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Original Recipe





Hebolace

(from A Forme of Cury)



Take onyons and erbes and hewe hen ſmall and do þ9 to gode broth. and aray it as þu dideſt caboch. If they be in fyſsh day. make on the ſsme manē with watr and oyle. and if it be not in Lent alye it with zolkes of Eyren. and dreſſe it forth and caſt þ9 to powdor douce.\n

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Modern Redaction



This is a traditional Medieval recipe for a herb-based soup in a rich broth. Meatless (ie Friday) versions of this would use a vegetable stock.

Ingredients:

2 medium onions sliced lengthways
950ml beef stock

The recipe calls for 'herbs' in general. Herbs are seasonal and any of the ones below can be used. You'll need about 400g in total
\n           violet leaves (50g). Though not commonly used these days these are important as they provide a thickening agent. Use 30g of finely-chopped okra if you can't get any.
          borage leaf
          parsley
          rosemary
          mint
          thyme
n          savory n          sage
          herb bennet
Powder douce
2 egg yolks (optional)

Method:

Wash your selection of herbs and chop them finely. Add these and the sliced onions to a pan of warmed stock and simmer uncovered for about 35 minutes, or until the onions soften. To thicken the soup and give it more body you can whisk-in two egg yolks just before serving.

This is one of the few Medieval recipes with a Friday (ie no meat) variant though a stock of oil and water would be fairly bland (add about 30ml of oil to the pan, fry the onion in this gently, add the herbs and cover with 950ml of water). For a more flavoursome vegetarian variation use vegetable stock rather than beef stock.

At the end of the cooking time add a generous pinch of Powder douce and serve immediately.

Find more Medieval recipes as well as more recipes from the Forme of Cury here.