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
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[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.
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