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Patinam ex Lacte (Milk Casserole)
Patinam ex Lacte (Milk Casserole) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic layered dish of greens, vegetables, seafood and meat cooked in an egg custard flavoured with pepper, lovage, celery and asafoetida. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Milk Casserole (Patinam ex Lacte).
prep time
30 minutes
cook time
70 minutes
Total Time:
100 minutes
Serves:
8
Rating: 
Tags : Pork RecipesBeef RecipesChicken RecipesFowl RecipesVegetable RecipesMilk RecipesCheese RecipesBean RecipesAncient Roman Recipes
Original Recipe
Patinam ex lacte: nucleos infundes et siccas. echinos recentes iam praeparatos habebis. accipies patinam, et in eam compones singula infra scripta. mediana malvarum et betarum et porros maturos, apios, holus molle et viridia elixa, pullum carptum ex iure coctum, cerebelIa elixa, lucanicas, ova dura per medium incisa. mittes longaones porcinos ex iure Terentino farsos, coctos, concisos, iecinera pullorum, pulpas piscis aselli fricti, urticas marinas, pulpas ostreorum, caseos recentes. alternis compones, nucleos et piper integrum asparges. ius tale perfundes: piper, ligusticum, apii semen, silfi. coques. at, ubi cocta fuerit, laetem colas,cui cruda ova commisces, ut unum corpus fiat, et super illa omnia perfundes. cum cocta fuerit, addes echinos recentiores, piper asparges et inferes.
Translation
Milk Casserole: Soak pine-nuts and let them dry. Have fresh, unprepared, sea-urchins to hand. Take a shallow dish, and layer in it the following ingredients: mallow leaves and beetroots, mature leeks, celery sticks, vegetable purée, freshly-boiled greens, pieces of chicken cooked in their won juices, boiled brains, Lucanian sausages, hard-boiled eggs cut in halves, pork sausages stuffed with Terentian sauce cooked and sliced, chicken livers, fillets of fried and pounded
hake, sea anemones, shucked oysters and fresh cheese. Arrange these ingredients in layers then scatter the pine nuts and peppercorns on top. Pour over a sauce made as follows: pepper, lovage, celery seed and silphium. [Blend together and] cook. When done, strain in milk to which you have mixed raw eggs [and stir] until smooth. Pour it over the dish then cook. When it has set, garnish with the fresh sea urchins, sprinkle season with pepper and serve.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
For the Casserole Layers:
50g
almonds or pine nuts
10 mallow leaves or grape leaves, lightly steamed
4 beetroot, boiled and sliced
150g leeks, sliced
100g celery, chopped
100g peas, puréed
225g cooked chicken, shredded
225g cooked calf's brains (or tinned corned beef), chopped
100g
Lucanian sausage, sliced
3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
100g pork sausage, sliced
120ml
Terentine sauce
90g cooked chicken livers, chopped
100g
hake or
cod fillets, poached
150g raw
oysters, chopped
80g sea anemones (optional)
120g cottage cheese
5
freshly-cooked sea urchins
For the Milk Sauce:
pinch of freshly-ground
black pepper
1/4 tsp
lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
1/4 tsp
celery seeds
1/2 tsp
asafoetida
2 eggs
250ml milk
Method:
Place the nuts in a bowl, cover with water and set aside to steep for 60 minutes. After this time drain them, mix with the black pepper and use this mix to season each layer of the casserole as they are added.
Take a flame-proof casserole dish and the steamed mallow or grape leaves to the base. Now layer in the beetroot, leeks, celery, pea purée, chicken, calf brains (or corned beef), Lucanian sausages, eggs, pork sausages (mixed with the Terentine sauce), chicken livers, cod fillets, oysters and sea anemones (if using). Be sure to sprinkle a little of the nut and pepper mix over each layer. Finish with the cottage cheese.
In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Pound the pepper, lovage seeds, celery seeds and asafoetida in a mortar and work in the milk. Beat the eggs in a bowl then whisk into the seasoned milk mixture.
Pour this sauce over the casserole then top with the sea urchins and cover securely with a lid. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for 60 minutes, or until the sauce has set and the vegetables and meats are cooked through. Serve immediately.
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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