I used a modern translation from Historic Royal Palaces. They gave the original as:
Take neshe chese and pare hit and grynd hit yn A morter and breke egges and do ther to and then put yn buttur and creme and mell all well to gethur put not to moche butter ther yn if the chese be fatte make A coffyn of dowe and close hit a bove with dowe and collor hit a bove with the yolkes of eggs and bake hit well and serue hit furth.
-Gentyll manly Cokere
And translated it to (paraphrase):
Chop and pound 100 g of cheese, mix in 150ml cream, 1 egg, and seasonings to make a paste. Make a 10" tart case of shortcrust, fill with the creamed mixture, top with a crust, brush with egg, and bake 220C for 40 min or until golden.I used this modern shortcrust recipe, requiring a double batch (~4 cups flour, 1 cup butter) to fill the 10" pan I was used. [Not having a tart pan or trusting my pastry, I used a springform pan, but only made the sides of the case ~1" tall.] The center also had to be doubled (~2 cups cheese, 1 1/3 cup cream, 2 eggs), as a single iteration did not even cover the bottom of the pastry. I baked it at 400F for about 40 minutes, which was barely enough: it probably could have stood a few minutes longer, or a slightly hotter oven (220C is 428F, but my oven's weird about going above 400F).
I think this dish is meant to be served hot, but it did not suffer from being baked in the morning, refrigerated most of the day, and served in the evening. The recipe translation recommends a soft cheese, or any period-appropriate variety. This time, I used ricotta (as it was soft and readily found).
I also omitted the seasonings, as none were recommended and the original recipe made no mention of them (though I'm now wondering if that's because this tarte is meant to be a blank slate for whatever seasonings strike the cook's fancy).
I think the final result was rich, but a bit bland. It went over well--all of it got eaten--but experimenting with seasonings is definitely in order. I talked to a few people, and it seems that we agree it could go either sweet or savory in the seasoning, and I'm tempted to try nutmeg or chives in the future.
You could also try a more flavorful harder cheese. The fact that it has to be grated and pounded sounds like gouda or something might be better. But it prob was a good balance to All Ham All the Time
ReplyDeleteGouda would give it a delightful flavor... that may have to be the next one I try. The recipe suggested Cheshire, Wensleydale, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Parmesan, or Cheddar as period-appropriate varieties, but also indicated that "neshe" cheese would soft like ricotta or quark. Of course, after all the pounding and baking, there's probably little difference in how hard the cheese was to start.
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