Historical Recipe of the Week

This week's recipe is courtesy of the National Trust. It's a warming winter casserole and it dates from the 14th century. It serves 4, but sadly not 4 peasants because the ingredients would have been too expensive for them to buy. The recipe comes from the cooks of King Richard II who recorded their recipes on a parchment called The Forme of Cury, Cury being Old English for the word cooking.

Casseroled Pigeon with Herbs and Spices

Ingredients: 4 pigeons, 12 large cloves of garlic, 4 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme, 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley, Salt and freshly milled black pepper, dripping for frying, half a pint of chicken stock, the juice of half a lemon, a large pinch of ground ginger, a pinch of saffron strands, half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, fresh herbs to garnish.

Method:

Go to your dovecote and fetch fresh pigeons. Go to your walled garden to cut fresh herbs. Stuff the pigeons with three garlic cloves, one teaspoon of thyme and half a teaspoon of parsley. Season them with salt and pepper then brown them in fat in a casserole dish. Pour over the stock and add lemon juice, ginger, saffron and cinnamon. Cover with a lid and cook in the centre of a moderate oven (180C, 350F, gas mark 4) for one to one and a half hours. Serve on a slice of wholemeal toast and garnish with fresh herbs. Enjoy!