Written by Ava van Allecmere

Camp Cooking with Ava

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Introduction As far as we know, no real recipes were found dating from the very early middle ages in the Low Lands. So, in short: we really do not know what our ancestors had on the menu. But we do know many ingredients and products from excavations, and of course we have recipes from the High Middle ages. With all those ingredients I have tried to create and collect recipes, which are not only wonderful in taste but also easy to prepare in your camp. You will soon discover (or perhaps you already know) that cooking over a ‘live’ fire is very different from cooking at home on a stove. Each dish contains a maximum of five to six ingredients, so that you can fix a quick and healthy meal in no-time. Be aware that the open air makes people hungry, especially when dealing with knights after combat. The camp cook will certainly want to fill those hungry stomachs quickly, only to enjoy the applause afterwards. These recipes have been tried, tested and improved since 2005, when I first started making simple camp recipes. I am not pretending to publish an authentic dark ages cookbook with this booklet, but all the ingredients were used by the people from that time. I hope their meals were as good and as healthy as ours! If you have further questions or suggestions please mail me: allecmere@gmail.com

Table of contents Soups page 3 Sauces page 4 Salads page 7 Main courses page 9 Side dishes page 12 Desserts page 12 Various page 13 Handy page 15 And.... page 15 Bibliography page 15 Also: Many recipes are vegetarian. I have also taken several other dietary restrictions into consideration, like gluten free, lactose & egg free. If you buy ready-made products (like stock for soup) CHECK if they are gluten/lactose free! Try to be a good cook, but also a caring cook. Recipes contain meat or fish Recipes are vegetarian. Recipes are gluten free. () Recipes are egg free. Recipes are lactose free. Most of the recipes are for 4, but it is not difficult to double the recipes…BUT easy on the salt of course!

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Soups Mustard soup with parsnips () Serves 4

Ingredients: 2 large parsnips 1 ‘sharp’ onion 50 gr. butter ( or olive oil) 3 teaspoons of spicy mustard 0,5 l vegetable stock (you can use meat stock as well) Pinch of salt Peel and slice the parsnips and onion very fine and bake them in the butter or oil until the onion is glassy. Stir the mustard through the parsnips and onion. Bake everything on a high fire and add the stock. Stir until smooth and let simmer for 20 minutes on a low fire. Add a bit of salt to taste and serve hot. Creamy egg soup Serves 4

Ingredients: 5 egg yolks 50 gr. butter ( or olive oil) 1 tablespoon all purpose flour 4 tablespoons sour cream 1,25 l. stock (you can use cubes) parsley for decoration Beat the egg yolks and carefully add –bit by bit- the flour and melted butter. Pour this into a pan, add the sour cream and carefully add (continue to stir!) the warm stock. Leave the soup on a gentle fire and keep stirring. Do not let it boil, but do make sure it is hot. Add some chopped parsley before serving. Sorrel soup () Serves 4

Ingredients: 4 sharp onions 2 tablespoons oil 1 l spiced meat stock 250 gr. chopped sorrel Fry the roughly chopped onions in hot oil and press the onions through a sieve. Boil the stock, add the chopped sorrel and onion mash. Serve immediately.

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Lentil Soup () Serves 4

Ingredients: 2 onions 1 laurel leaf salt (vegetarian) sausages 250 gr. red lentils 1,25 l water Chop the onions and fry them, add the other ingredients, except the sausages. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for about 45 minutes until the lentils are done. Add extra water if necessary. Fry the sausages and cut them into pieces before adding them to the soup. Remove the laurel and serve. Carrot & chervil soup () Serves 4

Ingredients: 50 gr. butter ( or olive oil) 250 gr. carrots, finely chopped 50 gr. flour 1 l stock (chicken or vegetarian) pinch of salt 1 dl chopped chervil Melt the butter in a skillet and fry the carrots until they are a bit soft. Add the flour, stock and a bit of salt. Bring the soup to a boil. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes, add the chervil and boil it for a few minutes more. Serve hot.

Sauces Hot mustard sauce () The Romans used a lot of mustard and it was grown in the Dutch province of Groningen and in Northern England. An excavated Viking grave in Sweden also produced a jar of mustard. This sauce is delicious with both meat and fish.

Ingredients: 60 gr. flour 60 gr. butter 0,5 l. milk 3 teaspoons sharp mustard pinch of salt Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour, stir until you get a smooth creamy ‘porridge’. Boil this for about two minutes. Remove the pan from the fire, add the milk bit by bit and keep

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stirring. Put back on the fire and boil this for 10 minutes. Add the mustard and some salt to taste. Serve hot. Honey-mustard sauce () Ingredients: 75 gr. honey 50 gr. mustard Put the mustard and honey into a pan, but do it spoon by spoon. Stir well and make sure the sauce is soft. Keep tasting and serve when you have the desired flavour. Green butter sauce () Ingredients: 30 gr. butter salt white wine 1 teaspoon chopped parsley 1 teaspoon chives ½ teaspoon pepperwort Melt the butter but make sure it does not get brown! Wash the herbs and dry them carefully. Add a pinch of salt and white wine to the melted butter and then add the finely chopped herbs. Serve immediately.

Onion sauce () Ingredients: 4,5 dl stock (you can use meat stock) 2 sharp onions butter for baking ( or olive oil) a pinch of salt a bit of white wine 40 gr. flour Melt the butter, add the chopped onions and let it simmer until the onions are nice and brown. Add the flour and stir until richly brown. Add the stock and let the sauce simmer softly for about 10 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and white wine for a rich taste.

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Norman salad dressing () 2,5 tablespoons white wine 125 ml sour cream fresh chives salt Put all ingredients in a bowl and stir. Chop the chives and add. Add salt to taste. Cold horseradish sauce () 6 tablespoons oil 1 tablespoon chopped horseradish 1 bunch of chives 2 teaspoons mustard some lemon balm salt Put all ingredients in a bowl and stir. Chop the chives and add. Add salt to taste.

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Salads I’ve done a lot of research but so far I haven’t been able to discover whether or not salads were eaten on a regular basis. I’ve decided to add some salads in this booklet, simply because it is healthy. Living history is a great hobby and we should stay healthy if we want to enjoy it for a long time. Furthermore, salads are terribly easy to make!

Apple salad () Serves 4

Ingredients: 4 big apples 1 slice of celeriac 100 gr. of cold meat 50 gr. hazelnuts and walnuts a bit of cream Remove the bottom from the apples so that the fruit can stand on a flat base. Remove the inside of the apple and get rid off the heart. Chop the rest together with the nuts, celeriac and meat. Add everything together in a bowl and put some cream to make it nice and moist. Put the mixture back into the apples and serve cold.

White bean salad Serves 4

Ingredients: 500 gr. boiled white beans (from a can is ok) 1 onion salt & bit of oil 50 gr. blue cheese 150 gr. hazelnuts & walnuts 2 hard boiled eggs Make sure the beans are cold and dry. Chop the onion, nuts and blue cheese into small cubes. Slice the eggs. Put everything in a large bowl and add some salt and oil. Keep cold before you serve it.

Shrimp salad () Serves 4

Ingredients: 300 gr. shrimp, boiled pinch of salt 3 tablespoons of parsley bit of oil 1 tablespoon of mustard

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Wash the shrimp and let them leak. Add some salt and chopped parsley. Make a dressing with the oil and mustard and add this to the shrimp. Serve chilled. Easy herring salad () Serves 4

Ingredients: 4 herrings (salted is ok) 4 small beets, cooked 4 small sharp onions white wine & oil (or the Norman dressing, see page 9) Remove skin and fishbone and then chop all ingredients. Put everything into a bowl and pour over the white wine and oil. Onion & parsley salad () Serves 4

Ingredients: 1 small onion 1 tuft of parsley 2 pieces of garlic a bit of red wine

Chop the onion, parsley and garlic and mix it well. Add some red wine and let it rest for a while so that the flavours can mix. You can add some baked bacon if you have no vegetarians in your group.

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Main courses Leek stew () Serves 4

Ingredients: 1 kg leek 1 celery 1 kg parsnips 100 gr grated cheese 100 gr diced bacon Pinch of salt Lump of butter Cut the leeks into pieces and remove the bottom leaves and trunk. Rinse thoroughly! Slice the celery, peel it, rinse it and cut into cubes. Melt the butter and fry the leeks and celery on a low fire. Add the sliced and rinsed parsnips, with a bit of water and let it simmer for half an hour. Add a bit of salt to taste. Fry the bacon until crispy and add the bacon and cheese to your stew.

Eel stew () Serves 4

Ingredients: 1 kg eel, cleaned and cut into 8 pieces 4 tablespoons oil 1 onions 2 celery 3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley 3 dl dry white wine pinch of salt Wash the eel and leave them to dry, rub some salt onto them. Heat the oil and fry the onion and celery until glassy. Add the parsley and add the white wine. Bring to a boil. Add the fish, put the lid on the pan. Lower the fire and after about 15 minutes the eel is done.

Boiled mussels () Serves 4

Ingredients: 2 kg clean mussels 2 onions 1 leek 5 tablespoons of oil 1/8 l white wine 4 tablespoons of chopped parsley Rinse the mussels and remove the ones which are open already! Peel the onions and cut them into thin rings. Rinse the leek and remove the outer leaves, cut into smaller pieces. Fry the

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onions and leek in the oil until glassy. Add the mussels, the wine and half of the chopped parsley. Put a lid on your pan and boil it all for 10 minutes until the mussels are done (soft). Make sure you shake the contents of your pan every now and then. After cooking, remove all mussels which are still closed! Add the rest of the parsley for decoration.

Mushrooms in wine () Serves 4

Ingredients: 6 small onions 8 small carrots 3 celery stems 2 cups of chestnut mushrooms 4 dl red wine 4 tablespoons butter Peel the onions and cut them in halves. Rinse the carrots and celery and chop them into cubes. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and fry the vegetables for about 10 minutes. Clean the mushrooms and but them into slices. Add wine to the vegetables and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and let the wine reduce in 5 minutes on a high fire. Fry the mushrooms in a separate skillet and when they are nice and brown you can add them to the wine and vegetables. Add a bit of salt to taste.

Spicy haddock () Serves 4

Ingredients: 1 kg haddock 1 tablespoon oil 1 tablespoon flour 1 onion salt, parsley Cut the fish into equal pieces, rub some salt onto them and leave for 2 hours. Fry the onion and parsley in oil and add the flour, a pinch of salt and a bit of leftover wine, enough to make a nice sauce. Add the fish and let it simmer over a low fire for about 15 minutes. You can serve this dish warm or cold.

Fennel in blue cheese () Serves 4

Ingredients: 4 fennel bulbs 25 gr butter 25 gr flour 1 dl milk 75 gr blue cheese

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Rinse the fennel and cut them in two (vertically). Put them in a pan and make sure they are just covered by water, boil them for 15 minutes. Let the vegetables drain and take 1,5 dl from the cooking juices. Prepare the sauce by melting butter in a pan and add bit by bit the flour, make sure you stir continuously to avoid lumps. Add the milk and cooking juices also bit by bit until you have a smooth silky sauce. Add the cheese, which you have cut into small nubs. By now, your sauce should be on a low fire, do not let it boil any more. Put the fennel on a serving plate and pour over the blue cheese sauce.

Quick & easy Parsnips () Ingredients: 1,5 to 2 parsnips per person Oil for baking Clean the parsnips and chop them into small cubes. Heat the oil in the skillet and fry the parsnip cubes until golden brown. Very yummy, a bit like French fries!

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Side dishes Mustard butter () When it is really cold you can easily prepare this in camp, otherwise it is best to make it at home.

Mix 50 gr. of butter with 2 teaspoons of mustard. Put the butter in a cold place and let become hard again. Serve a slice of this spicy butter on meat, fish or freshly roasted bread. Mushrooms & bacon () Serves 2 Ingredients: 50 gr butter 50 gr peas (boiled) 50 gr bacon 100 gr sliced mushrooms Melt the butter and let the peas go soft. Fry the bacon separately until crispy and crumble the bacon. Add the mushrooms to the peas and bake until soft & brown. Add the bacon, stir and serve immediately.

Desserts Red fruit with cream () Serves 4

Ingredients: 600 gr. fresh red summer fruit approx. 4 tablespoons of honey 2 tablespoons of flour 1/8 l. cream Clean the fruit and put the honey over them. Use a bit of water to make the flour into a liquid (not too thin). Bring the fruit slowly to a boil and add the flour. Let the fruit boil for two minutes and let it cool. Leave the cream the way it is: do not whip or sweeten it. Serve the fruit in a bowl with plenty of cream.

Fried apples () Serves 6

Ingredients: 6 nice apples butter honey

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Peel the apples and remove the core. Cut the apples in thick rings, at least 1 cm. Melt the butter in a skillet and let the apples simmer until they are golden brown. Pour the honey into the pan and let is simmer a little bit longer. Serve hot. Cranachan () Serves 4

Ingredients: 4 tablespoons of oatmeal 2 tablespoons powdered sugar 300 ml whipped cream 2 tablespoons malt whisky 125 gr fresh raspberries (keep 40gr apart for decoration) Put the oatmeal and sugar in a pan over a low fire and keep stirring until the sugar has melted. Let it cool. Whip the cream until it is really thick, add the whisky and raspberries (85gr!) and add the oatmeal/sugar mixture. Put in nice bowls and use the rest of the raspberries for decoration. Serve immediately.

Le rêve d’une jeune fille (A young girl’s dream) Ingredients : Bananas Brandy/Banana liquor Chopped nuts Mix the bananas and liquor to a soft mousse. Decorate with the chopped nuts. No, it’s not period! But you will LOVE this!

Various These recipes are NOT authentic, but when it is cold your warriors will thank you… serve this as a hot breakfast or at tea time to warm up. Hot cheese drink Serves 4

Ingredients: 120 gr grits 375 gr soft goats cheese (you can also use ricotta) 60 gr honey 1 small egg, beaten Put the grits in a pan and enough water to cover the grits almost. Let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the remaining water and add the soft cheese, honey and beaten egg to the

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grits. Bring it slowly to a boil, make sure it doesn’t boil too fast!! Let the porridge simmer for a few minutes.

Bread porridge () Serves 4

Ingredients: 1 l. milk 6 slices of old bread 50 gr. honey

Bring the milk to a boil, add the bread and stir well with a ladle until you get a thick, smooth porridge. Put in small bowls with lots of honey.

Three in a pan () This is actually traditionally Dutch, but I really don’t think you’ll blame me…

± 12 pieces Ingredients: 250 gr. flour 2,5 dl milk oil for baking 100 gr. raisins and currants bits of apple pinch of salt Mix the salt and flour, make a small hole in the middle and pour out 1 dl of the milk. Make a smooth batter. Slowly add the rest of the milk and after that also add the raisins, currant and

bits of apple. Heat the oil in a frying pan and put three big tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Bake them equally brown and serve them with honey or cheese.

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Handy I think you can really use the items listed below. Most of it is far from authentic, but it will make you life as camp cook so much easier: Plenty of wooden bowls, spoons etc. Dried fruits, raisins etc. Beans from a can, this saves cooking time Bread mix. If you run out of bread you can bake bread on the fire. Couscous, just in case And…. Make sure the re-enactors in your camp eat enough vitamins and nutrients. Buy enough fruit and vegetables like carrots and cucumber for a quick and healthy snack. Especially if your camp lasts more than just a few days, it is important to have a well balanced diet. Take food allergies and health diets into account as well. You can ruin your weekend if the food is bad.

Although I have done my utmost to make this booklet as complete as possible, it is always possible that mistakes were made. If you see a mistake, please email me: allecmere@gmail.com. I cannot be held responsible for any health problems that may occur after using a recipe from this booklet. Bibliography “The Mustard book” David Mabey; ISBN 90-6291-389-X “The Mushroom book” Rosamund Richardson; ISBN 90-6291-390-3 “Makkelijk koken” Wina Born © 1967 “Scandinavian specialiteis” Peter Becker © 1963 “Herbs, easy & healty” Uitgeverij Weert; ISBN 90-6590-333 X “The kitchen of Odysseus” A. Dalby & S. Grainger; ISBN 90-414-0444-9

All photos are by the Klerks family. 1: Front page: Fennel boiling 2: page 6: our camp kitchen 3: page 8: homemade bread 4: page 11: parsnip fries 5: page 14: yes, that is a chicken on my lap... Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial private research purposes, provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies. © 2005 & © 2014-S. Klerks