ORIGINAL RECIPE FROM FORME OF CURY:

Take and make a crust in a trap & take cruddes and wryng out þe wheyze and drawe hem þurgh a straynour and put hit in þe crust. Do þerto sugar the þridde part, & somdel whyte of ayren, & shake þerin blomes of elren; & bake it vp with eurose, & messe it forth.

Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.



MODERN RECIPE, REDACTED:

* 1 nine-inch pie shell
* 2 Tbs. heavy cream
* 2 Tbs. dried elderflowers
* 3/4 lb. cottage cheese
* 3/4 lb. ricotta cheese
* 3 eggs
* ¼ lb. butter
* 1/3 cup sugar
* ¼ tsp. cloves
* ¼ tsp. mace
* 1 Tbs. rosewater (optional)

Combine all ingredients and blend thoroughly. (A food processor or immersion blender will do the job nicely.) Pour mixture into pie shell. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes to an hour, or until filling has set and the crust is a golden brown. Let cool and serve.

NOTES:

I made a few changes to the recipe printed above. There are neither elderflowers nor rosewater in my version; I wanted something spicier. Instead of the cloves and mace, I used 2 tsps of Chinese Five Spice powder. This gave me something with a bit more bite, as well as creating a pleasant aroma.

The crumble topping is actually toasted almonds. I have a large quantity of ground almonds from making the almond milk for the Bruet Saracenes. I hate to waste, so while the pies were baking I spread the ground damp almonds on a sheet and placed them on the top rack of the oven.

Also, the recipe given makes two nine inch pies.