Another Roman Recipe To Delight All

[Andrew Dalby]

Which leads me to Galen's further suggestion for clearing the stomach : Sea Urchin with eggs , honey and pepper.This I have had in its Japanese guise.

 

And did it clear the stomach? Or don't we want to know?

 

I note that he has a further statement on cocks testes which I overlooked, namely that the very best quality are from aninals fattened on milk whey '(though he does not say which animals milk, camel for the wealthy bon vivant I suggest).

 

I now have a mental picture of wealthy bon vivant Roman cocks (Gallus gallinaceus) in their luxury farmyards demanding a daily half pint of camel's milk before adjourning to the henhouse. But what they didn't see was the surgeon's knife approaching ...

Edited July 1, 2006 by Andrew Dalby

[Gaius Octavius]

Which leads me to Galen's further suggestion for clearing the stomach : Sea Urchin with eggs , honey and pepper.This I have had in its Japanese guise.

 

And did it clear the stomach? Or don't we want to know?

 

I note that he has a further statement on cocks testes which I overlooked, namely that the very best quality are from aninals fattened on milk whey '(though he does not say which animals milk, camel for the wealthy bon vivant I suggest).

 

I now have a mental picture of wealthy bon vivant Roman cocks (Gallus gallinaceus) in their luxury farmyards demanding a daily half pint of camel's milk before adjourning to the henhouse. But what they didn't see was the surgeon's knife approaching ...

 

I can't wait for when His Most August Lordship tenders his recipe for pre- digested pizzels.

[Kosmo]

I ate once pig testicles, but I did not like them.

Fried brains are good! I love to see the looks of my wife when I eat them

[Gaius Octavius]

I ate once pig testicles, but I did not like them.

Fried brains are good! I love to see the looks of my wife when I eat them

 

Agreed! There are all too many of those around, i.e., fried Brains.

[Pertinax]

To diversify from man to horse here, (no GO this is not a recipe for "special sausage") , I was unaware of the original use (and later slang re-use) of the word farrago , Varro (De re rustica ) and Columella ( later ref same work) mention a mixed barley/vetch/legume fodder for cavalry mounts used for purging the beasts at the start of the campaigning season.Strangely barley , although universal as a cavalry feed-stuff is not ideal for horses, they tend to get short of wind and sweat a lot until thoroughly accustomed to it.Alfalfa (lucerne) from the Median plain would be amongst the best of feeds, hence the fame of the Nisaean horses.

Cereal is needed to "harden" beasts for campaign work and have a long wind, so I postulate that the use of Gallic mounted auxilliae is not just down to the excellence of Gallic horsemanship but the robust dietary regime of the mounts used.

 

ps: as far as my bon vivant cockerels go ( soon to suffer a cruel low blow as they preen and strut in the farmyard) my camel's milk suggestion is , because, this is the best whey available to Rome, and if I recall was mostly made into top quality cheese rather than consumed as liquid (AD?).Were I a Roman of means with the subsidised"Rustic Estate" to match my sophisticated Urban and Urbane lifestyle with percieved "Virtuos Rusticity" surely I would feed my little pigs and cockerels the best of foods? Ive mentioned previously that Mr Piggy would loose his "equipage" early on in life , his flesh being considered the more sweet and digestible for it.

Edited July 4, 2006 by Pertinax

[Pertinax]

Now then , I am moved to start a discourse on truffles in the Roman world (indeed also in the Hellenic world), because from that time until quite recently I fear this most splendid of fungii has suffered foolish neglect.

 

I note that the only real trouble the truffle has caused was the loss of licinius'( governor of Carthage) two front teeth when biting vigorously into a rather tough find.

 

First a suggested reading pleasure: Evergreen ie: Benedikt Taschen , publish a work called "The Joy of Truffles" (text Buchner, photos R and RM Scnell). A guilty pleasure , made up of a few notes and many wonderful photographs.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/-Joy-Truffles-Ever...8559626?ie=UTF8

 

As you will see from this work , the essence of truffle hunting is the resolution of a subterranean symbiotic sexual act, by the questing nose of a sow or female truffle hound-because of the close relationship between the ascomycetous fungiis musky testoserase odour and the male sex hormone testosterene.

[Pantagathus]

There is a particular culinary establishment here in Atlanta that has fried wild mushrooms, rolled in rosemary and drizzled in truffle oil... Needless to say, they are to die for.

 

The richness of truffles is one of the most amazing examples of Umami is it not?

Edited August 29, 2006 by Pantagathus

[Pertinax]

There is a particular culinary establishment here in Atlanta that has fried wild mushrooms, rolled in rosemary and drizzled in truffle oil... Needless to say, they are to die for.

 

The richness of truffles is one of the most amazing examples of Umami is it not?

 

A native variant ?

 

I note that Pliny (Elder) make descriptive note of our excellent culinary grail, but did Plutarch make mention of its creation by " thunder and lightning?" The Middle Ages of course saw contumely heaped upon the sacred fungus and called it a "monstrous creation of the Devil".

 

I hope AD can give us a roman recipe here or possibly a hint on usage in Rome or Greece.

[Pantagathus]

The richness of truffles is one of the most amazing examples of Umami is it not?

A native variant ?

Ack! Excuse my presumption, Umami is the Japanese word for the 'seventh' taste... i.e. savory from the taste of glutamates found in meats & protein rich foods. My favorite taste BTW.

[Gaius Octavius]

Are the truffles from Italy white?

 

Mushrooms fried in extra virgin olive oil are always a treat even ex the truffle oil.

[Pertinax]

Are the truffles from Italy white?

 

Mushrooms fried in extra virgin olive oil are always a treat even ex the truffle oil.

 

The white (Tuber magnatum pico) is perhaps the most valued, but in Umbria ( where it is deemed to be paramount) I believe the number of species is in the seventies, with considerable colour variation.

 

I quote " [the] white truffle is even rarer and more valued. The production area is the Tevere Valley, the regions of Gubbio, Gualdo and Orvieto".

 

The rule as per quality is in direct opposition to the quality of the wine from the same year.

 

I have scanned AD's "Empire of Pleasures" for a reference to trade , alas in vain, perhaps the fount of gustatory knowledge will appear in persona and assuage our thirst for knowledge. If however Roman truffle hunters were as coy as their modern bretheren we may wait in vain,,,

[Andrew Dalby]

I note that the only real trouble the truffle has caused was the loss of licinius'( governor of Carthage) two front teeth when biting vigorously into a rather tough find.

I think there was a denarius in it, wasn't there?

The essence of truffle hunting is the resolution of a subterranean symbiotic sexual act, by the questing nose of a sow or female truffle hound-because of the close relationship between the ascomycetous fungiis musky testoserase odour and the male sex hormone testosterene.

I wondered why the sows and truffle-bitches (is that the term?) were so interested. So it all comes back to sex (subterranean symbiotic sex, as Pertinax pertinently puts it). I might have known.

 

I've never done much on truffles, I must admit. I'll look into it ...

[Gaius Octavius]

It is my understanding that if one trespasses on a trufflers turf, he is bound to go home a little heavier with a quantity of buck shot in his rear.

[Pertinax]

Just to clarify the sexual shennanigans here, the actual fungus is a subterranean network of hyphae , that can be many yards wide in all directions.The hyphae are the mycelium, when hyphae of different branches meet the resultant node is the tuber in question.There is a symbiotic relationship tween tree roots( of defined types) and the filaments. The truffle supplies nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and other trace elements-it receives carbohydrates in return. Maple , birch, lime , elm but most of all it is oak that is the dining and sexual partner of choice.

 

You may have seen something similar with Merulys lacrymans (dry rot) the mycelium look like film set cobwebs in dank rotting timber.

 

I hope we do not veer off time frame here, excellent as the conversation is...

[Gaius Octavius]

FETTUCCINE WITH WHITE TRUFFLES

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 cup whipping cream

1 white truffle

2 ounces Italian fontina cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 pound fettuccine, preferably fresh, cooked in lightly salted water

 

1. Boil water for pasta. The sauce will take about 5 minutes to make, so time pasta accordingly.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until soft and translucent. Pour in cream, turn heat to high, and reduce cream by half.

3. While sauce is reducing, use a vegetable peeler or truffle slicer to shave off enough tiny slices of truffle to make about 1 tablespoon.

4. When cream begins to thicken, add cheese and stir until it is melted. Season sauce to taste, turn down heat, and keep it at a simmer until pasta is ready.

5. Drain pasta thoroughly. Add truffle shavings to sauce, then immediately toss pasta in sauce. Serve immediately on warm plates with a little freshly ground pepper.

Serves 3 or 4 as a main dish, 6 as a first course.

 

 

Plagarized from: Cooking A to Z; California Culinary Academy; Jane Horn, Editor.