I love cookbooks. Love books in general. My goal is to one day have a library to be proud of. Lined with dark wood, fireplace in its centre and tray with a good selection of wines and whiskies. However what I have noticed is that no matter how many books you have, over time you always gravitate to certain books and authors. The same thing happened when I started to dive into historical cookbooks. One book that I keep returning to is The English Art of Cookery by Richard Briggs, published in 1788.

With each recipe that I try to cook, my first thought is to go and look what Mr. Briggs has to say on the subject. So when I wanted to look at vegetable recipes, his book was my first stop. From what I have observed most people imagine that vegetables in the past were a over-boiled, nutrition-less mush that people ate when no meat was to be had. Yes, most poor people did eat largely vegetarian meals, if they couldn’t afford any meat, and yes, there are recipes that call for suspiciously long cooking times, but that might not always have been the case.

Introduction for the Roots and Vegetables chapter in Richard Briggs cookbook The English Art of Cookery, published 1788 — Introduction for the Roots and Vegetables chapter in Richard Briggs cookbook *The English Art of Cookery*, published 1788

In Mr. Brigges cookbook each chapter has a little introduction on the topic or as he puts it “proper rules to be observed“. In the chapter for Roots and Vegetables not only did he put emphasis on cleaning the vegetables well, but also on cooking them with great care. Further more he advises you to “.. not boil them too much, but let them have a little crispness; for if you boil them too much, you will deprive them of their sweetness and beauty”. Essentially he tells you to blanch the vegetables and be careful not to overcook them, very much the same thing that our modern cookbooks say. And great many other books will tell you the same. Richard Bradley in his book The Country Housewife and Lady's Director, published in 1736, even tells you the cooking time for few vegetables - a rarity in any old cookbook.

As it is spring time in most of the world, asparagus recipe seems to be in order. While fairly similar, there are a few different asparagus recipes in the 18th century cookbooks. The most common way to serve asparagus was by first blanching them, then patting them dry and lastly arranging them on top of a toasted slice of bread that has been dipped in the poaching water. It is then served with melted butter on the side, as were great many other dishes at the time. Another popular way of serving them was in a hollowed and toasted bread, that was filled with asparagus and a simple cream sauce. Mr. Townsend has recreated that recipe and it is linked down below.

I chose a third option. You can find it under a few different names - Asparagus Pease, Asparagus Cream and, in Mr. Briggs cookbook, Asparagus a la Petit Poy. Essentially you cut the asparagus into small pieces to resemble small peas, blanch them and serve in a cream sauce made with yolks, cream and sometimes veal broth. The recipe also asks for French roll which I understand to be a enriched bread made with white flour. If you are not familiar, enriched bread is a type of bread, where you add milk, butter, egg or a combination of them to the dough to enrich it. I am not a good baker and only just past Easter finally managed to bake a somewhat decent hot-cross buns. So while there are recipes for French bread in his and other period cookbooks, I don’t feel confident to attempt that challenge yet. I have been however trying to learn to cook brioche and took this as another opportunity to bake it. If you study the 18th century cookbooks, you will soon notice that they used a LOT of butter. So I thought that a recipe that calls for 1 part flour to 3/4 of butter seemed a fitting choice. I used Michel Roux brioche recipe.

Briggs, Richard, The English Art of Cookery, London, 1788 — Briggs, Richard, *The English Art of Cookery*, London, 1788

Richard Briggs Asparagus a la petit poy

300 grams asparagus, cut in small pieces
250 ml veal broth
pinch of sugar, if you want
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
2 egg yolks
5 tbsp cream
salt, pepper and nutmeg

In a large pot bring water to boil. Put the asparagus in and boil them for a few minutes until just tender. Drain and set aside. At the same time heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add butter and flour and cook for a minute or two. Slowly add the broth all the while whisking so to avoid lumps. In a small bowl whisk together yolks, cream and a few spoonfuls of the heated broth. This will prevent the eggs from curdling. Now add the yolks to the pan and whisk until thickened to your liking. Lastly add the seasonings and the asparagus, mix and serve on toasted bread. I choose to serve it alongside some poached eggs, though it is not how it was served in the period.

Bon appétit,
Liga

Sources

Books
Bradley, Richard, The Country Housewife and Lady's Director, London, 1736
Briggs, Richard, The English Art of Cookery, London, 1788
Roux, Michel, Pastry. Savoury and sweet, Quadrille Publishing Ltd, 2010

Internet
Asparagus Forced in a French Loaf by Townsends