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Minutal Apicianum (Ragout à la Apicius)

Minutal Apicianum (Ragout à la Apicius) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic dish of fish, meatballs and meats cooked in olive oil, liquamen and wine with leeks that is finished with a honey, wine and stock sauce flavoured with pepper, lovage and coriander. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Ragout à la Apicius (Minutal Apicianum).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

75 minutes

Total Time:

95 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Pork RecipesChicken RecipesVegetable RecipesAncient Roman Recipes


Original Recipe


Minutal Apicianum (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria) IV, iii, 4


Minutal Apicianum: oleum, liquamen, vinum, porrum capitatum, mentam, pisciculos, isiciola minuta, testiculos caponum, glandulas porcellinas. haec omnia in se coquantur. teres piper, ligusticum, coriandrum viridem vel semen. suffundis liquamen, adicies mellis modicum et ius de suo sibi, vino et melle temperabis. facies ut ferveat. cum ferbuerit, tractam confringes, obligas, coagitas. piper aspargis et inferes.

Translation


Ragout à la Apicius: [Take] olive oil, liquamen, wine, leeks (heads and all), mint, small fish, tiny meatballs, testicles of capons and the sweetbreads of suckling pigs. Cook all these together. Pound pepper, lovage, fresh coriander or coriander seed. Moisten with liquamen, add a little honey and wine. Heat the sauce and crumble pastry into it to bind. Stir vigorously. Season with pepper and serve.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

225g fresh small fish (sardines, anchovies, whitebait etc)
120g small minced pork dumplings
100g cooked chicken livers, diced
2 sweetbreads (thymus glands), cooked and chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
250ml meat stock
120ml white wine
4 leeks, chopped
1 tsp mint, finely chopped

For the Sauce:
1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 tsp lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp liquamen or Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp honey
120ml white wine
2 tbsp pastry crumbs

Method:

Combine the fish, dumplings, chicken livers, sweetbreads, olive oil, stock, wine, leeks and mint in a casserole dish. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for 60 minutes, adding stock as needed.

In the meantime prepare the sauce. Pound together the black pepper, coriander seeds and lovage (or celery) seeds in a mortar then work in the liquamen, honey and white and wine. Pour into a pan and bring to a simmer then stir in the pastry crumbs to thicken. Pour over the ragout in the casserole, cook for 10 minutes further 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.