Moray Eel

[Pertinax]

Well I said I would search out a crab recipe but alas other shelfish are named but not the humble crab.

However I did find an interesting recipe for Moray Eel...

A "Piscina" in Roman times was a fishpond not a swimming pool -you would not bathe in a piscina because some ponds contained the ferocious moray eel. Faas tells us that Gaius Hirrius was the first to develop special Moray piscina,supplying 6000 eels for Julius Caesar's triumphal banqets : he gave then for free expecting nothing in return (ironic modern smirk here ) The orator Hortensius had a pond containing an animal he so loved that it is said he wept when it passed away. Antonia the wife of Drusus had a favourite Moray which was bedecked with ear-rings,the creature being very famous and drawing large crowds to view it (hmm..sounds like Big Brother TV). It was said that the Moray wasa most delicious if it had been fed upon human flesh, though Pollo who claimed this ate only the liver of the animal.

 

and the recipe (once youve taken the jewellery off)...

Clean and remove fins as you would with other fish but leave the head.Skin the animal from the rear of the head.Attach body to spit in a zigg zagg,barbecue.

the sauce: 2 prunes ,4 glasses red wine , 1tbsp garum (fish relish-like anchovy paste but stronger), a dash of mulusum( honeied wine) 1tbsp defractum(must syrup-a bad source of lead poisoning from its preparation in lead pans)1 tsp peppercorns and an onion.--blend all ingridients after soaking prunes for 24 hours , heat over a slow light ,reduce to a viscous paste , glaze the barbecuing fish. Your scissor slave will carve the beast for your guests ( note for Barbarians-small child slaves will clamber over your legs to give you your food ,do not kick them if they spill things: they are generally more nimble than adults but not as well co-ordinated)

Eh le voila!

You can still get Moray in Napoli.

recipe courtesy Patrick Faas.(2003).

[Favonius Cornelius]

Can we assume that you will try your recpie and let us know how the eel tastes?

[longbow]

Does Moray eel taist nice? its a viscous looking bugger i wouldnt fancy fishing for them.

[Pertinax]

I firmly intend to try some of the Roman recipes- I thinkthe critical problem with them may be that they are very strongly flavoured ,the amount of pepper mentioned in most of the recipes is fearsome never mind the "garum" for which I do have a sub-recipe.

Ordinary eel is flavoursome if you get a a quality fish ,though it can taste a bit muddy otherwise, Moray is heavier and fleshier somewhat like eel crossed with hake.

[FLavius Valerius Constantinus]

Uh, is this from a recipe book?

[Pertinax]

Yes the second part of "around the Roman Table" is full of authentic recipes

 

Garum is highly salted fish sauce related to soy sauce ,the Romans had garum factories and they did not smell good.A type of garum called collata is still eaten in Italy today, being a by product of the Amalfitani anchovy processing industry.If youve ben fortunate enough to visit Napoli and Pompei you may have wandered a little further south to Capri or Positano, the sea is alive with the tiny silver anchovies if you sit and look into the harbour water.

 

"The best Garum called haimation is made as follows :take the innards of a tuna, with the gills, the juice and blood and scatter with salt.Place everything in a ( clay)vessel. Seal it. After about two months pierce the vessel-what flows out is the best garum" (geoponcia XX, 46).

[Pertinax]

http://www.pompeisepolta.com/english/garum.htm

 

this links shows the ubiquitos amphora -though in this case a 2000 year old sealed one containing garum in a smal shop in pompei which has been analysed as to its contents. The author does not say if the garum was particulary tastey.

[Pertinax]

Another important tip for all you Barbarians on the make in Rome. Please do not refer to the lack of heads decorating your host's dining room that sort of thing is just not on, tasteful pictures are the appropriate thing.If you drop foodon the floor do not pick it up as you would do at home ,it belongs to the underworld and you will offend the spirits by eating things off the floor.Most importantly do not ask for a drink of milk this will reveal what a socially inept gallic twerp you are eating such gross peasant junk.

[Favonius Cornelius]

Heh.

[Pertinax]

My Birthday approaches, the revels will be protracted because of my great age-for those of you who wish to know if I eat as a write then behold the contents of the Repositorium that was prepared for me last night:-

 

young octopii sliced and marinaded in a chilli oil

smoked ostrich meat (amongst the rarest of Roman delicacies)

stuffed vine leaves

assorted olives

smoked guinea fowl

chorizo sausage

aioli ( actually the breakfast of the poor and slaves)

sheeps cheese

pecan nuts in honey

 

to drink : a claret , champagne cocktails (mixed with polish bison grass vodka).

 

Nero would I hope have enjoyed this selection.

[Hamilcar Barca]

Another important tip for all you Barbarians on the make in Rome. Please do not refer to the lack of heads decorating your host's dining room that sort of thing is just not on, tasteful pictures are the appropriate thing.If you drop foodon the floor do not pick it up as you would do at home ,it belongs to the underworld and you will offend the spirits by eating things off the floor.Most importantly do not ask for a drink of milk this will reveal what a socially inept gallic twerp you are eating such gross peasant junk.

 

I derived amusement from this

[Pantagathus]

Yeah Pertinax,

 

The Romans loved their Congers!

 

I believe the most sought after ones were imported from Iberia.

[Pertinax]

More tips for visiting Gauls and Goths coming soon!

 

Cultivating Eels became a sort of statement of a playboy lifestyle- to get saltwater to fish pens was horribly expensive and took a great deal of man hours . The origin of any of the prestigious animals/fish used for food (even if tasting insipid or downright bad) ws conditioned by two factors-actual quality and expensive rareness/strangeness. The Black Sea ,Sardinia and Spain were the main sources of seafish and mammals( dolphin/seal). Any marine fish were expensive in Rome as the Romans had quite an aversion to fishing the med especially in winter.

Plutarch says "fish is costly. Cato hit the nail on the head when ,in his battle against luxury and excess in Rome,he said that a fish costs more than a cow. And the asking price for a barrrel of smoked fish would not buy a hundred sheep or the meat of an ox" -so a serious luxury good even if we discount hyperbole.

Conger was unusal as it was offered to the Gods unlike most other fish,particularly very large animals.

Electric eel tasted lousy but was sought after because of its weirdness!