Rysshews of fruyt

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

DESCRIPTION: Spiced rissoles of fruit

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

190. Rysshews of fruyt. Take fyges and raisouns; pyke hem and waisshe hem in wyne. Grynde hem wiþ apples and peeres ypared and ypiked clene. Do þerto gode powdours and hole spices; make balles þerof, frye in oile, and serue hem forth.

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

GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:

Rissoles of fruit. Take figs and raisins; pick them and wash them in wine. Grind them with apples and pears pared and picked clean. Do there-to good powders and whole spices; make balls there-of, fry in oil, and serve them forth.

INGREDIENTS:

• Figs
• Raisins
• Red wine - slightly sweet.
• Apples - peeled, cored, and diced.
• Pears - peeled, cored, and diced.
• Good powders - use spices appropriate for fruit: sugar, cinnamon, clove, mace, nutmeg, ginger, etc.
• Whole spices - this would probably have been such spices as anise, grains of paradise, etc.

Soak the figs and raisins in wine until the fruit begins to plump; remove from wine. Pass the figs, raisins, apples, & pears through a food grinder or food processor. In a bowl, combine the fruits and the spices into a thick, malleable mixture; roll this mixture into small balls. Fry the rissoles in the hot oil; remove and drain. Serve it forth!