Potage Fene Boiles

PERIOD: England, 14th century | SOURCE: Diursa Servicia | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: A fava bean pudding

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

81. For to make a potage fene boiles, tak wite benes & seþ hem in water, & bray þe benys in a morter al to noyt; & lat þem seþe in almande mylk & do þerin wyn & honey. & seþ reysouns in wyn & do þer to & after dresse yt forth.

- Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). London: For the Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.

GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:

To make a bean pudding, take white beans & boil them in water, & mash the beans in a mortar all to nothing; & let them boil in almond milk & add wine & honey. And boil raisins in wine and add & serve it.

MODERN RECIPE:

• 2 cups cooked mashed fava beans
• 1/2 - 3 cups Almond Milk
• 2 cups & 1/4 cup of an inexpensive sweet white wine
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup honey

Fene is probably a mistranslation of feve, an early spelling for the fava bean; feve is also related to the word vetch, which, by the strictest definition, is the legume, but which also was used to mean other types of beans as well.

Almond Milk can be made according to the instructions here in the Gode Boke, or you can substitute with the modern Swedish method by flavoring whole milk with almond oil or extract.