit of saffron in the greens, and soaked bread, and steep in puree [of peas] or boiled water. Add ginger steeped in wine, and boil. Add the cheese, and the eggs when they have been poached in water. It should be thick and bright green. Some do not add bread, but add almond milk.

85. Yellow Sauce.

A Yellow Sauce for cold fish fried in oil without flour. Grind almonds, steep in wine (mostly) and verjuice, sieve, and boil. Grind ginger, cloves, grains of paradise and a bit of saffron, and steep in your broth. Boil well with some sugar. It should be very thick.

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86. Perch stew.

Cook it, peel it, and fry it, without flour. For cold fish thus fried, make it like Loach Stew, not so yellow, but red and very thick.

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