Yellow Pepper Sauce

Source:

England, 15th c.

France, 14th c.

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Recipe by Daniel Myers

This tart and spicy sauce is rather curious as it's a pepper sauce made without pepper. For this interpretation, I've added the grains of paradise which have a similar flavor. Not having any verjuice on hand, I substituted white wine and lemon juice.

Ingredients

2 to 3 slices bread, toasted
3/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. grains of paradise, ground
pinch saffron
1/4 tsp. salt

Method

Tear toast into pieces and place in a bowl with wine, vinegar, and lemon juice. Allow to soak, stirring occasionally, until bread turns to mush. Strain through a fine sieve into a saucepan,pressing well to get as much the liquid as possible out of the bread. Add spices and bring to a low boil, simmering untilthick. Serve warm.

Poivre jaunet. Broiés gingembre, saffren, pain hallé, et deffaites de vin aigre et faites boullir; et acuns y metent graine et girofle au verjus.

Yellow Pepper [Sauce]. Crush ginger, saffron and browned bread, steep in vinegar, and boil. Some cooks add grains of paradise, cloves and verjuice. (BN manuscript, p. 33.)

YELLOW OR BITTER PEPPER. Take ginger, saffron, then take toasted bread soaked in liquid from the meat (and even better is a little cabbage-water), then boil, and when boiling add the vinegar.

Published: 2006-10-23