In Dentice Elixo (Sauce for Poached Bream) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic sauce of pepper, aniseed, cumin, thyme, mint and rue in a honey, vinegar, stock and olive oil base that's thickened with cornflour and which is served with poached bream. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Sauce for Poached Bream (In Dentice Elixo).
In dentice elixo: piper, anethum, cuminum, thymum, mentam, rutam viridem, mel, acetum, liquamen, vinum, oleum modice. calefacies et amulo obligabis.
Translation
Sauce for Poached Bream: [Combine] pepper, anise, cumin, thyme, mint, fresh rue, honey, vinegar, liquamen and a little olive oil. Simmer and thicken with starch.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
2 whole poached bream
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
pinch of aniseed
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp fresh mint, finely chopped
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp liquamen (fish sauce)
250ml fish stock
1 tsp cornflour mixed to a smooth slurry with 1 tbsp water (originally wheat starch, amulum, would have been used).
Method:
Combine the black pepper, aniseed, cumin seeds and tyme in a mortar. Pound to grind then add the mint and pound again until you have a paste. Mix in the honey, white wine vinegar, liquamen, olive oil and fish stock then turn into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook gently for bout 20 minutes, or until thickened. At this point stir in the cornflour slurry and cook for about 5 minutes more, or until thickened
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