Served widely at banquets and festivities, Plaice and Purple Carrot Pie were much cherished. Making this dish was a complex task with plaice and purple carrots being baked into a pie using rare spices and foreign sauces.
Pottage was the ultimate peasant food in the Middle Ages. A typical pottage was a thick soup made from barley, oats, or brown bread. Pottage might include onions, cabbage, beans, or peas, with each family adding their own touches.
A dish that often graced the tables of the rich was Blankmanger. It was a sweet dish made from almond milk, sugar, and rice, sometimes featuring chicken or fish for added flavor. It’s similar to today’s rice pudding.
Frumenty was a medieval staple food made from boiled, cracked wheat combined with broth or almond milk, occasionally supplemented with meat, fruit, or spices depending on the occasion and affordability.
Roast swan, a delicacy reserved for the tables of the elite and the noble, was a prominent feature of medieval feasts. The bird was baked whole and often served with a variety of side dishes.
Cockentrice was a bizarrely elaborate feast dish, which involved sewing together the front half of a pig and the back half of a capon. The stitched creature was then roasted to impressively present at feasts for nobles.
Hedgehogs were sometimes consumed in medieval Europe, especially by those residing near forests. The meat was usually baked or grilled and the spines were used by crafty cooks as skewers to hold the meat in place.