Sunday, December 31, 2006

30,000 Swans a Swimming

The Independent reports a major threat to the British ecosystem - swans. But there is nothing to be done about it because most swans are owned by the Queen or protected from culling by law. The article offers this potential solution to the problem:



Recipe: A medieval way to roast a swan *
Ingredients: One swan (with giblets); lard; salt; broth; toasted breadcrumbs; ginger; galingale (an aromatic root); red wine vinegar
To prepare a swan (from Middle English): Wash him, & do on a spit & lard him fair & roast him well; & make a fair carving. Sauce: Take the issue [giblets] & wash it well, & scour the guts well with salt, & boil the issue all together, & wash it well & hew it small, & take bread & powder of ginger & of galingale & grind together & temper it with the broth, & colour it with the blood. And when it is boiled & ground & strained, salt it, & boil it & season it with vinegar.




*Note: I would never eat swan meat.

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