Two 14th century recipes for dinner

This week's medieval dinner comes courtesy of 14th century England.   The meal consisted of a fish dish, a bean and onion dish, and a green salad with a simple oil/vinegar/mustard/honey dressing.  With a sweet cake or some kind of fruit dish added, this would be a lovely first remove for a feast.

First up is A Dauce Egre or Fish in a sweet and sour sauce.  This is the sort of sauce that it's very important to taste and adjust the sweetness/tartness of it before putting on the fish. I used a cider vinegar for my first attempt and it definitely needed more sugar after the simmering/reducing. Good strong flavor though.   The beans and onions made a lovely accompaniment to the tart fish and had a much milder, more buttery flavor.

A Dauce Egre (Fish in a sweet and sour sauce)
Tak luces or tenches or fresch haddok, & seth hem & frye hem in oyle doliue. & þan tak vynegre & þe thridde part sugre & onyounnes smal myced, & boyle alle togedere, & maces & clowes & quybibes. & ley þe fisch in disches & hyld þe sew aboue & serue it forth.
Source: Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.

1 lb haddock fillets (or any other fresh white fish)
olive oil
1 1/2 cups cider or red wine vinegar
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
1 medium sized onion, minced
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp clove
1 tsp ground black pepper

In a sauce pan, combine vinegar, sugar, onions & spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking until the onions are thoroughly soft and sauce is reduced. In a frying pan, heat a little olive oil. Fry the fish on both sides in the hot oil until a crispy light brown. Remove from the oil and drain. Place the fish in a serving platter and ladle the sauce on top.

Benes yfryed (Sauteed beans and onions)

Take benes and seeþ hem almost til þey bersten. Take and wryng out þe water clene. Do þerto oynouns ysode and ymynced, and garlec þerwith; frye hem in oile oþer in grece, & do þereto powdour douce, & serue it forth. Source: Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.

1 can cannellini beans 
1 onion, chopped
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs olive oil or butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Drain and rinse beans. Saute drained beans, onions, garlic and spices with olive oil or butter. Serve warm.