Of all the books I’ve read about cooking, An Early Meal: A Viking Age Cookbook and
Culinary Odyssey remains a favorite of mine. A combination of history book,
archaeological study, and treasure trove of interesting recipes, An Early Meal covers the cooking
techniques of the Viking Age alongside evidence found in the ancient sagas and
stories of the time. The first portion of the book is dedicated to exploring
seasonal foods and regional styles, as well as customs and recommendations for replicating
the recipes. Culinary history has always been a fascinating topic for me, but
this book reaches the top of the list because of its meticulous detail. If you’re
a writer and your thing is historical fiction, this would be the book to use.
Much of what has been learned has come from grave offerings.
The types of cooking pots and types of bread have shown not only the social
class of the person who had been buried, but they’ve also indicated the beloved
traditions of this culture. We know what grew naturally in the area, and can
help build the cookbook from there.
An Early Meal
offers a range of interesting facts about everyday cooking. Salt was not widely
available, so curing was common. Vessels were typically
made out of pottery, wood, or leather. Beer was flavored with meadowsweet,
gale, rose hips, yarrow, or juniper. Sugar was sourced from fruit, honey, and
malt. Hops came on the scene around the 14th century. In addition to
curing, pickling was also common.
As the hearth was the heart of the home, the cauldron was the
central feature. They were usually made of pottery or soapstone, and richer
households used iron or copper. Pithouses (or firehouses in Iceland) were built
next to longhouses, and were used for baking, smoking, and curing. Some things,
like turnips, were cooked directly in the ash.
While the below feast is based on some of the recipes in the
book, I took some liberties with them. Years of cooking and watching shows like
Chef’s Table (Netflix) got me beyond
following recipes to the letter, in favor of a bit of experimentation,
depending on what’s seasonally available, and frankly, what simply inspires as
I go along. What I made was sirloin tips with a drizzle of the berry sauce
found on page 100, with my take on a combination of two other recipes—boar stew
and frumenty—and making sautéed kale and leeks with farro, and a loaf of Danish
rye berry bread. It didn’t take much for me to convince my Renn-fest-loving
husband to play the part, complete with a drinking horn from Grimfrost.
The first step was to make the berry sauce. This turned out
to be the most finicky aspect of the meal, but well worth the effort! Using a
sturdy sauce pan that has been in the family for generations, I began by
combining the fruit and heating it until it soften, then it was time to add the
mead. The rest of the mead wound up in the drinking horn, as it should.
Berry Sauce for Red Meat
·
3 plums
·
A small container of raspberries
·
A small container of blackberries
·
~1/3 cup mead
·
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped fine
Add fruit to sauce pan and boil until soft. Press through
strainer to extract juice. Return juice to sauce pan and add mead. Reheat, add
mint at the end. Serve over grilled meat.
Kale and Leeks with Farro
·
One bunch kale
·
2 to 3 medium-sized leeks
·
1 cup farro
·
2 cups vegetable broth
·
Butter and seasoning to taste
In one pan, melt about ¼ cup butter. Add leeks and sauté
until they start to brown. Tear kale and take out the larger stems. Add to
leeks and sauté.
Rye Berry Bread
·
1 package yeast
·
Sprinkling of sugar
·
2 ½ cups rye flour
·
¾ cup regular flour
·
¾ cup rye berries
·
2 teaspoons salt
·
1 ½ cup buttermilk
·
½ cup water (a good beer is also recommended as
a substitute with more flavor!)
Put rye berries in a mixing bowl. Pour boiling water over
them until covered (about and inch or two over the berries), and let sit for 45
minutes before draining thoroughly.
Combine yeast and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add both kinds
of flour, salt, rye berries, and stir in buttermilk. Add water (or beer)
slowly, until dough is sticky—you may need to adjust flour to liquid until the
bread dough feels right. Knead for 10 minutes. Place dough ball into large bowl
and cover—let rise for 2 hours. Punch down, let rise another two hours.
Preheat oven to 350. Grease bread pan with butter and shape
dough into a loaf. Let rise in pan for another 30 minutes. Bake for
approximately and hour and a half. Cover with foil after an hour to prevent
burning. I use a bamboo skewer to poke into the loaf to check the density. If
it comes out clean, it’s done. Remove from bread pan and let cool. Serve with
your favorite butter.
Put all together, and it was definitely a hearty feast
worthy of the tables around the mead hall. I look forward to trying out many
more recipes—the fish stewed in ale and the hazel nuts treats being next on the
list. Perhaps a follow-up post will be in order!