Tudor Recipes: Tarte Owt of Lente

The name of this dish comes from the fact that many of ingredients are things which you’re not supposed to eat during lent: cream, eggs and cheese, all cooked together in a pastry shell. If you’re a big cheese fan, you’ll love this one.

Take neshe chese and pare hit and grynd hit yn A morter and breke egges and do ther to and then put yn buttur and creme and mell all well to gethur put not to moche butter ther yn if the chese be fatte make A coffyn of dowe and close hit a bove with dowe and collor hit a bove with the yolkes of eggs and bake hit well and serue hit furth.

– Gentyll manly Cokere (MS Pepys 1047, c.1500)

You Will Need:

• 100g Cheshire cheese
• 150ml cream
• 1 egg
• Seasonings
• Shortcrust or other pastry
• Egg yolk to glaze

Making the Tart:

1. Chop the cheese up and pound it in a mortar (or use a bowl and spoon).
2. Add the other ingredients to form a soft paste.
3. Make a case for your tart out of the pastry – this should be about 25cm wide – and a thin lid to cover it. You can use a tart tin if you fid it easier.
4. Pour the cream, butter, egg and cheese filling into the tart case and carefully put on the lid. You can seal the tart and glaze the top with egg yolk.
5. Bake your tart at 220°C (gas mark 6) for about 40 minutes or until golden.