King Richard II's chef recipe - let's go on a trip to the Middle Ages.

The year is 1390. Europe is decimated by a series of famines and pestilences, England and France are engaged in a hundred-year war, Christians have two popes. Twenty years ago, the Ming dynasty began to rule in China. In Bohemia reign Václav IV, son of Charles IV, last year the largest Jewish pogrom swept through Prague, and the construction of the Bethlehem Chapel is being prepared. The Charles Bridge in Prague has been under construction for 33 years and will be completed in another 12 years. Jan Hus will become a bachelor in three years, the inventor of the printing press Gutenberg will be born in seven years, and Leonardo da Vinci in 62 years. A few decades ago, the spinning wheel came to Europe, a tanners' guild was founded, and cotton began to be imported. Poulaine is worn as footwear, knights wear armor, noblewomen wear brocade, fillet and barbette with a silk veil, and commoners dress in broadcloth. At the market you can buy a knife for one groschen, an ax for three, and a cow costs forty groschen. All of America is still inhabited only by indigenous people, Christopher Columbus will land in 102 years. Europe will hear about tomatoes and potatoes even later, and at first both species will be cultivated as ornamentals. Similarly, corn only began to be cultivated in the 16th and 17th centuries. As cereals, water mannagrass, crab finger grass, foxtail millet and millet are grown and cooked into gruel in Europe. Spinach is slowly making its way into the gardens and recipes of the wealthiest elite, while the common people cook from wild orache and lamb's quarters.

At the court of King Richard II of England and his Queen Anne of Bohemia, daughter of Charles IV, his chef writes one of the first cookbooks, The Forme of Cury.

a cup (250 ml) of almond milk
2 tablespoons rice flour
quarter teaspoon ginger
a pinch of pepper
a pinch of galingale
2-3 dates
2-3 figs
handful of raisins
a pinch of saffron
large handful of sweet violet flowers (Viola odorata)

Original recipe Vyolette
Nym Almaunde Mylke, an flowre of Rys, and pouder Gyngere, Galyngale, Pepir, Datis, Fygys, and Rasonys y-corven, an coloure it with Safroun, an boyle it and make it chargeaunt; an whan thou dressyste, take the flowres, an hew hem, an styre it ther-with; nyme the braunchys with the flowres, an sette a-boue and serue it Forth.

Take almond milk and rice flour, and powdered ginger, galingale, pepper, dates, figs, and raisins cut and tinged with saffron, and boil and stew it. And when you serve it, take the flowers and cut them and stir them and cut the stems with the flowers and put them on it and serve.

Fragrant flowers are used to make syrup for flavoring sweet dishes, formerly used in perfumery. The leaves are edible, contain more than twice the daily requirement of vitamin C, and are now also used in perfumery. Young leaves and flowers we can add to salad. The flowers can be made into syrup and used to colour jelly, macarons, marshmallows. Or we can make jam, cupcakes, souffle, sorbet and other sweet dishes. Flowers thrown into vinegar will colour it beautifully, but the colour will fade gradually. In Europe, in the Middle Ages, it was traditional to colour porridge with violet flowers, and there are many different recipes. The older leaves can be used in vegetable dishes, to thicken soups and sauces.

Sweet violet is native to Europe, introduced to America, Australia (Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New South Wales, New York, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Québec, Rhode I., Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Victoria, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin) and other countries.