Beef y-Stywyd

Recipe by Daniel Myers

This is a very simple recipe for stewed beef. The resulting soup would be excellent served with a vegetable tart and fresh baked bread.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. beef
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. mace
1/4 tsp. grains of paradise
1/4 tsp. cubebs
1 medium onion, minced
1 Tbsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. sage
water

3 slices bread
1/4 cup vinegar
pinch saffron
1/2 tsp. salt

Method

Cut beef into 1/2 inch cubes. Place in a large pot with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes and strain, reserving liquid - I suspect this step is to help remove any scum that forms on the surface during boiling. Put beef and broth back into pot, and add onions and spices. Return to a boil and cook until meat is tender. Meanwhile, tear up bread slices and place in a bowl with the vinegar and enough broth to completely moisten it. When the beef is cooked, strain the bread mixture through a fine strainer into the pot, discarding the bread solids. Add saffron and salt and simmer until the soup thickens slightly. Serve hot.

The bread in this recipe is used as a thickener. If thicker broth is desired then use more bread, and if thinner then add water.

Source [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books, T. Austin (ed.)]: vj - Beef y-Stywyd. Take fayre beef of the rybbys of the fore quarterys, an smyte in fayre pecys, an wasche the beef in-to a fayre potte; than take the water that the beef was sothin yn, an strayne it thorw a straynowr, an sethe the same water and beef in a potte, an let hem boyle to-gederys; than take canel, clowes, maces, graynys of parise, quibibes, and oynons y-mynced, perceli, an sawge, an caste ther-to, an let hem boyle to-gederys; an than take a lof of brede, an stepe it with brothe an venegre, an than draw it thorw a straynoure, and let it be stylle; an whan it is nere y-now, caste the lycour ther-to, but nowt to moche, an than let boyle onys, an cast safroun ther-to a quantyte; than take salt an venegre, and cast ther-to, an loke that it be poynaunt y-now, and serue forth.

Published: February 18, 2007