Sigga's Berry Tarts

In Rogue Knight, my medieval romance set in York, England in  1069-70, Emma’s servant, Sigga, makes tarts from the berries picked by  the twins, Finna and Ottar—tasty treats that soon have their faces  smeared with berry juice. Here are two versions of the recipe, one truly  medieval and one not so much.

Take Wyn,  & putte in a potte, an clarifyd hony, an Saunderys, pepir, Safroun,  Clowes, Maces, & Quybibys, & mynced Datys, Pynys and Roysonys of  Corauns, & a lytil Vynegre, & sethe it on þe fyre; an sethe  fygys in Wyne, & grynde hem, & draw hem þorw a straynoure, &  caste þer-to, an lete hem boyle alle togederys...þan kytte hem y lyke  lechyngys, an caste hem in fayre Oyle, and fry hem a lytil whyle; þanne  take hem owt of þe panne, an caste in-to a vesselle with þe Syrippe,  & so serue hem forth, þe bryndonys an þe Sirippe, in a dysshe; &  let þe Sirippe be rennyng, & not to styf.     (From Two Fifteenth Century Cookery Books)

Or, you could try this one that is more modern and uses small pastry shells, but just as tasty:

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. cream

• 1/4 c. wine (sweet red)

• 1/4 c. milk

• 5 egg yolks + 1 egg

• 1 pint berries (can used mixed berries)

• 1/2 c. chopped dates

• 1/2 c. honey

• 1/2 to 3/4th teaspoon Poudre Forte* or 1/4 tsp each saffron & ginger and 1/8 tsp each mace & ground cloves

• 2 pre-baked pie shells, or 8-4 inch pre-baked tart shells (see recipe below)

In  a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, wine, saffron and other  spices, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. In a separate container,  beat egg yolks and honey together. While beating, add a bit of the hot  milk mixture. Pour this back into the pot with the hot liquid while  whisking furiously. Place the cut berries and dates in baked pie shells  and spoon the cream mixture over fruit and into the shells.

Bake at 375° F for 45 minutes, or until the filling has set. You can garnish with fresh berries. Serves 4-6.

Note: * Poudre Forte is an ancient blend of spices. You can get an updated version containing ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, Tellicherry, Grains of Paradise and cloves from World Spice, where I purchased it.

For the pastry, here’s the recipe for Medieval Sweet Dough:

• 3 cups flou

• 1/2 cup water

• 1-2 sticks butter

• pinch of saffron

• 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten

Dissolve  the saffron in 1/2 cup water. While that is going, work the butter into  the flour, then add the egg yolk and saffron water. Stir until  incorporated, adding more water very gradually until everything just  sticks together. (I recommend chilling the dough before working with  it.)

To pre-bake a shell, line a pan with the dough,  rolled very thin. Using a fork, poke holes all over the bottom of the  pan, or use a pie weight. Bake for around 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  Don’t let it start to brown!

Remove from oven and fill as per the recipe. Makes enough for eight 4-inch tart pans and one 9-inch pan.

Recipe (though slightly modified) courtesy of The Inn at the Crossroads.