The humble chickpea was quite the thing in Richard II’s court! In this post, you’ll find a potted history of this legume in medieval England, as well as links to two of my recipes.
Author Archives: Christopher Monk
Turnips for a King: Excoriating the soul with a dash of elegance
Did Richard II of England really eat turnip pottage?
In this post, I provide: a potted history of the turnip in medieval England; several reasons why Richard II would have eaten turnip pottage; a translation of the first English recipe of turnip pottage; and my own, new recipe based on this.
Christmas Caudle
This is a wonderful Christmas drink! You’ll fine my easy-to-follow, modern-medieval recipe, based on one from the early fifteenth-century.
Parkinson’s Diagnosis
An update on my health.
Shining a light on… great raisins
Who would have thought that the subject of medieval raisins would be so complex? In this post, I explore the use of ‘great raisins’ in Richard II’s cookery book, and ask if we can identify them.
Tart of Brie in Lent, a fishy alternative?
In revisiting an old edited title of a medieval recipe, I end up exploring how a recipe for a fruit and fish pie might actually make good culinary sense.
The Deep History of Women and Bread: Part 2: Bread Magic
My re-blog of the latest post on The Early English Bread Project website I don’t often re-blog others’ posts but I particularly enjoyed this post, and I think the project about bread in early medieval England is really important. In the early Middle Ages, the preparation of bread was women’s domain. And as in otherContinue reading “The Deep History of Women and Bread: Part 2: Bread Magic”
On the making of cheese
Here’s my modern English translation of a Middle English translation of a Latin text on cheesemaking. Fascinating!
Recipe experiment: flampens
Following on from my post on young cheese, here’s my experiment in reproducing the medieval English recipe that used this marvellous ingredient.
Research snippet: Drying herbs in a pie!
Herbs baked in a pie! Who’d’ve thought it?
MONK'S MODERN MEDIEVAL CUISINE 