Source:
England, 15th c.
France, 15th c.
Recipe by Daniel Myers
This recipe is a modified version of one presented by Scully inEarly French Cookery. He recommends using it as a saucefor chicken, but it also goes well with beef or pork.
Ingredients
3-4 cups beef broth
3 leeks
2 strips bacon
1/2 cup almonds, ground
water, as needed
Method
Wash and chop leeks, discarding the green parts. Place in broth with bacon and bring to a boil. Simmer until leeks are tender and then strain, retaining both leeks and broth. Set leeksaside, discarding bacon if desired. Add almonds to broth and simmer until thick. Blend leeks in a food processor andreturn to broth. Add water to thin to desired consistency. Serve hot.
To make the White Leek Sauce, have him who is charged with them get his leeks and chop them up small, wash them well and put them to boil. Then have him get a good chunk of salt pork back; clean it very well and put it with them to boil; and when they have boiled at length, take them out and put them on good clean wooden tables, and keep the bouillon in whichthey have boiled. There should be a good mortarful of white almonds; take the bouillon in which the leeks have boiled and draw out your almonds in it, and watch that it is not too salty. After that set your broth to boil in a good clean kettle. Then take two good clean knives and chop up your leeks, then take and grind them in the mortar; once they are ground, putthem into your broth, made of equal quantities of almonds and water, half boiled. After they have boiled, when they get to the dressing table, place your meat in good dishes and then pour some of that leek broth over the top.
For to make Blawnche Perrye. Take the Whyte of the lekys, an sethe hem in a potte, an presse hem vp, & hacke hem smal on a bord. An nym gode almaunde_mylke, an a lytil of Rys, an do alle thes to-gederys, an sethe an stere it wyl, an do ther-to Sugre or hony, an dresse it yn; thanne take powderd Elys, an sethe hem in fayre Water, and broyle hem, an kytte hem in long pecys. And ley or in a dysshe, and putte thin perrey in a-nother dysshe, an serue the to dysshys to-gederys as Venysoun with Furmenty.
Blanche porrey. Take blanche almondes, And grinde hem, and drawe hem with sugur water thorg a streynour into a good stuff mylke into a potte; and then take the white of lekes, and hew hem small, and grynde hem in a morter wit brede; and then cast al to the mylke into the potte, and caste therto sugur and salt, and lete boyle; And set feyre poudrid eles in faire water ynowe, and broile hem on a gredren; and kut hem in faire longe peces, and ley two or thre in a diss togidre as ye do veneson with ffurmenty, And serue it forthe.
Published: 2004-02-2