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Ius in Locusta et Cammari (Sauce for Lobster and Crayfish)

Ius in Locusta et Cammari (Sauce for Lobster and Crayfish) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic spiced onion, date, honey and vinegar sauce with defritum that's flavoured with mustard and served with lobster and crayfish. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Sauce for Lobster and Crayfish (Ius in Locusta et Cammari).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

25 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Sauce RecipesSpice RecipesAncient Roman Recipes



Original Recipe


Ius in Locusta et Cammari (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria) IX, i, 1


Ius in locusta et cammari: indura cepam pallachanam concisam... e ius, piper, ligusticum, careum, cuminum, caryotam, mel, acetum, vinum, liquamen, oleum, defritum. hoc ius adicito sinapi in elixuris.

Translation


Sauce for Lobster and Crayfish: Brown chopped pallichanian onions . . . sauce, pepper, lovage, caraway, cumin, a date, honey, vinegar, wine, liquamen, olive oil and defritum. Add mustard to the sauce while it is still boiling.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

2 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1 tsp lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
pinch of caraway seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
4 tbsp dates, finely chopped
1 tsp honey
1 tsp white wine vinegar
120ml white wine
200ml fish or shellfish stock (make from the shells of the lobster, crab or crayfish)
1 tbsp olive oil
80ml defritum
pinch of mustard seeds, ground

Method:

Heat the 1 tbsp in a pan. Add the shallots and fry for about 5 minutes, or until soft and translucent. Grind together the black pepper, lovage (or celery) seeds, caraway seeds and cumin in a mortar. Mix the spices with the fried shallots then blend in the honey, dates, vinegar, white wine, stock, olive oil and defritum.

Bring the mixture to a boil then whisk in the mustard. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes more, or until thickened. Serve hot over lobster meat, crab meat or crayfish tails.

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.