Catholic Recipe: Almond Milk Frumenty

Frumenty was one the most popular foods of the Middle Ages, used as an accompaniment to roast meat, venison being particularly favored. However, this particular recipe was intended for Lent and was meant to be served with boiled porpoise! Frumenty recipes appear throughout surviving period cookbooks and manuscripts, proving that its preparation was wide-spread and common. Apparently, any cook worth his or her salt could prepare this dish.

Original recipe from An Ordinance of Pottage

16. Frumente yn lentyn. Take clene pykyd whete. Bray hit yn a morter, and fanne it clene, and seth hit tyl hit be brokyn. Than grynd blanchid almondys yn a morter; draw therof a mylke. Do hit togedyr and boyle hit tyl hit be resonabull thykke: than loke thy whete be tendyr. Colour hit up with safferyn. Lech thy purpas when hit ys sodyn, than ley hit on disches by hitsylfe, and serve hit forth with frumente.

— Hieatt, Constance B. An Ordinance of Pottage. An Edition of the Fifteenth Century Culinary Recipes in Yale University's MS Beinecke 163. London: Prospect Books Ltd, 1988.

Translation

Frumenty in Lent. Take clean picked wheat. Pound it in a morter, and remove the hull, and boil it until it cracks. Then grind blanched almonds in a morter; make an almond milk. Add the wheat to the almond milk and boil until reasonably thick; make sure the wheat is tender. Color it with saffron. Cut your porpoise after it's boiled, then set it in dishes with nothing else, and serve it with frumenty.

DIRECTIONS

Stir together all the ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, then reduce heat to low, cover and cook for approximately 45 minutes, or until the bulgar is tender and the mixture becomes thick. Be careful not to scorch. Serve as a soup or as a sauce for meat.