Merryell Williams' Book of Recipes (Peniarth MS 513D) - [12] Pease Soop

Merryell Williams' Book of Recipes

Peniarth MS 513D

This is a volume of cooking and medicinal recipes which were collected by Merryell Williams of the Ystumcolwyn Estate, Montgomeryshire, towards the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The manuscript is in English. Within its covers we are given a glimpse of the types of meals created in the kitchens of mid Wales' nobility during this period.

Images of the original manuscript are freely available on the National Library of Wales website.

I have done my best to provide an accurate, but readable transcription. Common abbreviations have been expanded, letters like thorn and yogh have been replaced with their modern equivalents, and some minor punctuation has been added.

Copyright © 2022 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com

[12] Pease Soop. Boyle white pease as before, rubb them through a sieve, put to them stronge broath made of a Leg of Mutton or Beeff. Set them on the fire with some lemon peell, whole pepper, sume Nutmeg, and an Onion Stuck with cloves, Some sweet herbs. Then let them boyle together. Then take & cut the Onion and herbs, then put in some baccon & balls fryed & toasted braed in squar bitts, some buttered spinage & sorrel & Endiff, cut it it and give it a warme together, then serve it up.

I think this recipe qualifies as I referred to a recipe for pea "soop" in an earlier post, but it doesn't at all match this one.

To make green Peas Soop. Take half a bushel of the youngest Peas, divide the great from the small; boil the smallest in two quarts of Water, and the biggest in one quart: when they are well boiled, bruise the biggest, and when the thin is drained from it, boil the thick in as much cold Water as will cover at; then rub away the Skins, and take a little Spinage, Mint, Sorrel, Lettuce and Parsley, and a good quantity of Marigolds; wash, shred and boil these in half a pound of Butter, and drain the small Peas; save the Water, and mingle all together, and a spoonful of Pepper whole; then melt a quarter of a pound of Butter, and shake a little Flour into it, and let it boil; put the Liquor to the Butter, and mingle all well together, and let them boil up: so serve it with dry’d Bread. [The Compleat Housewife (England, 1729)]

In spite of the name, I think this recipe counts as YAVCRFPP.

[Bibliography] 

Merryell Williams' Book of Recipes (Peniarth MS 513D) - [11] Pease Pottage

Merryell Williams' Book of Recipes

Peniarth MS 513D

This is a volume of cooking and medicinal recipes which were collected by Merryell Williams of the Ystumcolwyn Estate, Montgomeryshire, towards the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The manuscript is in English. Within its covers we are given a glimpse of the types of meals created in the kitchens of mid Wales' nobility during this period.

Images of the original manuscript are freely available on the National Library of Wales website.

I have done my best to provide an accurate, but readable transcription. Common abbreviations have been expanded, letters like thorn and yogh have been replaced with their modern equivalents, and some minor punctuation has been added.

Copyright © 2022 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com

[11] Pease Pottage. Take a knockle of veal, Or a hough of Beeff, & boyle your stock well & straine it & make your gravie very strong. Season it with Cloves, Mace & Nutmeg, and Onion & Race of Ginger, & some sweet herbs. To make the Ragour, take Pullets, forst-meat balls & Ragour them, and if noe pease, take Spinage & chop it small & boyle it. You must must not put the spinage in till you send it up, & then put it in the Dish with the dryed bread & then run that over it. Garnish it with tongues & serve it away.

I am now going to just use the helpful abbreviation YAVCRFPP (Yet another very confused recipe for pea pottage).  Beef broth with spices and chicken meatballs for the soup base, but it this has to be the first recipe for pea pottage I've ever seen that might not actually contain peas.

[Bibliography] 

Merryell Williams' Book of Recipes (Peniarth MS 513D) - [9] Green Pease Pottage

Merryell Williams' Book of Recipes

Peniarth MS 513D

This is a volume of cooking and medicinal recipes which were collected by Merryell Williams of the Ystumcolwyn Estate, Montgomeryshire, towards the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The manuscript is in English. Within its covers we are given a glimpse of the types of meals created in the kitchens of mid Wales' nobility during this period.

Images of the original manuscript are freely available on the National Library of Wales website.

I have done my best to provide an accurate, but readable transcription. Common abbreviations have been expanded, letters like thorn and yogh have been replaced with their modern equivalents, and some minor punctuation has been added.

Copyright © 2022 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com

[9] Green Pease Pottage. Take 3 quarts of Green Pease, boyle 3 pints of them, & afterwards stamp them in a Morter, & put a quart of the broath they were boyled into the pease & stir them altogether & strain or press as the substanse of the pease may all goe through & leave only the hulls, so the Broath will goe thick. Then season it, puting it over the fire, with a pint of Renish Wine, & beaten Cloves & Mace & Nutmegs & 3 Anchovis. Then boyle some forstmeat balls in it & put some Crust of Manchet in it being well dryed, & fry into it Chibbles, Parsley, & Spinage, and the head of a hundred of Sparagrasse being boyled. You may put some Stronge broath in it & sweet breeds of veale, roast al Couple of Chickents, lay them in the Middle of the Dish.  When you serve it up boyle a pint of Pease Green. Garnish the dishe with cut Oranges. You need not hacke the sweet herbs. Pinch the leaves of them & put them in a litle before you serve it up that they may be green. [note: Ant Morris]

Another very confused recipe for pea pottage, this one having asparagus and sweetbreads.  I don't have anything new to add at this point over the notes in the previous peas pottage recipe, but I may come back to it later.

[Bibliography] 

Merryell Williams' Book of Recipes (Peniarth MS 513D) - [8] Pease Pottage The Spanish Way

Merryell Williams' Book of Recipes

Peniarth MS 513D

This is a volume of cooking and medicinal recipes which were collected by Merryell Williams of the Ystumcolwyn Estate, Montgomeryshire, towards the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. The manuscript is in English. Within its covers we are given a glimpse of the types of meals created in the kitchens of mid Wales' nobility during this period.

Images of the original manuscript are freely available on the National Library of Wales website.

I have done my best to provide an accurate, but readable transcription. Common abbreviations have been expanded, letters like thorn and yogh have been replaced with their modern equivalents, and some minor punctuation has been added.

Copyright © 2022 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com

[p3]

[8] Pease Pottage The Spanish Way.  Put 2 quarts of Pease a-boyling in broath. Season them with Nutmeg, Sault, Onion, sweet herbs, peper, a litle bacon stuffed with cloves. Take a quantity of spinnage, pound it in a Morter, then strain it, then brown some butter very thick with flower, then put in the Juice of spinage, and boyle it very well. Then strain the Pease through a Sieve with some of the same liquor they were boyled in 2 hours, then soak therein a french Loafe. Put some whole pease in it, then take 3 or 4 cowcumbers, pare them, take out the seeds & dice the outside, & fry them in butter. When they are brown, Boyle them in the Pottage and Dish it up with the Loafe in the Midle & Squeeze one Orange on it. [note: Mrs. Baxter]

To be honest, I really don't know where to go with this recipe. It doesn't look much like any of the pea pottage recipes I noted previously.

This recipe is essentially fried cucumbers, cooked in strained peas and spinach juice, served with a loaf of bread stuffed with whole peas, and garnished with orange juice. I find it somewhat bewildering.

[Bibliography]