Tourtes parmeriennes (Parmesan Pies)

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Tourtes parmeriennes (Parmesan Pies)

Tourtes parmeriennes (Parmesan Pies) is a traditional Medieval recipe for a very fancy pie shaped into battlements and filled with a meat, currant and pine nut mixture that's topped with boiled chicken quarters. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Medieval version of: Parmesan Pies (Tourtes parmeriennes).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

55 minutes

Total Time:

75 minutes

Serves:

6–8

Rating:

Tags : Spice Recipes Pork Recipes Chicken Recipes Mutton Recipes Fowl Recipes Baking Recipes French Recipes

Original Recipe

Tourtes parmeriennes

(from Le Viandier de Taillevent)

Prenez chair de mouton ou de veau ou de porc, et la hachiez competemment; puis fault avoir de la poulaille, et faire boullir, et despecier par quartiers; et fault cuire ledit grain avant qu'il soit hachié, puis avoir poudre fine et l'en espicier très bien raisonnablement, et frire son grain en sain de lart, et, après, avoir de grans pastez descouvers, et qu'ilz soient plus hault dreciez de paste que autres pastez et de la grandeur de petitz platz, et faictz en manière de creneaulx, et qu'ilz soient fortz de paste affin qu'ilz puissent porter le grain; et, qui veult, on y met du pignolet et du roisin de Corinde meslez parmy le grain, et du succre esmié par dessus, et mettre en chascun pasté iii ou iiii quartiers de poullaille pour fichier les bannières de France et des seigneurs qui seront en la presence, et les dorer de saffren deffait pour estre plus beaulx. Et qui ne veult pas tant despendre de poullaille, ne fault que faire des pièces plates de porc ou de mouston rosty ou boully. Et quant ilz sont rempliz de leur grain, les fault dorer, par dessus le grain, d'un petit d'oeufz bastuz ensemble, moyeulx et aubuns, affin que le grain se tiengne plus ferme pour mettre les bannières dedans. Et convient avoir du fueil d'or ou d'argent ou du fueil d'estain pour les dorer avant les banières.

Pour faire tostées dorées, prenez du pain blanc dur et le trenchiez par tostées quarrées, et les rostir ung pou sur le grail, et avoir moyeulx d'oeufz batuz, et les envelopez très bien dedans iceulx moyeulx. Et avoir de bon sain chault et les dorer dedans sur le feu tant qu'elles soient belles et bien dorées, et puis les oster de dedans la paelle, et mettez ès platz, et du succre dessus.

Translation

Tourtes parmeriennes: Parmesan Pies. Take mutton, veal or pork and chop it up sufficiently small; then boil poultry and quarter it -- and the other meat must be cooked before being chopped up: then get fine powder and sprinkle it on the meat very sensibly, and fry your meat in bacon grease. Then get large open pastry shells -- which should have higher sides than usual and should be the size of small plates -- and shape them with crenellations; they should be of a strong dough in order to hold the meat. If you wish, you can mix pine nut paste and currants among the meat, with granulated sugar on top; into each pastry put three or four chicken quarters in which to plant the banners of France and of the lords who will be present, and glaze them with moistened saffron to give them a better appearance. For anyone who does not want to go to such expense for poultry, all he has to do is make flat pieces of pork or of mutton, either roasted or boiled. When the pies are filled with their meat, the meat on top should be glazed with a little beaten egg, both yolks and whites, so that this meat will hold together solidly enough to set the banners in it. And you should have gold-leaf or tin-leaf to glaze the pies before setting the banners in them.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

675g cooked veal, mutton or pork, diced
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp powder fort
small amount of bacon fat or cooking oil
1 22cm (or larger) deep-dish pie shell
1 basic pastry
1 egg white, beaten
200g pine nuts (optional)
200g currants (optional)
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
3 whole chicken quarters boiled until just done (or 4 slices roast mutton or pork)
4 saffron threads, moistened in a little water
2 egg yolks, beaten with a little yellow food colouring

Method:

Heat a small amount of bacon fat (or oil) in a large frying pan and fry the meat and spices until the meat is lightly browned. Remove from the oil. The meat, at this stage, should be moist. If it's too dry add some wine or broth. Place the meat filling in the pie shell and if using the pine nuts and currants sprinkle 1 tbsp sugar on top. Arrange the whole chicken quarters on top of the filling and brush the chicken with the saffron water or the coloured egg yolks.

(If using the pine nuts make a paste out of them, add a little water and mix together the meat, paste and currants before adding to the pie shell. And if using sliced meat rather than chicken, simply place these on top of the pie.)

Roll out the basic pastry to about 1½ cm tall. Using a sharp knife cut out small rectangular blocks some 4cm long and 1½cm tall. These are the 'crenellations' of the battlements of the pie ie the rim of the pie should resemble the battlements of a castle wall. Brush the pastry rim of the pie with egg white and do the same to the bottom of the crenellations. Arrange them evenly around the rim of the pie so that the final effect is one of looking at a castle's battlements.

Place the finished pie in an oven pre-heated to 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4) and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the pastry begins to turn a golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately brush the top of the pie with the egg yolk and food colouring mixture.

These pies are traditionally decorated with a flagpole stuck in each piece of chicken or meat on top of the pie. For a feast these flagpoles (they can be made from kebab skewers cut and assembled into cross shapes and with banners hanging from them) should represent something about those to whom you're serving the pie to.