Soupes Dorrey

As I progress in my journey through time to the Jacobean era there are a few noticeable changes. Firstly, meat has now become the staple for most classes. It was usually made into a stew as this would last longer. Secondly, Scappi’s (the first ‘celebrity chef’) “Opera dell’arte del cucinare” was written, which was the first modern (huzzah) cookbook. Lastly the fork was, finally, used at the dinner table. So keen to take advantage of the new availability of meat I decided to cook- Soupes Dorrey

      This recipe is actually for a kind of sauce that would go over a meat. I thought it was interesting so decided that I would use this recipe and then cook the meat (I chose chicken) separately.

Murrels Tvvo Books of Cookerie and Carving- John Murrell.
A Noble Boke of Cookry- Soupes Dorrey.
To mak soupes dorrey tak almondes and bray them asid wring them up and boile them with wyn and temper them with wyne and salt then toost whit bred and lay it in a disshe and enbane it with wyne and pour it ouer the met and florisshe it with sugur and guingere and serue it.

This is the first recipe I truly struggled to interpret. Phrases such as ‘bray’, ‘wring them up’ and ‘temper’ I had never come across before. I, luckily, found a website which interpreted some of the language for me. Here is how I cooked it, though I’m still not sure it is completely right.
Ingredients

Almonds/ almondes
Wine/ wyn
Salt
Sugar/ sugur
Ginger/ guingere
Meat to serve on.

1.First blanche the almonds then crush them, in a mortar would be best.
2.Place the almonds in a pan with enough wine to cover them. Bring to the boil.
3.Strain off the remaining wine. Then in a frying pan begin to toast the almonds with a slice of bread and a splash of wine.
4.Take it off the heat. Add a final flourish of wine. Pour it over the meat and then garnish with sugar and ginger.

To the best of my limited knowledge this is correct. The only term I was unable to interpret in any way was ‘wring them up’. This has actually been driving me mad so if you have any idea what it means then let me know. Despite my trouble reading and the fact the way I interpreted it is probably not quite how it was done in the era the recipe actually turned out well. The crunchy almonds contrasted the soft doughy bread. If anything perhaps a little too much wine as I did find myself constantly adding it to the sauce! The almond and bread combination is something I would recommend. Perhaps in modern day it could be turned into a cream sauce instead of just wine.

I found that my frustration with the interpretation made this dish so much more enjoyable when it was done. Unlike the previous eras I really had to work to recreate this dish and it was so much more satisfying. I think this dish could be revamped into a modern interpretation with a creamier sauce. Perhaps one day I will do it myself to save this treasure from extinction.