Fenkel in soppes (recipe)

Period Recipe

From the Forme of Cury.

FENKEL IN SOPPES. XX.III. XVII.

Take blades of Fenkel. shrede hem not to smale, do hem to see� in water and oile and oynouns mynced �erwith. do �erto safroun and salt and powdour douce, serue it forth, take brede ytosted and lay the sewe onoward.

Modern Recipe 1 - Fennel Sopes

Fennel on left, Slete Soppes on right.

Serves 8.

Ingredients

• 1 bulb Fennel
• 1 large Onion
• Margerine
• 1 pinch Saffron
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Powder Douce (Sweeter than a powder fort, less pepper, but mixture to your individual taste)
  • Cinnamon
  • Ginger
  • Mace
  • Pepper
  • and for this one - Mint - in lieu of oft quoted bay leaf

Method

1. Top and tail the fennel, wash, and slice the sections of bulb thinly. Mince the onion.
2. Mix the fennel and onion together, add water to cover, add about 1 tablespoon margerine, a pinch of salt and the saffron. Simmer until the vegetables are soft.
3. Add your spices, let it sit for a few minutes and serve.

Note: I actually served this like a sops over toast - works quite well with teamed with the Slete Soppes.

Gwir verch Madog.

Modern Recipe 2

Ingredients

• Item.
• Item.

Method

1. Method.
2. Method.

Elspeth

Modern Recipe 3

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 3 small fennel bulbs, sliced
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp galingal
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp mace
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method

1. Cook Onion and fennel in oil and water
2. Season with spices and serve on toast

Emma de Lastene

Modern Recipe 4

Ingredients

• 2 medium fennel, chopped coarsely
• 2 large brown onions, I chopped coarsely but now recomend chopped very finely
• spices to taste (for my taste about 1-2 teaspoons each)- I used galengale, cinnamon, nutmeg this time due to various constraints, but might use more accurate combinations next time.

Method

1. I decided to use the cooking pasta approach to cooking this dish. I took a large pot of water (6-8L?) which could have fit several times my quantity of fennel. I would have added only a dash of oil as per pasta recipies, but decided to omit it to make this a 0 pt weight watchers meal for a friend. The water was boiling furiously before the fennel (and onion) was added, and the heat was kept on maximum until it boiled again after the fennels' addition. Then the heat was reduced slightly so the pot was boiling gently (hotter than simmering) instead of vigourously.
2. I put the lid on the pot and boiled for 10 -15 minutes.
3. Drain fennel
4. stir spices through warm fennel mixture

This dish kept warm well and didn't soften or taste worse in a ceramic container for over 1/2 an hour. The boiling approach seemed quicker and easier to do on a large scale where water could be boiled in advance (yes I'm thinking of a feast kitchen or over an open fire). The taste of the dish didn't seem to suffer for the lack of oil, nor the more vigourous cooking. I chopped my onion only slightly finer than the fennel, but the onion cooked more slowly, hence I think I know why the recipe calls for minced onion and large pieces of fennel. The spices stick well to the fennel if added just after draining.

Teffania Tuckerton

Notes

The historical version of this recipe was taken from the Project Gutenberg e-text of the Forme of Cury.