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Versatus Broun
Versatus Broun is a traditional Medieval recipe for a tart, herbed, sauce intended to accompany fatty meats. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Medieval version of Versatus Broun.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
60 minutes
Total Time:
80 minutes
Serves:
6–8
Rating: 
Tags : Sauce RecipesHerb RecipesVegetable RecipesBritish RecipesEnglish Recipes
Original Recipe
Versatus Broun
(from A Forme of Cury)
Tak percely, a good quantite, & a litel peletre, & mynte, sauge, dytayne, grene garlyk; wasche hem, grynde smal, & bred þerwyt. Tempere it wyt verius or wyt sorel & serue it forth.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
200g
parsley (preferably flat-leaf)
200g of mixed fresh herbs to include: mint,
sage,
chives,
chicory, spinach,
sorrel and any other green herb that takes your fancy
[the original recipe calls for
dittany amongst the fresh herbs. If you grow your own, all well and good. If not... it probably doesn't matter. Herbs were seasonal and whatever was at hand was used]
120g white breadcrumbs
230ml
verjuice (or a mix of 150ml white grape juice, 80ml white wine vinegar with a dash of lemon and lime juice will also do)
2 cloves garlic, crushed [this and the chives substitutes for green garlic. In spring you can use wild garlic and if you grow your own garlic you can use the green tips]
¼ tsp hot
mustard powder
salt to taste
Method:
Place the herbs, garlic and breadcrumbs in a blender. Blitz them until they come to resemble a fine paste. Add the mustard powder, salt and verjuice in the blender and blend until a smooth paste is formed. Pour this into a bowl and leave to infuse for an hour or so. Stir well before serving.
This is a fairly acidic sauce and goes well with fatty meats such as goose, duck or pork. It also works well with most firm fish. The original recipe also calls for sorrel. I actually have wood sorrel growing in the garden and it has a gentle lemony flavour (and makes a great sauce for fish). This is why I've added a little lemon and lime juice to my verjuice substitute.
Find more Medieval recipes as well as more recipes from the Forme of Cury here.
