Pottage with Whole Herbs is a traditional Elizabethan recipe for a mutton and oatmeal pottage (soup or stew) flavoured with vegetables and greens (In Elizabethan times vegetables and herbs were all considered 'herbs'). The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Elizabethan version of: Pottage with Whole Herbs.
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Original Recipe
Pottage with Whole Herbs (from Gervaise Markham The English Huswife)
Take mutton, veal or kid, break the bones but do not cut up the flesh, wash, put in a pot with water. When ready to boil and well skimmed, add a handful or two of small oatmeal. Take whole lettuce, the best inner leaves, whole spinach, whole endive, whole chiccory, whole leaves of colaflorry [cauliflower?] or the inward parts of white cabbage, with two or three onions. Put all into the pot until done. Season with salt and as much verjuice as will only turn the taste of the pottage; serve up covering meat with whole herbs and addorning the dish with sippets.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
500g mutton, veal or kid
110g oatmeal
15g lettuce
generous handful of spinach
1 small endive (60g)
60g chicory
5 florets of cauliflower (or broccoli)
2 small onions
½ tbsp verjuice
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp wine vinegar
6 slices of toast (sippets)
Method:
Add the meat whole to a large stock pot and pour in just enough water to just cover it. Bring the water to the boil, skim-off any excess fat and add the vegetables and other ingredients. Lower the heat to a simmer, and keep on cooking for about 40 minutes. Check the contents of the pot frequently and skim off any surface fat.
To serve, pour the liquid into a bowl, take the meat out and break into strips. Add this to the liquid. Toast your bread (thick slices) and quarter into triangles. Place these on top of the pottage and serve.
