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Samartard II
Samartard II is a traditional Medieval recipe for a classic deep fried pancake of eggs, cottage cheese and cream. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Medieval version of: Samartard II.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
25 minutes
Total Time:
45 minutes
Makes:
12
Rating: 
Tags : Dessert RecipesCheese RecipesCake RecipesBritish RecipesEnglish Recipes
I've been chasing late medieval manuscripts and my library is starting to fill out, so it's time to expand my horizons and to start working on sources other than the Forme of Cury. This one is a little bit later, being written down in
A Noble Boke of Cookry ffor a Prynce Houssolde 1467-68. What struck me is that despite been curd cheese based this is pretty much a pancake and one of the earliest examples I've been able to find. So next Shrove Tuesday, why not prepare an authentic Medieval pancake rather than the usual modern versions? It's certainly delicious and well worth preparing. But before we get to the modern recipe, here's the Medieval original (note that there are two spellings in the manuscript: samatard in the list of recipes and samartad used to introduce the recipe itself):
Original Recipe
To mak samartard/h3> (from A Noble Boke of Cookry ffor a Prynce Houssolde 1467-68)
To mak samartard tak wetted cruddes er they bee
pressed and put them in a clothe and grinde them well
to pured flour and temper hem with eggs and cowe
creme and mak ther of a good batere that it be
rynynge then, tak whit grece in a pan and let it be
hete and tak out the batter with a saucer and let it ryn
into the grece and draw your hand bakward that it
may ryn abrod then fry it welle and whit and somwhat
craking and serue it furthe in dishes with sugur ther on.
Translation
To make samartard, take wetted curds before they are pressed and grind them well to the semblance of fine flour and temper them with eggs and cow cream and make of them a good batter that it be running then. Take white grease in a pan and place it on the fire. Take out the batter with a saucer and lit it run into the grease and draw your hand backwards that it (the batter) may run abroad then deep fry it well and serve it forth in dishes with sugar thereon.
Modern Redaction
There is no flour used in this recipe, and the instructions tell you to grind the curds until they resemble flour. As a result these pancakes are much more fragile than modern versions. They are definitely cheesy but as I cook my modern pancakes without sugar they suit my taste very well. I'm not a big fan of scattering sugar on my pancakes (though my grandfather liked granulated sugar for the crunch) so I ten to serve mine with honey.
Ingredients:
3 large eggs
100g full fat cottage cheese
2 tsp double cream
oil (or rendered lard to be authentic), for deep frying
honey or sugar, to serve
Method:
To bee traditional use a mortar to pound/grind the cottage cheese to a find paste. Of course, today you can use a blender or food processor. Add the eggs and cream and blend until smooth.
Place a deep non-stick pan over medium heat and add your oil or lard (or a blend) to a depth of about 2cm. When hot, pour a little of the batter into the pan, drawing your hand across the pan so you end up with a thinnish, oval pancake.
Allow to cook gently for about 2 minutes, or until golden on both sides. Once cooked, pile up the pancakes on a serving dish. Keep cooking until all the batter has gone.
Save the pancakes warm with powdered sugar dusted over. Alternately, serve drizzled with honey.
