Sir Kenelm Digby (1603–65) did not consider his book The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened worth publication in his lifetime, and it was published ‘by his Son’s Consent’ four years after his death. His recipes make fascinating reading, and a few are worth reviving today.

His English pottage, which is really in our terms a fine stewed c