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Patina ex Lagitis et Cerebellis (A Dish of Salt Lizard-fish and Brains)
Patina ex Lagitis et Cerebellis (A Dish of <Salt> Lizard-fish and Brains) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic dish of cooked salt fish, brains, and chicken giblets cooked in a passum, stock, black pepper, rue and lovage stock thickened with starch. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: A Dish of <Salt> Lizard-fish and Brains (Patina ex Lagitis et Cerebellis).
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
35 minutes
Total Time:
55 minutes
Serves:
4
Rating: 
Tags : Sauce RecipesChicken RecipesAncient Roman Recipes
Original Recipe
Patina ex lagitis et cerebellis: friges ova dura cerebella elixas et enervas, gizeria pullorum coques. haec omnia divides praeter piscem, compones in patina praemixta, salsum coctum in medio pones. teres piper, ligusticum, suffundes passum ut dulcis sit. piperatum mittes in patinam, facies ut ferveat. cum ferbuerit, ramo rutae agitabis et amulo obligabis.
Translation
A Dish of <Salt> Lizard-fish and Brains: Fry eggs until hard, boil the brains and remove the membranes, and cook chicken giblets. Chop all the ingredients up, except the fish, and mix together. Arrange in a shallow pan and place the cooked salt fish in the centre. Pound pepper and lovage, and pour over passum to sweeten. Add this pepper sauce to the pan and boil. When boiling stir with a sprig of rue, and thicken with starch.
Modern Redaction
Lizard fish is a Mediterranean fish that, in Roman times, was caught, salted and transported to Rome. It's not commonly eaten, much less salted to preserve, these days, so this exact ingredient can no longer readily be found. I would suggest substituting stockfish or any good salted fish.
Ingredients:
225g salt fish (eg
cod, tuna or sturgeon) — (for preparing your own, see the recipe on
how to prepare saltfish/stockfish)
4 hard-boiled eggs
200g calf's brains (or tinned corned beef)
200g cooked chicken giblets
For the Sauce:
1/4 tsp freshly-ground
black pepper
1/4 tsp
lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
120ml
passum
120ml chicken or veal stock
pinch of
rue (or rosemary)
1 tsp cornflour, to thicken, (wheat starch would have been used in Roman times)
Method:
Add the salt fish to a large bowl of water and set aside to soak over night. The following day, chop the eggs, brains (or corned beef) and the chicken giblets then combine in a pan. Drain the fish and set in the centre of the mixture.
In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Pound together the pepper and lovage (or celery) seeds in a mortar then mix with the passum, stock and rue (or rosemary). Pour over the meat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook gently, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the fish is tender. If desired, use the cornflour to thicken the sauce then 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.
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