Medieval pork rolls

6 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
700 G/1 1/2 lb cooked pork without skin or bone
½ teaspoon Salt
40 G/1 1/2 oz currants

Directions

Powder fort mixture made with ⅓ teaspoon ground cumin; ⅛ teaspoon each ground black pepper and ground ginger 1 egg, separated, and 1 egg white 6 8 sheets filo or strudel pastry For sauce: 575 ml/1 pint/2½ cups strong chicken stock Powder douce mixture made with ⅛ teaspoon ground coriander; pinch each of ground cinnamon and brown sugar or to taste Mince the pork and set 225 g/8 oz aside. Put the remaining 450 g/1 lb in a bowl and add the salt, currants and powder fort mixture. Beat the egg yolk and use it to bind the mixture.

Stack the pastry sheets in a pile, making sure that they separate easily. They are usually 45-50 cm/18-20 inches long. Beat the egg whites and use to brush the top sheet of pastry lightly. Starting from one short side, cut it into long strips 7½ cm/3 inches wide.

Place a small teaspoon of the pork mixture on the end of one strip and roll the pastry up like a Swiss roll. Press the ends to seal in the meat.

Repeat this procedure, using the other top sheet strips, then brush the next sheet and continue rolling up the mini-rolls until all the mixture is used.

Drop the rolls, a few at a time, into gently boiling salted water and cook for 5-7 minutes; then drain on kitchen paper. Alternatively, you can place the rolls side by side on a baking sheet, brush them with egg white and bake them in a pre-heated oven at 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for 10-12 minutes; then serve them as snacks, without sauce.

Boiled rolls, which have a slightly flabby texture, need sauce; they are best served as a starter or main course.

To make the sauce, heat the stock and add the reserved meat and powder douce mixture. Simmer for several minutes to heat the meat through.

Serve over the boiled rolls, re-heated if necessary.

(Makes 6 main servings or 24 snacks) from The Medieval Cookbook by Maggie Black Chapter 5, "Of Manners and Meals" posted by Tiffany Hall-Graham

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