Crustade Lumbard

PERIOD: England, 15th century | SOURCE: Harleian MS. 279 | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: Prune, Date, and Parsley Custard Pie

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

Take gode Creme, & leuys of Percely, & Eyroun, the yolkys & the whyte, & breke hem ther-to, & strayne thorwe a straynoure, tyl it be so styf that it wol bere hym-self; than take fayre Marwe, & Datys y-cutte in .ij. or .iij. & Prunes; & putte the Datys an the Prunes & Marwe on a fayre cofynne, y-mad of fayre past, & put the cofyn on the ovyn tyl it be a lytel hard; thanne draw hem out of the ouyn; take the lycour & putte ther-on, & fylle it vppe, & caste Sugre y-now on, & Salt; than lat bake to-gederys tyl it be y-now; & yif it be in lente, lef the Eyroun & the Marwe out, & thanne serue it forth.

- Austin, Thomas. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books. Harleian MS. 279 & Harl. MS. 4016, with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1429, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS 55. London: for The Early English Text Society by N. Trübner & Co., 1888.

MODERN RECIPE:

• Pastry dough for 1 nine-inch pie crust
• 1 1/2 C each pitted prunes and dates, cut in halves or thirds
• 1 C heavy cream
• 1/4 C bone marrow, in small chunks
• 2 T parsley, minced fine
• 2 eggs
• 2 T sugar
• Pinch of salt

2. In a bowl, mix the prunes, dates and marrow together.

3. Line a pie pan with the pastry dough. Fill it with the fruit and marrow. Put it in the oven for ten minutes to harden it. Remove from the oven, and reduce oven temperature to 375°.

4. In a blender or food processor, or on a cutting board, chop the parsley fine.

5. In a bowl, combine cream, minced parsley, eggs, sugar and salt. Beat them well together.

6. Pour the egg, parsley and cream mixture into the pie crust with the fruit and marrow. Put it in the oven and bake it for twenty-five minutes, or until a toothpick draws out clean. Refrigerate before serving.

Serves eight to twelve.

NOTES ON THE RECIPE:

The original recipe calls for whipping the cream and egg mixture until it is stiff before adding it to the pie. I have chosen to treat this as a normal custard.

Crustade Lumbard is featured in A Dinner of Lombardy