Pies of Parys
Recipe from Handout
1 1/2 pounds of minced and/or ground veal4 pounds of minced and/or ground pork
2 cups of beef broth
3 cups of white wine
1 cup of currants
1 cup of chopped dates
1/4 teaspoon saffron
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon powdered ginger
salt to taste
5 eggs
hot water crust pastry shell
Brown all the meat together. Add the broth and white wine and let in simmer over low heat for an hour or more. Now add the dates and currants and cook for 15 minutes more. After adding the fruit, line two deep dish pie crusts with pastry. Remove the meat and fruit with a slotted spoon to a large ceramic dish and move away from the oven to cool. Add another two cups of wine and a cup of broth and your seasonings to the liquid and bring just to a boil. At the same time, beat four eggs together. Dribble a few spoonfuls of the hot liquid slowly into the eggs while beating continuously. Turn down your heat as low as possible and slowly pour the egg mixture into the simmering liquid while beating continuously. (These last procedures work best with two pairs of hands.) Keep stirring with a whisk until the liquid thickens well and remove from heat. Spoon the meat and fruit mixture back into the thickened sauce and mix well to coat. Then spoon the filling into the pie shells, being sure to use all of the sauce. Cover with a top crust of pastry and crimp the edges with your fingers. Beat up the last egg and brush it over the top of the crust. Use a sharp knife to cut a few small slits (for steam) in a decorative pattern in the crust. Bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 20 minutes. You can then serve the pies hot, or place them in the refrigerator to cool thoroughly.
Source for Recipe Presented
Harleian MS 4016 - Redaction Mistress Elaina de SinistrePies of Paris recipe from article Copyright 1996 to "Serve It Forth!". All rights reserved. http://dialup.pcisys.net/~mem/pies.html
"These pies are based mainly on a recipe from A Noble Boke Off Cookry ffor a Prynce Houssolde, an 1882 reprint of a manuscript (Harlian Manuscript #4016) scribed shortly after 1467 (the date of one of the feasts described at the beginning of the text) but including a number of much earlier recipes. Several of the recipes in this manuscript are literally identical to recipes found in the 1390 text of Forme of Cury. I was also influenced by several other meat pie recipes, one of which I have reproduced here for its suggestions of saffron as an additional spice. The pies can be eaten hot or cold, and the same filling can be used for pasties."
Notes and additional versions
A Boke of Kokery, from the facsimile in Duke Cariadoc's Medieval and Renaissance Cookbook CollectionTo make pyes of paris tak and fmyt fair buttes of pork and buttes of vele and put it to gedure in a faire pot with frefhe brothe and put ther to a quantite of whyne and boile it tille it be enoughe then put it in to a treene veffelle and put ther to raw yolks of eggs pouder of guinger fugur falt and mynced dates and raiffins of corans and mak a good thyn paifte and mak coffyns and put it ther in and bak it welle and ferue it. Harleian MS. 279 - Dyuerse Bake Metis
xxvij. Pyes de pares. Take & smyte fayre buttys of Porke, & buttys of Vele, to-gederys, & put it on a fayre potte, & do (th)er-to Freyssche bro(th)e, & quantyte of wyne, & lat boyle alle to-gederys tyl yt be y-now; (th)an take it fro (th)e fyre, & lat kele a lytelle; (th)an caste (th)er-to yolkys of Eyroun, & pouder of Gyngere, Sugre, & Salt, & mynced Datys, & Roysonys of Coraunce; (th)en make fayre past, and cofynnys, & do (th)er-on; kyuer it, & let bake, & serue f[orth].
Harleian MS. 4016
32 Pies of Parys. Take and smyte fair buttes of pork and buttes of vele togidre, and put hit in a faire pot, And putte thereto faire broth, And a quantite of Wyne, And lete all boile togidre til hit be ynogh; and (th)en take hit fro the fire, and lete kele a litel, and cast ther-to raw yolkes of eyren, and pouudre of gyngeuere, sugre and salt, and mynced dates, reysyns of corence: make then coffyns of feyre past, and do it ther-ynne, and keuere it & lete bake y-nogh.
In Pleyn Delit #109, the Harleian 4016 version.
Constance B. Hiett, Brenda Hosington and Sharon Butler. Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks. Second Edition. Copyright 1996. Published by University of Toronto Press.
p. 124 Thousand Eggs - Harleian MS 279 and 4016
From Take a Thousand Eggs or More: A Collection of 15th Century Recipes, volume 1, by Cindy Renfrow, page #206 (c) 1990, 1997. Reprinted with permission of the author.
Stefan's Florilegium Period meat pies. Recipes.
And going towards the end of the period, you have
The Good Hous-wives Treasurie, 1588
To Make Minst Pyes
Take your Veale and perboyle it a little, or mutton. Then set it a cooling:
and when it is colde, take three pound of suit to a legge of mutton, or fower
pound to a fillet of Veale, and then mince them small by themselves, or
together whether you will. Then take to season them halfe an unce of Sinamon,
a little Pepper, as much Salt as you think will season them, either to the
mutton or to the Veale, take eight yolkes of Egges when they be hard, half a
pinte of rosewater full measure, halfe a pound of Suger. Then straine the
Yolkes with the Rosewater and the Suger and mingle it with your meats. If ye
have any Orrenges or Lemmans you must take two of them, and take the pilles
very thin and mince them very smalle, and put them in a pound of currans, six
dates, half a pound of prunes. Laye Currans and Dates upon the top of your
meate. You must take two or three Pomewaters or Wardens and mince with your
meate...; if you will make good crust put in three or foure yolkes of egges, a
little Rosewater, and a good deale of Suger.
Updated September 9, 2002
