Spelt and Barley Porridge with Garden Vegetables
A thick porridge of spelt and barley, long-simmered, enriched with fava beans, leeks, and garden herbs, bound with a drizzle of fat. A humble, filling food that opened the day at every table.
A thick porridge of spelt and barley, long-simmered, enriched with fava beans, leeks, and garden herbs, bound with a drizzle of fat. A humble, filling food that opened the day at every table.
You think a king eats only the golden beast? At daybreak, before mounting my horse, I take the same porridge as my men: spelt and barley long burst in the cauldron, fava beans, leek from the garden, a little melted fat. That's what keeps a man standing from morning to evening, whether he carries the francisca or the hoe. Eat it hot — a king's friendship is worth no more than the full belly of his humblest man.
- •Spelt grains — two handfuls (base cereal)
- •Hulled barley — one handful (cereal, binder)
- •Fava beans — one handful (filling legume)
- •Leeks and onions — a few (vegetables)
- •Pork fat or oil — a drizzle (richness, binder)
- •Herbs (lovage, parsley, savory), salt — to taste (flavor)
Spelt and Barley Porridge with Garden Vegetables
A thick porridge of spelt and barley, long-simmered, enriched with fava beans, leeks, and garden herbs, bound with a drizzle of fat. A humble, filling food that opened the day at every table.
Why this dish? Before being the roast king of banquets, Clovis daily fed a court and household. The cereal porridge — the puls inherited from the Romans — was the daily staple, from servant to king, eaten at dawn to sustain until the grand evening meal.
You think a king eats only the golden beast? At daybreak, before mounting my horse, I take the same porridge as my men: spelt and barley long burst in the cauldron, fava beans, leek from the garden, a little melted fat. That's what keeps a man standing from morning to evening, whether he carries the francisca or the hoe. Eat it hot — a king's friendship is worth no more than the full belly of his humblest man.
Ingredients (period version)
- Spelt grains — two handfuls (base cereal)
- Hulled barley — one handful (cereal, binder)
- Fava beans — one handful (filling legume)
- Leeks and onions — a few (vegetables)
- Pork fat or oil — a drizzle (richness, binder)
- Herbs (lovage, parsley, savory), salt — to taste (flavor)
Ingredients
- Spelt grains — 150 g (base cereal)
- Pearl barley — 80 g (cereal, binder)
- Shelled fava beans (fresh or dried, soaked) — 120 g (legume)
- Leeks — 2 (vegetable)
- Onion — 1 (aromatic)
- Lard or olive oil — 1 tbsp (fat binder)
- Lovage or parsley + savory — 1 small bunch (herbs)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Soak the spelt, barley, and dried fava beans for several hours (or overnight).
- Sweat the chopped onion and leeks in fat at the bottom of a pot.
- Add the drained cereals and fava beans, cover generously with water, and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer on low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring and adding water as needed, until a thick, creamy porridge forms.
- Season with salt, stir in the chopped herbs at the end, and serve very hot in bowls.
How it was made : The puls, a cereal porridge, was the staple food of the Roman world and then the early Middle Ages — long before bread became universal. Spelt and barley dominated where wheat was scarce or reserved. It was enriched according to rank: herbs and fava beans for commoners, fat, meat, or eggs for the wealthier. It is the direct ancestor of porridges and polentas (without maize before 1492).
The contemporary twist : Serve it as a warm bowl, sprinkled with puffed spelt grains and a drizzle of herb oil: the Merovingian porridge becomes a comforting breakfast dish.
Sources : Massimo Montanari, La faim et l'abondance · Apicius, De re coquinaria (recipes for pultes, Roman heritage)
Clovis · Charactorium