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CULINARY ARTICLES AND RECIPES
Ancient Roman Recipes
Crane or Duck in Spiced Gravy - Gruem vel anatem
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Crane or Duck in Spiced Gravy
Wash the fowl and dress it nicely put in a stew pot.
Add water, salt and dill. Parboil so as to have them half done, until the meat is hard. Remove them, put them in a sauce pan to be finished by braising with oil, broth, a bunch of origany (See note for origany) and coriander. When nearly done, add a little reduced must, to give it color. Meanwhile crush pepper, lovage, (See note for lovage) cumin, coriander, laser root, (See note for laser root) rue (See note for rue) moistened with reduced wine and some honey. Add some of the fowl broth to it and vinegar to taste. Empty the sauce into a sauce pan, heat, bind with roux, and strain the sauce over the fowl in an entrée dish. Origany
Origany is a wild type of marjoram. Marjoram can be used as a substitute for origany.
Lovage
Lovage is a plant, the leaves and seeds or fruit of which are used to flavor food,
especially in South European cuisine. It is a tall (3 to 9 ft) perennial that vaguely
resembles its cousin celery in appearance and in flavor. Celery leaves can be used as
a substitute for lovage.
Silphium
Also known as silphion or laser root was a plant of the genus Ferula.
Generally considered to be an extinct "giant fennel". It became extinct by the end of the 1st century A.D.
It had a very strong taste and smell and was used as an onion and
garlic substitute. A modern substitute for silphion is asafoetida.
Laser Root
Same as Silphium.
Asafoetida
Asafoetida is a strong smelling spice and should be used sparingly. Its predecessor was silphium.
Asafoetida was used as substitute for silphium when Alexander the Great invaded Asia.
His soldiers discovered a plant that was almost identical with silphium when they were crossing
the northeastern provinces of the Persian Empire. Cooks that are interested in recreating ancient
Roman recipes today use asafoetida when silphium is called for.
Rue
Rue is a genus of strongly scented evergreen subshrubs 20-60 cm tall,
in the family Rutaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, Macaronesia and southwest Asia.
It was used extensively in Middle Eastern cuisine in olden days, as well as in many ancient
Roman recipes (according to Apicius), but because it is very bitter, it is usually not suitable
for most modern tastes. However, it is still used in certain parts of the world, particularly
in northern Africa. Try arrugula or radish leaf as a substitute for rue.
Gruem vel anatem (Latin Version)
Gruem vel anatem lavas et ornas et includis in olla. adicies aquam, salem, anethum,
dimidia coctura decoques, dum obduretur, levas et iterum in caccabum mittis cum oleo
et liquamine, cum fasciculo origani et coriandri. prope cocturam defritum modice mittis,
ut coloret. teres piper, ligusticum, cuminum, coriandrum, laseris radicem, rutam, caroenum,
mel, suffundis ius de suo sibi, aceto temperas. in caccabo reexinanies ut calefiat, amulo
obligabis. imponis in lance et ius perfundis.
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