Eat Like an Elizabethan

The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, now in its 30th year of Shakespearean revelry, has always tried to keep its music and costumes authentic. Oddly, though, it evolved without a period food policy. The food stalls still sell things you’d never, ever find in 16th-Century England--baked potatoes, fish and chips, banger sausage, piroshki.

A group called the Friends of the Renaissance Faire knows that, and to encourage authentic food they staged an Elizabethan cooking contest at the Faire on May 10. In one category, a bread baked in the shape of a frog was beaten out by a handsomely molded “Spanish marmalade” of figs, dates, almonds, rose water . . . and gold leaf and both powdered and whole pearls. The pearls were found to be attractive but somewhat gritty.

The other dishes were much less bizarre, and mostly excellent by any standards. Who knows? One day you may be able to eat Elizabethan Butter Tarts at a Ren Faire food stall.

The Renaissance Faire continues until June 14 at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino County (near Devore). Fair gates open at 9 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. on weekends and Memorial Day.

The first prize among sweets went to these dainty little tarts, which winner Candace Pickel says are a recipe handed down from mother to daughter in her family for centuries. Other contestants could cite recipes published in Renaissance cookbooks, but the judges felt that these had the truest Elizabethan flavor.

ELIZABETHAN BUTTER TARTS

1/3 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg, beaten

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 cup raisins

Tartlet Shells

Cream butter with brown sugar until light. Beat in egg and lemon juice. Stir in raisins. Spoon into Tartlet Shells, filling to top. Place tartlet pans on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees 20 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 24 tartlets.

For these little shells, you may use your favorite single-crust recipe for short-crust pastry. The Times Test Kitchen adapted the flaky dough recipe from Nick Malgieri’s cookbook (Nick Malgieri’s Perfect Pastry: McMillan Publishing Co.), which worked out well.

Tartlet Shells

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cake flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 10 pieces

3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Stir together flours, salt and baking powder in large bowl. Toss in butter pieces and rub into flour with fingertips just until mixture has sandy appearance. Sprinkle over 3 tablespoons ice water, tossing with fork. Add more water as needed until dough is sufficiently moistened and holds together without being crumbly or wet. Gather dough and shape into 2 flattened rounds. (Chill if dough becomes too soft to roll.)

On lightly floured board, roll each dough round about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into rounds 2 3/4 inches across. Line 24 mini tart shells (2 1/4-inch diameter size) with pastry rounds.

Cynthia Olson’s surprisingly delicate sausage baked in pie crust tied for first place in the meat “pyes” category. The sausage is intriguingly stuffed with an apple - and - onion mixture.

APPLE-STUFFED SAUSAGE PASTIES

2 cups, peeled and chopped Granny Smith apples, about 3 apples

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup crushed crackers

1/2 cup natural unprocessed bran

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 pound ground pork sausage, sage-seasoned

Pastry Dough, or any standard recipe for two 2-crust pies

1 egg, lightly beaten

Combine apples, onion, crackers, bran and brown sugar in bowl and knead well. Gather mixture and roll between 2 sheets wax paper to form rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Remove top sheet of paper. Pat meat into 11x8-inch rectangle on sheet of wax paper or foil. Spread apple stuffing over meat to about 1/2 inch from edges. Lift nearest edge of bottom sheet of paper and roll meat up like jellyroll. Place roll in shallow pan, smoothing surface with wet metal spatula. Bake at 350 degrees 45 to 50 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Cool sausage, then cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. On lightly floured board roll out each round Pastry Dough about 1/8 inch thick and cut into 6-inch circles. Place sausage slice on 1/2 of each dough circle. Brush edges with water. Fold over dough to form half moon. Flute edges. Place on baking sheet, brush with beaten egg and bake at 350 degrees about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 14 pasties.

Pastry Dough

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/3 cups plus 1/4 cup shortening

8 to 10 tablespoons cold water

Stir together flour and salt. Cut in shortening until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle in cold water, 1 tablespoon at time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl. Gather dough and shape into 4 flattened rounds.