Ius in Ovifero Fervens (Hot Sauce for Wild Sheep) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic sauce of spices, thyme and mint in a wine, damson plum, honey, wine, stock, vinegar and passum base that's served hot over roast mutton. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Sauce for Roebuck, Another Way (Hot Sauce for Wild Sheep).
Ius in Ovifero Fervens: piper, ligusticum, cuminum, mentam siccam, thymum, silfi, suffundes vino, adicies damascena macerata, mel, vinum, liquamen, acetum, passum ad colorem, oleum. agitabis fasciculo origani et mentae siccae.
Translation
Hot Sauce for Wild Sheep: [Mix] pepper, lovage, cumin, dried mint, thyme and silphium. Pour over wine, add damsons soaked [in wine], honey, wine, stock, vinegar, passum to colour and oil. Stir with a faggot of oregano and dried mint.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1 roast joint of mutton
For the Sauce:
1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 tsp lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp dried mint, crumbled
1/4 tsp thyme
pinch of asafoetida
60ml red wine
3 tbsp damson plums, chopped
2 tbsp honey
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
200ml mutton or beef stock
60ml passum
2 tbsp olive oil
bunch of oregano and mint, tied together, to stir
Method:
Combine the black pepper, lovage and cumin seeds in a mortar. Pound to grind them add the mint, thyme, asafoetida and plums. Pound to a paste then work in the honey, red wine, vinegar, passum and olive oil.
Scrape into a pan and whisk in the meat stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes, or until thickened (during this time stir with a bunch of oregano and mint, tied together).
When the mutton is done, arrange on a serving dish, pour over the herb sauce and bring to the table.
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