To make a light frayse
ELINOR FETTIPLACE’S RECEIPT BOOK
Take wheten flower and cold water if you make 4 frayses put in eight egges whights and yolkes you must beate yt very well together and make yt no thicker then thick Creame put nuttmegge salte and ginger therein, then let yor butterbee scaldinge hott in yor pan and powere in yor Batter, as yt doth begin to bake stirr yt wth a knife untill yt will frye w’hout stickinge, then turne yt in a dish and fry the other side untill yt bee enough.
Description
In her presentation of the Receipt Book, Hilary Spurling provides a brief but broad history of this dish, which she describes as "somewhere between a substantial pancake and a reinforced omelet." I agree with that description, and cannot liken them to anything specifically in our modern habits without using adjectives - a thick Crêpe, a spongey pancake.. They are familiar but unfamiliar, which often makes for a good introduction for historical foodways.
At first glance, one might immediately think this is a Crêpe or Pancake recipe. While we are not given a specific measure of Flour or Water, we can work backwards from the number of Eggs and consistency of the batter that we are given to know that it is not. A modern crepe recipe calls for about 1 egg per 10 crêpes, A modern pancake recipe, which uses more flour than crêpes and creates a thicker batter, still only calls for 1 egg per 8 or so pancakes. Here we have a batter with a similar consistency to crêpes, and thinner than pancakes, but which requires 2 whole eggs per single Frayse. This does not leave much room in the recipe for more flour nor much room in a standard frypan for more volume. As interpreted, my recipe yields the expected 4 Frayses when using 8 eggs in 9 inch frying pan.
Elinor doesn't give us much direction on what to do with the Frayses once we have them, but they are traditionally rolled around a filling, savory or sweet, and can be served hot or cold. Our forebears were quite fond of "strewing" herbs and spices and sugar on things, and I recommend that as well here. The possibilities are limitless, but for the sake of demonstration, I have filled mine with Crème Fraîche and the Pickled Mushrooms that appear immediately before this recipe the Receipt Book.
Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare the Batter
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Beat the whole Eggs until they are a uniform color and consistency.
As you can see from the photos, I used my stand mixer. You can do this by hand or with a hand mixer, food processor, or blender just as easily. -
Combine the Flour, Salt, Nutmeg, and Ginger in a bowl.
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Slowly beat the Eggs into the Flour mixture so that it remains a smooth, uniform texture.
You can adjust the thickness of your Batter using Water to thin and Flour to thicken. The ideal texture is similar to modern pancake batter, or a little thinner. Fry one up, and adjust as needed.
Fry the Frayses
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Take two Tablespoons of your Butter and melt it in a pan over medium heat. The Butter should bubble and foam up, and then when the foam disperses the pan is ready.
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Pour 1/4 cup of Batter into the center of your pan.
The original recipe would have used more like 1/2 cup and produced much larger pancakes, but I find the smaller ones easier for a diner to manage. -
As soon as you see the top edge begin to set, becoming duller and slightly puffy as shown in the photo, gently flip the pancake over.
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Allow the pancake to cook on the other side just long enough to set it, about 30 seconds, and then remove the finished pancake to a plate.
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Repeat this for your remaining Batter, adding more Butter whenever it is not enough to fully cover the bottom of the pan.
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