Many foods that we think of as “Irish” were not known this early. No potatoes, no soda bread. There are no cookbooks from this early. These are recipes that we have used in our re-enactment kitchen. They are adaptations, based on recipes recorded two hundred or more years later, on references in literature, and on archeological evidence.
Ranvaig
For further information contact: ranvaig@columbus.rr.com
Food used at this time (includes evidence from Dublin, York, and Scandinavia)
Meat: beef, lamb, pork/ham/bacon, deer, goat, Irish hare, seal, whale
Poultry: chicken, duck, goose, pidgeon, sea birds, partridge, quail, grouse
Seafood: salmon, trout, herring, cod, ling, eel, cockles, mussels, oysters, scallops, turtle
Grain: oat, barley, wheat, spelt, rye, dried peas
Nuts: hazelnuts, walnuts
Fruit: apple, crab apples, pear, peach, raspberries, cherry, plum/prune, sloe, elderberry, blackberry, rosehips, hawthorn, rowan, bilberry
Vegetables: leeks, onion, garlic, wild carrot, peas, fava, wild celery, turnip, radish, kale, beets, mushroom
Greens: nettle, watercress, mustard, Cabbage (but probably loose cabbage, not heads), kale, lambsquarters, dulse (seaweed)
Herbs: cumin, black mustard, horseradish, fennel, dill, coriander, poppyseed, parsley, mint, thyme, marjoram, angelica
Dairy milk, butter, fresh cheese, eggs
Other: honey, beer, vinegar, canola (rapeseed) oil
Imported: wine, olive oil, pepper, perhaps figs and grapes
Recipes
Handwashing (Hauviette)
1 qt water, handful of sage leaves
Heat the water, let the sage steep in the hot water, then drain and let the scented water cool. To use, place the slightly warm scented water in a pitcher, carry a basin and keep a towel over your shoulder. Allow the person to hold their hands over the bowl while you pour. They should rub their hands together. When finished, offer them the towel.
Brotchan Foltchep
4 c milk, 3/4 c steel cut oatmeal, 1/4 c butter, 2 lb leeks sliced and washed well, salt parsley
Simmer the milk with oatmeal until cooked. Heat the butter and gently cook the chopped leeks. When the oats are half done, mix in the leeks and finish cooking. Season to taste and garnish with chopped parsley.
Nettle Soup
1 pt nettle tops, 2 T butter, 1 oz oatmeal, 2 c water, stock, or milk, salt
Wear rubber gloves when collecting and handling nettles! Wash the young nettle tops in several changes of cold water. Chop finely, or mince. Melt butter in pot. Sprinkle in oatmeal and fry until golden brown. Stir in water, stock or milk. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Add the nettles, and season to taste. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
Chicken soup
1 chicken, 2 onions, 4 cloves garlic, 1 c barley or whole oats, carrots and turnips, salt to taste
Heat water in the pot. Cut up Chicken, onions and veggies and add to the pot. Add the grain to the pot. Cook until done.
Vegetable Soup
1 c whole oats or barley, 1 onion chopped, 3 cloves garlic, veggies, 4 c. water, salt to taste, Simmer until the grain is done.
Braised Venison
8 lb venison loin, bottle of red wine
Marinate the venison in wine over night. Bring to a near boil and simmer slowly. Serve sliced thinly.
Chicken with Leeks
1 whole chicken, 2 T butter, 1/2 lb leeks, cut into strips and washed well, 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 bunch green onion, 1/2 c. chopped parsley, 1 c water
Heat the butter in a heavy pot, and brown the chicken, add the leeks, parsley and water and seal tightly, cook over high heat for 15 min. until the chicken is cooking well, then simmer slowly for 90 minutes.
Duck with honey
6 lb duck, salt, pepper, thyme, onion, 1/4 c honey
Prick the duck all over, put quartered onion inside. Braise or Roast the duck, saving pan juices. When done, brush with honey and cook 15 mins more.
Cormarye (Forme of Cury)
3 lb. Pork loin roast, 1 T whole coriander seed, 1 T whole caraway seed, 1 T minced garlic, 1 tsp. Ground black pepper, 1 tsp. Salt, 2 cups sweet red wine, 2 cups chicken broth
Prick the roast several times. Lay it in a (non-reactive) casserole dish. Grind the coriander and caraway. Add the garlic, and grind again. Mix pepper and salt with the garlic mush. Spread over the roast. Add all the wine and enough chicken broth to cover the roast. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 4 hours. Cook over a low heat until done, reduce the juices to a sauce.
Note: This is documented later, but nothing that couldn't be done now. We made it with mead instead of the wine.
Seethed Beef with pepper
4 lb beef, 2 T peppercorns
Heat a large pot of water by dropping in hot rocks, or on the stove, wrap the beef and pepper in a piece of cloth and drop into the hot water, cook until done, about 2 hours. Slice thinly and serve.
Forcemeat balls
1 lb pork, 1 egg, 1/4c wine, parsley, salt and pepper
Chop the pork and pound it in a mortar and pestle (or in a food processor). Stir in eggs, wine, and seasoning. Form into one inch balls. Drop into a pot of hot broth and cook until done or fry gently.
Garlic Sauce
1 head garlic, 1/2 c dry breadcrumbs, 1 c. water, broth or wine, 1/4 tsp pepper, salt
Bake unpeeled garlic in ashes for 30 minutes. Soak the crumbs in some of the broth until softened. Peel the garlic. In a mortar, puree the garlic and salt. Blend in the crumbs, spices, and enough broth to create a creamy sauce. Simmer for a few minutes.
Pear Mustard
1/4 c brown mustard seed, 1/4 c vinegar, 1 pear, 1/4 c honey
Soak the mustard in water or vinegar. Grind finely. Peel and slice the pear, cook until soft, mash and mix in the mustard and honey. Let rest overnight or more.
Plum Sauce (Apicus)
4 plums, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1 T celery leaves, 1 T honey, 1/2 c. wine, 1 T vinegar, 1 T olive oil.
Chop and pit the plums, cook for 20 minutes. Serve with poultry.
Horseradish sauce
1/2 cup peeled and grated horseradish root, 1/3 cup white vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, pinch salt
Mix together with mortar and pestle. Try adding buttermilk from the butter.
{To make a good sauce for Lent. Take horseradish and pound it in a mortar and take almonds or nuts and pound those, too, and pour some wine to it.}
Cabbage and Bacon
1 small head of cabbage shredded, 1 onion sliced, 1/2 lb good bacon, coarsely chopped
Cook the bacon in a hot pan until the fat renders out and the bacon is done. Add the onion and cook until the onion is golden. Add cabbage, stir well, cover tightly and simmer about 15 min or until the cabbage is done, stirring once or twice.
Roasted Roots
2 lbs white or red carrots, 1 lb turnips, 1 lb parsnips, onions, butter
Roast the veggies in embers, peel and slice, Saute in butter for a few minutes just before serving.
Salmon Cakes
1 lb cooked Salmon, 1 egg, 3/4 c oatmeal, 1 small onion, oil
Mix the egg and oatmeal, let rest 5 mins. Chop the onion, flake the salmon, mix into the oatmeal. Make into cakes and fry in oil.
Pears in Wine
4 hard pears peeled and sliced, 1 c. wine, sugar to taste
Simmer the pears in the wine until tender. Add sugar to taste. Serve cool.
Note: This recipe is marginal for this time, wine was imported, but probably wasn't used for cooking.
Mushrooms
2 lb mushrooms, quartered, 3 oz dried mushrooms, 2 T butter, 1 onion, water
Soak the dried mushrooms in water to cover for an hour, then drain and chop coarsely. Saute onion in the butter and add both kinds of mushrooms, cover and braise until done.
Compot (Hauviette)
1/2 lb each pear, turnip, cabbage, carrot, radish
Soaking brine: 2 T sea salt, 1/4 c. cider vinegar
Pickle: 1 c. cider vinegar 1/4 c. honey, 1 tsp crushed mustard seed
Peel, wash, and core vegetables. Slice thinly. Place in non-reactive container and add the soaking brine. Let sit overnight or several hours. Mix vinegar, honey and spices. Bring the pickle to a boil and add vegetables cook until cooked but crisp. Serve cool.
Compot (Forme of Curry)
1/2 c parsley root, 1/2 c radishes, 1/2 lb parsnips, 1/2 lb turnips, 2 qt cabbage, 1 qt winter pears, Salt, 1 bottle mead, 1 c honey, 1/2 c. gnd mustard
Peel and chop veggies and pears, place in a kettle, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until pears are barely tender. Drain; spread on a cloth. Sprinkle with a substantial amount of salt and leave until cold.
While mixture is cooling, bring mead and honey to a boil, removing the scum as needed. When the scum stops rising remove from heat. Add mustard to the wine/honey mixture, stirring well. Add wine/honey mixture to cabbage/ pear mixture and blend carefully. Store in a cool place for at least 8 hours and use as needed.
Note: another recipe from a few hundred years later, but they probably preserved seasonal vegetables in a crock. Layers were added as food came in season.
Cured Salmon (Tigernach)
Take two fresh fillets of salmon, with the skin scaled, but left on. Using sea salt or kosher salt, salt all sides of the fish so that the salt looks like a bed of snow over the flesh and skin. Take a bunch of dill and a thimbleful of Mead, and place the dill and sprinkle the Mead on the cut side of one of the fillets. Place the other fillet over it, to form a kind of sandwich, with the skin of the fish on the outside and the dill on the inside, between the fillets. Wrap up tightly (Saran wrap is not period, but it will do) and place the fish in a tightly sealed container (wood or Tupperware box), and keep in a cool place for three days, turning the fish once every 12 hours or so in its wrappings.
At the end of the three days, you may begin to slice and eat the fish. I like it with butter on whole-wheat bread or oat cakes. You could also use a cream or soft cheese. Bagels are out of our period, but delicious with this. Slice the fish with a long sharp knife on a diagonal so that you get nice thin slivers that cut across the grain of the fish. Kept cold, this has lasted in the refrigerator for just for over a month, which is the longest I've ever held it before eating it all up.
Note: wrapping in cloth works better than saran wrap. And freezing for 10 mins helps the slices be even.
Frytours
2 or 3 large parsnips or carrots, peeled and cut into strips, 2 c flour, 1 tsp yeast, 1 egg, 12 oz beer, oil for frying
Blanch the parsnips and carrots, drain and let cool. Mix flour, eggs, ale, and yeast. Let the batter rest an hour. Dip veggies in the batter, fry in oil, and serve hot. Variation: use slices of apple or hard pear.
Barley with Hazelnuts
2 c whole, hulled barley, 1 c hazelnuts, 4 c. water
Mix barley, nuts and water, bring to a boil and simmer until done, adding more water as necessary.
Note: We used the nutmeats left after making hazelnut mead.
Oatcakes
1/2 c coarsely ground whole oats,1/4 c water 1/4 t salt
Put the oatmeal in a spice grinder and process for about 20 seconds, to a coarse meal. Add salt and water and rest for 30 mins . Roll out, cut into triangles, cook on a medium hot griddle, without oil, about 3-5 minutes.
Oat Pudding (Littiú) (Tirnenach)
2 c coarsely ground oats (run lightly through a food processor), 2 c milk, 1/2 tsp salt or to taste, egg yolks (optional), butter
Heat milk to the simmering point without boiling, so that small bubbles form around the rim of the pot. Add oats and salt. If you wish to make it even richer, you can add the egg yolks, well beaten, to the mixture. Pour the mixture into greased bowl or fireproof dish, and set it, covered, by the fire for about 45 minutes, turning it regularly so that it cooks evenly and solidly. Or bake at 300°. As it cooks, it will pull away from the bowl a bit.
It can be cut in wedges in the bowl, or turned out onto a plate, accompanied by rich cream and drizzled honey. The dish is described in books of monastic rules, and is prescribed in the Brehon law as the appropriate food with which noble hostages and foster sons are nourished by right.
Fresh cheese with herbs
1/2 gal milk, 1/2 c yogurt with active cultures, handful of chopped fresh dill or other herbs
In a stainless steel or other non-aluminum pot mix the yogurt and milk, leave at room temperature for an hour. Slowly milk to 185 degrees, keep at 185 degrees half an hour, stirring gently until a soft curd forms. Add a little vinegar if necessary.
Line a colander with cheesecloth. Pour in the curd, mix in herbs and salt to taste and mix well. Tie the corners of the cloth together and hang to drip. The longer you hang it, the firmer the cheese. Overnight gives a semi firm cheese, like feta.
Note: we used nettle this year, it was wonderful.
Simple Cheese
One quart milk heated to 100F. Add the juice of two lemons and let curdle. Drain in cheesecloth and mix in salt to taste.
Homemade Butter
whipping or heavy cream, salt
Let the cream stand at room temperature for several hours. Pour into a glass jar, about half full. Cover tightly and shake the jar up and down at a steady rhythm. After about 20 minutes the butter should come as lumps that float on the top.
When no more curds seem to form, remove the lid and scoop out the butter curds. Save the buttermilk to drink. Put the curds in a bowl and rinse under cold running water to remove any milk. Add a touch of salt to taste. Put the butter in the refrigerator to cool. After about an hour, the butter will be enough to mold or shape into balls,
Also sausages, pickled and smoked fish, fresh and dried fruit, nuts.
Lammas 1003
Chicken- in dutch oven with leeks and parsley
Beef with pepper (boiled in a hollowed log)
Salmon Grilled
Barley and hazelnuts
Turnips in butter
Parsmips roasted
onions (cooked in coals)
Cabbage and smoked pork
Carrots
Sauteed Mushrooms
Compot - carrot, pear, turnip, cabbage in vinegar, honey, and mustard
Fresh cheese with dill (made Sat as a demo)
Cheese – edam with nettle and Caerphilly
Bread (some purchased, some cooked in the oven)
Strawberries, peaches (not quite right, but they were donated)
Mustard sauce, Garlic sauce`
Butter, honey, salt
Mead, Cider
Lammas 1004
Chicken with leeks and parsley
Seethed Beef with pepper
Salmon Grilled
Oatmeal Pudding
Cabbage and bacon
Carrots and Parsnips roasted
Fresh and dried Mushrooms
Cured salmon
Fresh cheese with dill (made Sat as a demo)
Edam with nettle cheese , Caerphilly cheese
Pears in wine
Cherry sauce, Mustard sauce, Garlic sauce
Fruit
Bread, Butter, honey, salt
Mead, Cider, water
Lammas 1005
Chicken with Leeks and Parsley
Pork Cormarye
Duck with Honey
Pear Mustard, Plum Sauce
Horseradish Sauce, Garlic herb Sauce
Cured salmon, Pickled Mushrooms, Radishes
Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
Barley and Hazelnuts
Bread and Oatcakes
Homemade Dill Cheese, Nettle cheese, and Butter
Tigernach's Honey
Fresh Fruit
Mead, Cider, Water