1650—Tourte de Poussins à la Paysanne

Prepare a round layer of short paste, ten inches in diameter. Upon this paste spread two-thirds lb. of sausage-meat, combined with five oz. of dry Duxelles, taking care to leave a margin two inches wide of bare paste all round.

Upon this coating of forcemeat set ten half-chicks, stiffened in butter; sprinkle two-thirds lb. of chopped mushrooms, sautéd in butter, over them; spread a second coating of sausage-meat and Duxelles over the whole; cover with a very thin slice of bacon, and close the whole with a layer of paste a little larger than the underlying one, the edges of which should have been moistened. Seal the two edges, and pleat regularly; gild; streak; make a slit in the top, and bake in a moderate oven for about forty minutes.

When taking the tourte out of the oven, pour into it, through the slit in its cover, a few tablespoonfuls of half-glaze sauce.