While we think of rice as an Asian staple, it was well-known in medieval Europe, particularly after trade with the East increased. Rice was imported at high cost, making it a luxury ingredient.

• Pilaf-like dishes:
  Cookbooks like the Libro della Cucina contain recipes for riso in brodo, rice cooked in broth, sometimes with saffron to give it a golden hue. Medieval English sources also mention “rys,” typically cooked with almond milk and sweetened with sugar — more like a modern rice pudding.
   

• Influence of Islamic cuisine:
  The idea of cooking rice with meats, spices, and broths to create savory pilafs came from Persian and Arab traditions. This style of rice was adopted in Norman Sicily and by the courts of Spain. The use of saffron, cinnamon, and raisins in rice dishes shows the clear influence of Moorish culinary customs.
   

Thus, medieval people enjoyed sophisticated rice dishes — savory or sweet — centuries before the Spanish perfected paella or the British popularized Indian pilafs.

  Stuffed Pasties and Early ‘Pies’

Hand pies, turnovers, and stuffed pastries were common throughout medieval Europe. These dishes evolved into what we now call Cornish pasties, empanadas, and even samosas.

• Medieval pies:
  The medieval “pyes” were often encased in a tough pastry shell called a coffin (meaning a container, not a literal coffin). This pastry was not always eaten; it served as a cooking vessel to protect the contents from burning in the oven. Inside might be pork, beef, venison, fish, or even fruits and nuts.
   

• Portable meals:
  Travelers and laborers valued these pies because they could be easily transported and eaten cold. In medieval marketplaces, vendors sold small stuffed pastries, sometimes filled with minced meat and spiced with pepper and cloves.
   

• Surprising flavors:

Sweet and savory frequently mixed. A medieval pasty might combine minced pork with dates and ginger. Spices like saffron and mace were used liberally — medieval cuisine was far more spice-heavy than many modern European dishes. shutdown123