Last Minute Lunches

No-Cook Period Food from the Grocery Store

Need to bring lunch to an event, but don't have much time? You don’t have to

spend hours in the kitchen to eat period and period-style foods. You can �ind what

you need at the grocery store on your way to the event and make a tasty meal by

the tourney �ield without having to cook anything!

The quantities in the recipes in this handout are a starting place. You can tweak

them to suit your tastes!

Let’s Go Shopping: Ready-to-Eat Foods

✤ Bread (loaves, �latbread, crackers)

✤ Rotisserie chicken

✤ Hard-boiled eggs

✤ Smoked salmon

✤ Cured meats (salami, prosciutto)

✤ Thickly-sliced deli meats (roast beef, ham)

✤ Pickled vegetables

✤ Olives

✤ Cheese

✤ Hummus

✤ Fresh and dried fruits (�igs, dates, grapes, raisins, apples, pears, cherries, plums)

✤ Nuts (almonds, walnuts)

✤ Honey

✤ Wafer cookies / shortbread

Mix and Slather: Medieval Sauces

Medieval cooks made a wide variety of sauces for roast meats of all kinds. Here are several sauce recipes that just

require mixing together a few ingredients and work well on roast chicken, roast beef, hard-boiled eggs, or bread.

Apple Mustard Sauce

4 oz unsweetened applesauce

1 Tbsp ground mustard

¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Thoroughly mix applesauce and spices.

Source: Nyeuwen Cook Book (UB Gent KANTL 15). Redaction by MedievalCookery.com. Adaptation by Lady Gwen Hir.

Basil Sauce

1 tube basil paste

1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

Mix the basil and vinegar. Grind the pepper over it, stir and let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Source: Anonimo Toscano, Libro della cocina . Adaptation by Mistress Gianetta del Bene.

Cherry Sauce

½ c cherry preserves

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground clove

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp white wine vinegar

Put jelly and spices in a bowl. Stir, slowly adding vinegar.

Source: Kochbuch (Salzburg, UB: M I 128). Redaction by MedievalCookery.com. Adaptation by Lady Gwen Hir.

Lumbard Mustard Sauce

½ c “gourmet” mustard (not yellow mustard)

honey

white wine vinegar

Add a little honey and vinegar to the mustard. Let stand for half an hour before serving.

Source: Curye on Inglish . Adaptation by Mistress Gianetta del Bene.

Bread-Thickened Sauces: Cameline Sauce, Garlic Sauce & Ginger Sauce

½ c plain crostini

3-6 Tbsp white wine vinegar

Crush crostini into small pieces. Add enough vinegar to moisten the bread (2-3 Tbsp) and let sit for a few minutes

until softened. Stir vigorously, pressing the softened bread against the bowl with the back of the spoon to reduce

lumps. Continue slowly adding vinegar and stirring vigorously until you achieve a thick oatmeal consistency. Add

�lavorings (see below) and stir to combine. Let sit for at least 10 minutes. Stir well before serving.

Cameline Sauce:

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground ginger

⅛ tsp ground clove

black pepper; freshly ground

Garlic Sauce:

1 Tbsp garlic paste

Ginger Sauce:

1 tsp ground ginger

Sources: Cameline: Viandier of Taillevent, Garlic: Le Menagier de Paris, Ginger: Curye on Inglish . Adaptations by Lady Gwen Hir.

Some Chopping Required: A Roman Feast

Using the following recipes, you can combine fresh and packaged ingredients to make a complete Roman feast

without needing a stove or camp�ire.

Lentil Salad

4 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp honey

2 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp ground coriander seed

½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground

1 pkg precooked lentils (500g)

3 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

3 Tbsp mint, chopped

3 green onions, thinly sliced

Combine vinegar, honey, spices, and olive oil in large bowl. Mix vigorously until combined. Add lentils and chopped

herbs. Stir gently to combine.

Source: Apicius . Redacted by Patrick Faas. Adaptation by Lady Gwen Hir.

Moretum

6 oz feta cheese

2 Tbsp garlic paste

2-3 Tbsp parsley, chopped

¼ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp white wine vinegar

Mix feta, garlic, parsley, and coriander. Add olive oil and vinegar. Stir until thoroughly blended.

Source:Virgil, Moretum . Redacted by Gaylin Walli. Adaptation by Lady Gwen Hir.

Olive Salad

1 can green olives, pitted, unstuffed (about ¾ cup)

1 Tbsp mint, �inely chopped

2-3 Tbsp parsley, chopped

6 green onions, thinly sliced

2 tsp white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp honey (optional)

¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Drain and coarsely chop olives. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, stirring gently.

Source: Columella, De Re Rustica . Adaptation by Lady Gwen Hir.

Tuna with Herb Sauce and Egg

2-3 green onions, thinly sliced, white, light green, and some of the dark green portions

2 Tbsp �inely chopped mint

¼ tsp celery seed

⅛ tsp black pepper, freshly ground

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp honey

1-2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

5 oz canned tuna, solid packed

1 hard boiled egg, coarsely chopped

In a small bowl, combine �irst 7 ingredients (green onions through vinegar) to make a vinaigrette. Transfer tuna

from can to a plate, leaving behind most of the liquid it was packed in. Pour sauce over tuna. Top with egg.

Source: Apicius . Adaptation by Lady Gwen Hir.

Peaches in Cumin Sauce

4 oz chopped peaches in light syrup

⅛ tsp ground cumin

4 dashes �ish sauce

1 dash balsamic vinegar

Use a fork to remove the peaches from the syrup and transfer them to a small bowl. Add remaining ingredients and

stir to combine.

Source: Apicius . Redacted by Sally Grainger. Adaptation by Lady Gwen Hir.

References

Recipe Sources

Apple Mustard Sauce: http://medievalcookery.com/recipes/mustardsaucen.html

Basil Sauce (“Dei savori: e prima del savore per I'arrosto”):

http://www.staff.uni-giessen.de/gloning/tx/an-tosc.htm

Cameline Sauce: T. Scully: The Viandier of Taillevent. University of Ottawa Press, 2008. (p. 295)

Cherry Sauce: http://medievalcookery.com/recipes/cherrysauce.html

Garlic Sauce (“White or Green Garlic Sauce”):

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Menagier/Menagier.html

Ginger Sauce (“Gyngen”): http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/foc/FoC106small.html

Lentil Salad (“Lentils with Coriander”): http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/233472.html

Lumbard Mustard: http://www.godecookery.com/nboke/nboke24.htm

Moretum: http://virgil.org/appendix/moretum.htm and http://www.godecookery.com/friends/frec70.htm

Olive Salad: Columella, E. S. Forster, E. Heffner. De Re Rustica X-XII. Harvard University Press, 1968. (p. 297)

Peaches in Cumin Sauce: S. Grainger: Cooking Apicius. Prospect Books, 2006. (p. 118)

Tuna with Herb Sauce and Egg: Apicius, B. Flower, E. Rosenbaum: The Roman Cookery Book. Martino Publishing,

2012. (p. 213)

Additional Sources

del Bene, Gianetta. Sauces for Slackers. Class handout, West Coast Culinary Symposium, 2015.

Piebakere, Eulalia. Getting Started with Period Food.

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