Gronden Beans (Ground Beans) is a traditional Medieval recipe for a ground broad bean stew or gruel served either as a first course or an accompaniment. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Medieval version of Ground Beans.
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Original Recipe
Gronden Benes
(from A Forme of Cury)
Take benes and dry hē ī a noſt or in an Ovene and hulle hē wele and wyndewe e out þe hulk9 and wayſhe hē clene ā do hē to ſeeþ in gode broth ā ete hē wt Bacon.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
450g split broad (fava) beans (these will already be hulled)
480ml strong beef, game or red wine stock
250g bacon cubes
(handful of parsley to garnish)
Method:
Soak the dried beans over night in water. The following day, drain the beans and place in a saucepan with the broth. Bring to the boil then simmer for about an hour (or until the beans are nearly soft). Meanwhile fry the bacon in a pan and once done set aside. Continue simmering the beans for a further ten minutes (or until they are really soft) and using a fork (or a potato masher) roughly mash the beans into the the broth. Add the bacon pieces and simmer for a further ten minutes.
Serve immediately, garnished with a good sprinkling of parsley (again, this is not in the original but it looks good).
Note, no seasonings are added during the cooking process; the assumption (as in the original recipe) is that the broth itself has been seasoned. Also the bacon will be salted and will act as an additional seasoning.
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