Medieval Potage Stew

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: British, Medieval

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1

Servings:

Calories: 349kcal

Author: Jacq

This British Medieval Inspired Potage Stew is based on medieval peasant stews. Our version is packed with root vegetables, kale, beans, lentils, barley and oats, and flavoured with vegetable stock, bay leaf, and fresh herbs. While some ingredients like lentils weren't widely available to medieval peasants they were an ingredient that was imported and used by wealthier families. Our recipe stays true to the adaptable make-do necessity of peasant cooking so we chucked in some lentils to our stew! However, if preferred you can replace the lentils with peas.

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US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Large saucepan/ stockpot/ soup pan
mixing spoon

Ingredients

1 kilogram vegetables (such as carrots, turnip, leeks, cabbage, onions, garlic, chopped into chunks)
100 grams pearl barley
90 grams red split lentils (washed and drained - can replace with precooked marrowfat peas or green split peas)
1 can butter beans (400g/14 oz can, drained - can replace with broad beans either fresh or frozen which are a medieval bean)
3 tablespoons pinhead oatmeal (or rolled oats - can add in more for the last 5 minutes of cooking if a thicker potage is required)
75 gram kale (or cabbage)
2 bay leaf
1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs (or a big bunch of fresh herbs - we like thyme, rosemary, sage & parsley)
1 teaspoon yeast extract (can replace with prepared mustard from a jar - mustard was a very common condiment in medieval times)
1.6 litres vegetable stock 6 ¾ cups / 3.4 UK pints / 1.7 US quarts
3 tablespoons vegan gravy powder (can omit and replace with extra oatmeal and add in extra herbs for flavour)

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to your pot, except the kale, oatmeal and gravy powder.
1 kilogram vegetables, 100 grams pearl barley, 90 grams red split lentils, 1 can butter beans, 2 bay leaf, 1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs, 1 teaspoon yeast extract, 1.6 litres vegetable stock
Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 30 minutes.
Add the gravy powder, oatmeal and kale. (If your gravy powder requires mixing with a little cold water before adding to stews then follow the packet instructions before adding to the potage as this will prevent gravy lumps!)
3 tablespoons pinhead oatmeal, 75 gram kale, 3 tablespoons vegan gravy powder
Simmer for 5-10 minutes. If the stew starts to stick to your pot add an extra half cup of stock to loosen the stew. Or place a lid on your pot and remove from the hotplate. Leave the saucepan to sit for 10 minutes or so to finish cooking in the residual heat.
Potage stew will be much thicker than normal stew but if preferred add extra vegetable stock to loosen it up. If you find that your potage is too thin for your likely you can thicken it up with extra tablespoons of oatmeal and stew until thick. The potage will also thicken as it is removed from the heat and allowed to rest.
Remove the bay leaf and any hard herb stalks. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Medieval folks also used mustard as a condiment so add that as well if liked. Garnish the potage with any fresh herbs you may have left.

Notes

Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
Potage stew can be kept fresh in the fridge, in a covered container, for up to 3 days.
Reheat in a saucepan, simmering until piping hot throughout. Add a little extra stock or perhaps some milk to loosen up the stew if it is very thick.
We are a plant-based family and we use vegan-friendly ingredients so we do not add meat or meat products to our recipes but of course if you have different dietary requirements you can add chopped meat or meat stock to your potage.
Medieval ingredient info:
- Vegetables: We often use a frozen root vegetable mix for convienence and kale. Medieval vegetables you can use include: green and red cabbages, carrots, turnips, parsnips, leeks, kale, leeks, lettuces, onions, & garlic.
- Grains/Cereals: We use pearl barley and pinhead/steel-cut oatmeal as these types of grain were medieval staples.
- Pulses: We use butterbeans and red split lentils. However, lentils were only really available to wealthier folks so you can replace those with cooked old garden peas or cooked split green peas or cooked marrowfat peas. We say cooked as these types of peas take awhile to cook but of course you can prepare a longer cooking potage. Butterbeans were not medieval staples but broad beans were so you can use those instead. We had difficulty sourcing broad beans on our Scottish island home but we have used broad beans for this recipe since first publishing.
- Flavourings: We have used yeast extract which is not medieval but you can replace this with prepared mustard from a jar. Mustard was a common medieval staple condiment, along with salt & pepper. We also use vegetable stock or broth which would have been available in medieval times albeit this would have been prepared from scratch likely at the same time as the potage i.e. the herbs and such flavoured the liquid cooking the potage, or it was saved from another meal. We have also used gravy powder simply for flavour and convience but this can be replaced with extra oatmeal which will thicken up the potage, and for extra flavour you can add in extra herbs.
- Herbs: We like to use rosemary and thyme, bay leaf, parsley, sometimes sage, and mixed dried herbs, for our potages but any herbs, edible plants such as dandilions, nasturtiums & nettles, can be added.
- Serving suggestions: We often like our potage with mashed potatoes but of course potatoes would not have been available in medieval times. You could make a root vegetable mash instead or serve the potage with thick slices of brown rustic bread or if you are feeling fancy have some white crusty but soft bread (this type of bread was usually only available to richer folk!) oatcakes, cheese, and some hazlenuts which would have been collected wild in medieval times!

Nutrition