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Hydrogarata Isicia sic Facies (Boiled Forcemeat with Fish-sauce)

Hydrogarata Isicia sic Facies (Boiled Forcemeat with Fish-sauce) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic dish of forcemeat balls cooked in a herbed mix of water and fish sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Forcemeat with Fish-sauce and Water (Hydrogarata Isicia sic Facies).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

50 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : Spice RecipesFowl RecipesAncient Roman Recipes

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Original Recipe

Hydrogarata Isicia sic Facies (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria) II, ii, 2

Hydrogarata isicia sic facies: teres piper, ligusticum, pyrethrum minimum, suffundes liquamen. temperas aquam cisterninam, dum inducet, exinanies in caccabo, et tum isicia ad vaporem ignis pones, ut caleat, et sic sorbendum inferes.

Translation

Boiled Forcemeat with Fish-sauce: Grind pepper, lovage and a very little feverfew [in a mortar] and work in sufficient liquamen. Take cistern water and empty into a pan. Add the forcemeats and place the pan on the fire to cook. Serve in a dish and eat as is.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

350g forcemeat balls (eg fowl forcemeat made by the pheasant forcemeat recipe; squid meatballs; liver meatballs or Mussel Forcemeat recipes)
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 tsp lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
pinch of chamomile (or feverfew)
6 tbsp liquamen
300ml water

Method:

Pound the pepper, lovage (or celery) seeds and chamomile (or feverfew) in a mortar. Work in the fish sauce until smooth then add enough water to wash out the mortar. Turn into a pan and mix in the remaining water.

Make any of the forcemeats above and shape into balls. Bring the flavoured water to a boil, add the forcemeats then return to a simmer. Cover the pan and poach the meatballs gently for about 30 minutes, or until the pan is almost dry. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve.

Find more recipes from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria along with information on Apicius and his cookbook, all part of this site's Ancient Roman recipes collection.