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Psoai (Pork in Piquant Sauce)

Psoai (Pork in Piquant Sauce) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe (based on a Greek original) for pork cooked in a spiced fig juice and white wine sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Psoai.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

90 minutes

Total Time:

110 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : Sauce RecipesPork RecipesAncient Roman Recipes

Original Recipe

Psoai (from the Heidelberg Papyrii)

This is a rare example of a Greek recipe found within the collection of mostly Coptic papyrus documents held at the University of Heidelberg (which is why they are known as the Heidelberg Papyrii). This recipe is included here as the red wine lends the sauce a plum colour that contrasts with the generally brown and green shades of most Roman cooking.

Translation

Loin and pieces of meat: mix together in sufficient quantity with salt, coriander and fig sap. Cook until it has thickened. Make a hot sauce in a pan: wine vinegar, one part of olive oil two parts of sweet wine, a pinch of salt. When it has boiled, add a handful of oregano, skim-off the froth and sprinkle on a handful of greens.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

1 kg pork
120ml olive oil
250ml white wine
juice of half a lemon
250g sweet white wine
5 dried figs
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp dried oregano
3 tsp white wine vinegar
handful of fresh parsley
pinch of peppercorns
sea salt to taste

Method:

Cut the pork into 2cm cubes and place them in a casserole dish. Fry these in a little olive oil until they have browned.

Add the spices to a mortar and grind with a pestle. Place this along with some salt and the lemon juice in a bowl and toss the fried pork in it.

Roughly chop the figs and place them in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes. Strain the fig juice into the casserole dish, discarding the solid pieces of fig. Add the pork and the remaining lemon juice to this.

Add the wine, vinegar and remaining olive oil to the casserole dish and place in an oven heated to 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4) for an hour and a half. When done ladle the pork into a bowl and sprinkle with finely-chopped parsley.