A Tasty Tudor Chewit

In every issue of BBC History Magazine, picture editor Sam Nott presents a recipe from the past. In this article, from December 2015, Sam recreates a delicate chewit - a meat and fruit pie enjoyed in the 16th century.

Britain loves pies, and recipes for them can be found in cookbooks going back centuries. A chewit mixes sweet and savoury flavours – a combination that was popular in the Tudor era. Recipes from that time often refer to coffins – robust pastry designed more to contain the filling than to be eaten. Sam's version, including measurements, is based on the following 16th-century recipe:

"Parboyle a piece of a Legge of Veal, and being cold, mince it with Beefe Suit, and Marrow, and an Apple or a couple of Wardens: when you haue minst it fine, put to a few parboyld Currins, sixe Dates minst, a piece of a preserued Orenge pill minst, Marrow cut in little square pieces. Season all this with Pepper, Salt, Nutmeg, and a little Sugar: then put it into your Coffins, and so bake it. Before you close your Pye, sprinckle on a little Rosewater, and when they are baked shaue on a little Sugar, and so serue it to the Table."

Ingredients

Pastry:

• 400g flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 200g butter
• 1 egg yolk
• Iced water

Filling:

• 500g minced beef
• 50g sultanas
• 6 dates
• Zest from half an orange
• 2 medium-sized pears, chopped
• 100g suet
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• Salt and pepper
• Rose water (sprinkle)
• Sugar (sprinkle)

Method

Pastry: Sift the flour and salt into a basin.  Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Make a well in the centre.  Add the egg yolk and 5 tbsp of iced water.  Roll the pastry into a ball, wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Filling: Roll out the pastry and line a pie tin, leaving enough for the lid of the pie. Lightly fry the minced beef, then add the suet, fruit and seasoning.  Pack tightly into the pie case and sprinkle a small amount of rose water on the top of the filling before adding the pie top.

Sprinkle sugar on the pastry and cook for an hour in an oven preheated to 200˚C.

Time: 1 hour preparation, 1 hour cooking.

This article was first published in the December 2015 issue of BBC History Magazine