Pumpes (Pork Meatballs)

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Pumpes (Pork Meatballs)

Pumpes (Pork Meatballs) is a traditional Medieval recipe for a classic dish of pork meatballs with currants that are served in a thickened almond milk sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Medieval version of: Pork Meatballs (Pumpes).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

35 minutes

Total Time:

55 minutes

Serves:

Rating:

Tags : Sauce Recipes Pork Recipes British Recipes English Recipes

Original Recipe

Pumpes

(from Harleian MS 279)

Pumpes. Take an sethe a gode gobet of Porke, & noyt to lene, as tendyr as þou may; þan take hem vppe & choppe hem as smal as þou may; þan take clowes and Maces, & choppe forth with-alle, & Also choppe forth with Roysonys of courance; þan take hem & rolle hem as round as þou may, lyke to smale pelettys, a .ij. inches a-bowte, þan ley hem on a dysshe be hem selue; þan make a gode Almaunde mylke, & lye it with floure of Rys, & lat it boyle wyl, but loke þat it be clene rennyng; & at þe dressoure, ley .v. pompys in a dysshe, & pore þin potage ther-on. An yif þou wolt, sette on euery pompe a flos campy flour, & a-boue straw on Sugre y-now, & Maces: & serue hem forth. And sum men make þe pellettys of vele of Beeff, but porke ys beste & Fayrest.

Translation

Pumpes. Take and boil a good piece of pork, & not to lean, as tender as you can find; then take it up and chop it as small as you can; then take cloves and mace, and chop with the pork, & also chop with currants; then take it and roll it as small as you can, like small pellets, 2 inches in size, then lay them on a dish by themselves; then make a good almond milk, & thicken it with rice flour, & let it boil well, but make sure it's not too thick; & at the table, lay 5 pumpes in a dish, and pour the sauce on. And if you will, set on every pumpe a decorative flower, and strew on sugar, & mace: and serve. And some men make the pellets of beef veal, but pork is best & fairest.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

675g roasting pork
100g currants, diced
½ tsp. salt
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp mace
250ml Almond milk
4 tbsp flour
pinch of salt
sugar & mace for garnish

Method:

Cut the pork into pieces and boil until tender; drain and allow to cool. Chop the cooked pork as small as possible, either by hand or with a food processor. Mix well with the currants and spices then mould the meat mixture into small 5cm pellets and place in a oven pre-heated to 190°C for 15–20 minutes or until reheated.

While the pumpes are being warmed, heat the almond milk in a pan over medium heat. Add the flour and salt and stir together thoroughly. Allow to cook until the mixture thickens slightly then lay 5 pumpes on a dish, cover with almond milk and garnish each with a small red (edible) wildflower or with violets. Sprinkle on a little sugar and mace and serve.