Leche Frys in Lentoun

PERIOD: England, 14th century | SOURCE: Forme of Cury | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: An Almond Milk fruit pie

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

166. Leche frys in lentoun. Drawe a thik almaunde mylke wiþ water. Take dates and pyke hem clene with apples and peeres, & mynce hem with prunes damysyns; take out þe stones out of þe prunes, & kerue the prunes a two. Do þerto raisouns, coraunce, sugur, flour of canel, hoole macys and clowes, gode powdours & salt; colour hem vp with saundres. Meng þise with oile. Make a coffyn as þou didest bifore & do þis fars þerin, & bake it wel, and serue it 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:

Cold Slices in Lent. Draw a thick almond milk with water. Take dates and pick them clean with apples and pears, & mince them with plum prunes; take out the stones out of the prunes, & carve the prunes in two. Add currants, sugar, cinnamon, whole maces and cloves, good powders & salt; color it up with sandalwood. Mix this with oil. Make a coffin (pie shell) as you did before & place this filling in it, & bake it well, and serve it forth.

MODERN RECIPE:

• 2 cups extra thick Almond Milk
• 1/4 cup chopped dates
• 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, & diced
• 2 medium pears. peeled, cored, & diced
• 1/2 cup pitted prunes, sliced lengthwise
• 1/4 cup currants
• sugar to taste, up to 1/4 cup
• 1/2 tsp. each cinnamon, mace & cloves
• good powders: ginger, nutmeg, white pepper, etc., 1/4 tsp. each or to taste 
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• few drops red food coloring (in substitute of sandalwood)
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• one 9-inch pre-baked pie shell

An alternative to using real Almond Milk would be to follow the modern Swedish method of flavoring whole milk with almond oil or extract. For this dish, make a roux by blending 4 Tbs. flour with 4 Tbs. of melted butter; cook this over low heat until the flour has cooked and the roux has a slightly nutty aroma. Remove from heat; with a wire whisk, blend in 2 cups of milk. Return to heat. Beating with the wire whisk, slowly cook until the sauce has thickened. Add almond extract or oil to taste, and beat in the sugar, spices, oil, and food coloring.

The word fryes is related to the modern French word for cold, froid.

The sandalwood was included in the original recipe to act as a food dye; red food coloring is an appropriate substitute.