Capon Pie

So I have decided to go back a few centuries with my cookery for this post. I found a recipe for “capon pie” dating back to 16th century Netherlands. I got the recipe here: http://medievalcookery.com/recipes/caponpie.html

A few things about this:

– A capon is a rooster castrated before sexual maturity. Apparently this not only makes the chickens less aggressive and easier to handle, but makes the bird grow larger and the meat more tender and less gamey. However, modern chickens at the grocery store are pretty large and tender compared to typical cockerel (non-castrated), so I chose a regular ol’ chicken that should taste pretty similar.

-This pie contains spices, saffron in particular, that would not have been available to everyone or even the majority of people at this time due to their high price. This dish would have been eaten for special occasions or by the wealthy.

-This recipe may have been made using a simple, hard, flour-and-water pie crust called a “coffyn”. These hard, heavy crusts were usually not eaten or were handed out to the poor. Their main purpose was for cooking the contents of the pie and serving. This seemed a little impractical to me so I made the pie in a crust that is historically accurate but also edible. It’s rich and spiced with black pepper, which suits the decadent pie filling pretty well.

Here is the recipe for the pie crust.

175g (3/4 cup) plain flour

60g (1/4 cup) coarse whole wheat flour

75g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter (salted butter will also work, but do not add extra salt)

¼ tsp salt

twist of black pepper

2½ tsp water

Pie Crust Preparation: Method: Take the butter from the fridge, cut into small cubes and leave on the side for at least half an hour to warm up. Meanwhile mix the flour together in a large bowl and add in the salt and pepper. When the butter has softened add this to the flour mixture and either cut into the butter with two knives. Alternatively use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour (this gives far better results) and keep rubbing until the texture resembles that of breadcrumbs. Add the water a little at the time until the mixture binds together but is not too tough. This pastry dough should be good enough to roll immediately and is enough for one 22cm (9″) pie. (If, however, the pastry is a little tough to roll out cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for about half an hour).

Recipe source –> http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/mediaeval/fetch-recipe.php?rid=medi-pie-crust

I accidentally made extra so I had some to freeze as well.

So, after making the pie crust (don’t bake obviously) it’s time for the filling:

1 12 – 2 lbs.Chicken, chopped
2 Tbsp. Currents
2 Tbsp. Prunes, chopped
Pinch Saffron, ground in pinch of salt
1/8 tsp. Cloves, ground
1/4 tsp. Grains of Paradise, ground
1/2 tsp. Ginger, ground
Pie Shell

Mix chicken with dried fruits and spices, place in pie shell and bake in 425°F oven for 30-50 minutes until done.

Here it is before cooking, pretty gross looking:

And after cooking, a bit weird but much more appetizing:

I’m pretty sure the clear liquid is chicken juice.

The verdict: Pretty okay. The chicken was a little dry and it was rather bland, as medieval food typically was. It was like a slightly bland chicken cassarole. Not bad, not great.

An Introduction

So, I am starting this historical food blog. I have always loved history and anthropology. I’m really interested in the connection between what people eat and how it shapes their lives, cultures, and eventually their history. So, I’ve decided to put those antique recipes I’ve been hoarding on Pinterest to good use with this culinary project. A couple of relevant things:

1. I’m particularly interested in what my ancestors ate, from my grandma to my pre-modern descendents. This means the recipes I make will be mostly of American and European origin. I am clearly leaving out vast geographic regions when I refer to culinary “history”, but “Kate Eats Northern and Western European and Early to Mid-20th Century American History” is a little wordy. Although I may include other recipes as well that do not fit into this category.

2. I ain’t made of money. I’m a student. I have a small kitchen that I share with three other people. I don’t have all of the supplies needed for 100% authenticity for some of these recipes. I also don’t necessarily have access to all of the correct ingredients, particularly for some of the more antiquated recipes I want to try. However, I consider this as part of the challenge. There will be improvising!

3. I am pretty health conscious…sort of. I avoid eating too many animal products and empty carbs, and I try to keep a whole, balanced diet. In fact, my determination to eat deliciously, cheaply, and nutritiously is probably what led me to start cooking in the first place. This is going to be really hard when I make some of these recipes. Many early American recipes in particular call for loads of whole milk, lard, eggs, butter, white potatoes, noodles, cream…which makes sense. They were raising barns, gathering wood, and fattening up for harsh winters. I have never raised a barn, and I have a heater. This is going to be hard for me. While I will do my best to keep these meals authentic, I may occasionally add era-appropriate but healthful touches to some of these meals to avoid having a heart attack before I complete my project.

4. My boyfriend is CRAZY picky. It will be fun getting him to try some of these.

5. In order to add authenticity, as well as to save money and be more eco-friendly, I will try to only use in-season produce. I have a feeling I will be really sick of apples and sweet potatoes by December, but that’s part of the experience!

Anyhoo, wish me luck!