Raphioles

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

DESCRIPTION: Liver Sausage Custard Pie

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

Take swyne lyuours and seeth hem wel, take brede & grate it; and take yolkes of ayren, & make hit sowple, and do therto a lytull of lard caruoun lyche a dee, chese gratyd, & white grece, poudour douce & of gynger, & wynde it to balles as grete as apples. Take the calle of the swyne & cast euere by hymself therin. Make a crust in a trape, & lay the balles therin, & bake it; and whan they buth ynowgh, put therin a layour of ayren with powdour fort and safroun 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). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.

MODERN RECIPE:

• Pastry dough for one nine-inch pie crust
• 1 pound pork, beef, or chicken liver
• 1/2 C grated, mild cheese
• 1 C white bread crumbs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 feet of edible sausage casing
• 3 eggs
• 1 C cream
• 1/4 tsp each sugar, cinnamon, and powdered ginger
• 1/8 tsp each black pepper, cloves, mace, and saffron

2. Cut liver into small pieces, and, in a saucepan, over medium heat, bring water to a boil, add cut-up liver, reduce heat, and simmer for about five minutes, or until the liver is cooked through. Drain and cool.

3. In a blender or food processor, combine cooked liver, bread crumbs, cheese, butter, egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon, and powdered ginger, and grind them into a thick paste.

4. Stuff the mixture into the sausage casing, and twist it into a string of little "sausages", each about two inches long.

5. Place the liver sausages on a rack in a roasting pan, put them into the oven, and bake for about twenty minutes. Remove, and raise the oven temperature to 450°.

6. Line a pie pan with the pastry dough, and put it into the oven for about ten minutes to harden it. Remove it, and let it cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

7. In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs, and stir in cream and remaining spices.

8. Arrange the sausages in the bottom of the pie crust, and pour egg and cream mixture into the crust.

9. Return filled pie crust to oven and bake for half an hour, or until firm, and a toothpick draws out clean. Allow to cool before serving.

Serves eight to twelve.

NOTES ON THE RECIPE:

This pie is not to be confused with ravioli, for which there are medieval recipes similar to the modern version, though without tomatoes.

I have substituted edible sausage casings for swine cauls, and butter in place of lard and grease.

There is no mention of cream in the layour (mixture) of eggs, but it is not unreasonable to interpret this pie as a custard.