Apart from acceptance and tolerance, there are three things that played a major role in bringing to an end the medieval period and heralding in the Renaissance with specific reference to food:  gunpowder, compasses and the printing press. There is much controversy surrounding the origin of gunpowder and I think Greek fire probably got the ball rolling, but it was the Chinese who discovered saltpeter in error when they were looking for an elixir of immortality and it was the Arabs who learnt how to purify it so that, for the purpose of our purpose, Roger Bacon could find out how to use it in a gun

and turn it into something with which one could murder and maim. The compass was discovered by the Chinese and brought back to Europe by Marco Polo and the printing press was discovered by Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg, aka Johannes Gutenberg which is why I feel the Renaissance was influenced by just about everyone in the world at the time.  Think about it – there couldn’t have been a Renaissance – certainly as far as food is concerned, if the New World hadn’t been discovered. How could there have been rice for risotto, tomatoes for sugo, sugar, spices and even tea or coffee if it hadn’t been for these things – not forgetting Marco Polo who had the guts to go to China in the first place – and that without a compass!

The Renaissance was a joyous period and the joy is reflected in everything. The Medieval paintings were dominated by images of evil gluttony vs glorious abstinence, the music was depressing and your life belonged to the Church. During the renaissance beauty, joy and good food is embraced by everyone in all walks of life because the world woke up again in its acceptance of the new, the strange and the different – and it becomes clear how important it is to eat well, no matter how simply – just well. So, in the spirit of eating well and the hope that the world, again, learns to accept and to tolerate, we decided to include a few simple desserts to try this weekend.

RENAISSANCE BREAD PUDDING

Ingredients

• 200g bread, preferably stale, crusts removed
• 250ml pouring cream
• 25 ml good brandy
• 100g mixed dried fruit, finely chopped
• 50g mixed orange peel, chopped
• 75 g soft brown sugar
• 50g butter
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 2 large eggs, whisked

Method

• Break bread into small pieces and place in a mixing bowl.
• Pour over the cream and brandy and leave to soak for 30 minutes, then remove the lumps with a fork to form a smooth mixture.
• Add the fruit, mixed peel, sugar, butter, spices and eggs and mix well.
• Pour the mixture into a greased 18cm square dish, smooth the top and sprinkle with nutmeg if liked.
• Bake at 180C for about 1-1½ hours until browned.
• Cool in the dish.
• Cut the pudding into squares and serve hot with custard or whipped cream.

ALMOST JAMES’ PEAR AND ROSEMARY TART

Ingredients

• 600 g ready-made shortcrust pastry
• 100 g caster sugar (for sprinkling)
• 340g cooking type pears
• 340g Granny Smith apples
• 4 sprigs rosemary, removed from twig, leaves only
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• 1 tsp cardamom seeds (removed from pod and pounded in mortar & pestle)
• 1 lemon, zest only
• 110 g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 egg
• 50 g butter

Method

• Grease a 22cm ovenproof pie dish.
• Roll out two thirds of the pastry on a floured work surface and line the pie dish.
• Peel, quarter and core the pears and apples, then slice thickly into a bowl.
• Mix together the sugar, lemon juice and zest and stir gently into the pears and apples.
• Place the pear and apple slices into the lined pie dish.
• Dot with butter, and sprinkle with rosemary.
• Roll out the pastry and place on top of the sliced pears and apples. Seal the edges well. Make a small hole in the top to allow steam to escape.
• Make decorations from any pastry trimmings and seal with a little water.
• Egg wash with lightly beaten egg and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
• Bake at 190C for 30-40 mins until the fruit is tender and the top is golden brown.
• Serve with custard.

Here, just for fun – the recipe for a custard pie – a coffyn is a pie!

TO MAKE A CUSTARDE

Proper Newe Booke p. 23/C7

A Custarde the coffyn must be fyrste hardened in the oven, and then take a quart of creame and fyve or syxe yolkes of egges, and beate them well together, and put them into the creame, and put in Suger and small Raysyns and Dates sliced, and put into the coffyn butter or els marrowe, but on the fyshe daies put in butter.

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust
• 2 c cream
• 3 egg yolks
• ¼ c sugar
• 1/3 c raisins
• ¼ c dates
• 3 t butter (or marrow)

Method

• Make pie crust and pre-bake for 10-15 minutes at 400deg.
• Chop dates.
• Beat the eggs, add cream, sugar, raisins and dates and pour into pie crust.
• Dot pie with butter.
• Bake at 350deg. for 1 hour 15 minutes.