| 1 | No christmas feast in medieval times was complete without a "grete pye". |
| 2 | In some recipes, it could contain many varied meats, but quite often only two or three different kinds were suggested; change the meats suggested here if you wish. |
| 3 | Use just over half the pastry to line a 23-cm/9-inch pie plate. |
| 4 | Brush the inside with some of the egg white. |
| 5 | Skin the pieces of breast and other meat if necessary and parboil them gently in salted water for 10-15 minutes. |
| 6 | Drain and leave to cool. |
| 7 | Mix together in a bowl the minced beef, suet, salt and pepper to taste, the egg yolks and half the spice mixture. |
| 8 | Add the rest of the spices to the dried fruit in another bowl. |
| 9 | Slice the parboiled meat. |
| 10 | Pre-heat the oven to 220c/425f/gas mark Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of the beef stock to the rice flour or cornflour in a small saucepan and cream them together; then add the remaining stock and stir over gentle heat until slightly thickened. |
| 11 | Keep aside. |
| 12 | Cover the bottom of the pastry case with half the mince mixture. |
| 13 | Arrange the sliced meat in a flat layer on top. |
| 14 | Scatter the chopped spiced fruit over it and cover with the remaining mince. |
| 15 | Pour the thickened stock over the lot. |
| 16 | Roll out the remaining pastry into a round to make a lid for the pie. |
| 17 | Brush the rim of the case with a little more egg white and cover with the lid. |
| 18 | Press the edges to seal, and make escape slits for steam. |
| 19 | Decorate with the pastry trimmings and glaze with egg white. |
| 20 | Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 160c/325f/gas mark 3 and bake for 45-50 minutes longer. |
| 21 | Serves 6 to Grete pyes. |
| 22 | Take faire yonge beef, and suet of a fatte beste, or of motton, and hak all this on a borde small; and caste therto pouder of peper and salt; and whan it is small hewen, put hit in a bolle. |
| 23 | And medle hem well; then make a faire large cofyn, and couche som of this stuffur in. then take capons, hennes, mallardes, connynges, and parboile hem clene; take wodekokkes, teles, grete briddes, and plom hem in a boiling pot; and then couche al this fowle in the coffyn, and put in euerych of hem a quantite of pouder of peper and salt. |
| 24 | Then take mary, harde yolkes of egges, dates cutte in ij peces, reisons of coraunce, prunes, hole clowes, hole maces, canell and saffron. |
| 25 | But first, whan thoug hast cowched all thi foule, ley the remenaunt of thyne other stuffur of beef a-bought hem, as thou thenkest goode; and then strawe on hem this: dates, mary, and reysons, &c. |
| 26 | And then close thi coffyn with a lydde of the same paast, and putte hit in the oven, and late hit bake ynough; but be ware, or thou close hit, that there come no saffron nygh the brinkes there-of, for then hit wol neuer close |
