Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.
Chycches (Vetches)
Chycches (Vetches) is a traditional Medieval recipe for a classic dish of a bean puree flavoured and coloured with saffron. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Medieval version of: Vetches (Chycches).
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
60 minutes
Total Time:
80 minutes
Serves:
4–6
Rating: 
Tags : Vegetarian RecipesSpice RecipesBean RecipesBritish RecipesEnglish Recipes
Original Recipe
Cycces
(from A Forme of Cury)
Ꞇe +̅ wrye em in aſes all nyʒt oþꝰ lay ē oꞇe aymers · at moꞅowe waie ē clene watꝰ · eeþ ē ỽp +̅ ꝺo þꝰto oyle·. garle ole safro · pouꝺo foꝛꞇ anꝺ alꞇ · eeþ iꞇ +̅ meſſe iꞇ foꞅꞇ ·
Translation
Vetches
Take vetches and cover them in ashes all night, or lay them in hot embers. The following day, wash them in clean water and cook them over the fire with clean water. Boil them up and add oil, garlic, whole saffron threads, powder fort and salt. Boil it and serve it forth.
Modern Redaction
Vetch is the general name for about 150 species of leguminous plants, all belonging to the genus vica. The most well known of these, today, is the broad (fava) bean. During the middle ages, as part of their crop rotation system, one field was always sown with vetch. Typically this was common vetch, bitter vetch or hairy vetch and was used as animal fodder. One of the reasons there are so may variants of common vetch in our fields today is becaue of selective breeding by medieval farmers. They even developed a large-podded variety. However, the seeds (beans) of many vetches, whilst edible to ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats) are actually toxic to humans. Hairy vetch contains canavanine, a toxic analogue of the amino acid arginine which tastes bitter and is toxic, but also acts as an appetite suppressant in humans. This is why vetch seeds were used in medieval times as a starvation food, for they provided some nourishment whilst also suppressing the appetite (but in large quantities they are leathal).
Medieval cooks obviously leached vetch beans in ashes to help leach out the bitter compounds before cooking the following day. For this recipe I would recommend using broad (fava beans) or, for a more authentic taste and texture use that ancient cultivar of broad beans, the Celtic bean (but you could also use tinned chickpeas).
Ingredients:
400g fresh broad (fava) beans (or Celtic beans) or chickpeas
4 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
generous pinch of saffron threads
1 tbsp
powder fort
salt, to taste
Method:
Wash and pick over the beans. Place in a pan, just cover with water then bring to a boil and cook until tender and beginning to break down (about 40 minutes).
Mash the beans then stir in the olive oil, garlic, saffron and powder fort. Season to taste with salt then bring back to a simmer and continue cooking until you have a thick paste.
Serve hot.
Find more Medieval recipes as well as more recipes from the Forme of Cury here.
%20Recipe)