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Rimska gostija
po receptih slavnega Apicija
Predjed
Sladica
Bučke (Gustum de cucurbitas)
Bučke skuhamo, jih ožmemo in zložimo v plitvo ponev. Zdrobimo
poper, kumino in malo rutice ter vse to zmešamo z garumom* in kisom.
Nato mešanico vlijemo na bučke, jih potresemo s poprom in ponudimo.
Sladica (Dulcia)
Spražimo pinjole in zdrobljene lešnike. Zmešamo jih s poprom, medom,
garumom*, mlekom, jajci ter malo vina in olja. Nato zmes kuhamo v plitvi
ponvi in postrežemo.
Glavna jed in priloge
Zraven svetujemo
Šunka v testu (Perna)
Šunko kuhamo s precej suhih fig in tremi listi lovorja. Odstranimo kožo,
v meso napravimo zareze v obliki križa in jih napolnimo z medom.
Zgnetemo testo iz moke in olja in vanj zavijemo šunko, kot da bi dobila
novo kožo. Pečemo jo v pečici, da je testo pečeno, in jo postrežemo.
Za ta recept je najbolje, da vzamemo peklano šunko. Če je za normalno
gospodinjstvo cela šunka prevelika, lahko vzamemo samo zgornji del ali
pa tudi le kračo. Na 1,5 kg mesa moramo računati 25 dag fig in še več, če
je šunka že prekajena. Za testo uporabimo 500 g moke in dodamo toliko
olja, da dobimo krhko testo, ki ga lahko tudi malo razvaljamo. Testena
lupina mora biti vsaj za prst debela. Čas pečenja: dobra ura pri srednji
temperaturi (pri vnaprej segreti pečici).
Začinjeno vino (Conditum paradoxum)
5 kg medu zamešamo z 1 litrom vina, najbolje v bakreni posodi. Kuhamo
tako dolgo, da vino povre. Med mešamo; če hoče kipeti, zmanjšamo ogenj in
dodamo še en liter vina. Kuhan med ohladimo in ga nato ponovno kuhamo.
To ponovimo dvakrat do trikrat, šele potem vzamemo to vinsko mešanico
z ognja, ji poberemo pene ter dodamo naslednje začimbe: 12 dag mletega
popra, 4 g mastike, za polno dlan lovorja, žafran, 5 praženih datljevih
koščic skupaj z datlji, ki jih moramo pred tem namočiti v dobrem vinu. Na
koncu prelijemo čez vse 10 l sladkega vina in dodamo še nekaj oglja, da
nevtraliziramo vonjave in grenkobo.
Lukanijeve klobasice (Lucanicae)
V možnarju stolčemo poper, kumino, šetraj, rutico, peteršilj, po okusu
še druge dišavnice in lovorjeve jagode. Začimbe zmešamo z drobno
sesekljano svinjino in vse še enkrat dobro pretolčemo v možnarju.
Dodamo še garum*, cela poprova zrna, precej masti in pinjole. S to
zmesjo napolnimo tanko črevo in oblikujemo dolge drobne klobasice, ki
jih damo še prekadit.
Bučke na aleksandrijski način (Cucurbitas more Alexandrino)
Skuhamo bučke, jih osušimo, posolimo in zložimo v ponev. V možnarju
stolčemo poper, kumino, koriandrovo seme, svežo meto, korenine
jelenovca, datlje, pinjole in garum*. Stolčemo in mešamo ter dodamo še
med, kis in olje. S to omako prelijemo bučke in jih še enkrat prevremo,
potresemo s poprom in ponudimo.
Sladki napoj (Mulsum)
Mulsum je napoj, ki so ga stari Rimljani oboževali pri predjedi. O tej pijači nam
poroča več antičnih piscev. Pri Columellu je to sladek vinski mošt, ki so ga
mešali s precej medu in ga nato fermentirali, pri Pliniju izvemo, da je mulsum
bolje pripraviti iz rezkega vina, ker se bolje meša z medom. Po tretji verziji pa
to pijačo pripravimo tako, da litru rezkega vina dodamo dve jedilni žlici medu.
Najbolje je, da to dobro zmešamo in stolčemo z metlico, da se med povsem
razpusti, potem pa vse skupaj ohladimo na ledu. Tako dobimo osvežujoč napoj.
*Kaj je garum?
Garum je ribja omaka. Raba različnih ribjih omak je najbolj znana posebnost rimske kuhinje. Izdelava teh omak je
bila dolgotrajna in njihova cena zelo visoka. Hranili so jih v amforah; najznamenitejša omaka iz posebne mešanice
rib je prihajala iz Španije.
Kakovost omake je bila odvisna od vrste rib in načina priprave. Mešanico narezanih rib so pustili na soncu in jo
potem zmleli, da je fermentirala. Iz tega so izločili preostalo tekočino, ki so jo imenovali garum. Zadostovalo je le
nekaj kapljic, da je jed dobila drugačen okus. Iz nekega Marcialovega epigrama iz 1. stoletja izvemo, da so imele
ribje omake neprijeten vonj.
Recept za hitro pripravo rimske ribje omake: Kuhamo slanico (sol in voda), ki mora biti tako gosta, da lahko
v njej plava surovo jajce. V slanici kuhamo male sardele ali sorodne ribe, dodamo origano in kuhamo, dokler se
tekočina ne pokuha. Takrat dodamo še prekuhan grozdni sok. Omako ohladimo in jo večkrat precedimo, dokler ne
dobimo popolnoma čiste goste tekočine.
Ker so Rimljani uporabljali ribjo omako namesto soli, lahko danes pri kuhanju jedi antičnega Rima garum
nadomestimo s soljo, pri čemer pa bo manjkal značilen priokus po ribah.
Prirejeno po: Ljudmila Plesničar Gec, Boris Kuhar, Hrana in kuha v antični Emoni, Ljubljana 1989.
Roman feast
using recipes from the famous Apicius
Appetiser
Dessert
Courgettes (Gustum de cucurbitas)
Boil some courgettes (a.k.a. zucchinis), drain the water and place in a
shallow pan. Grind up some pepper, cumin and a little herb of grace, and
mix with garum* and vinegar. Pour this onto the courgettes, sprinkle
with pepper and serve.
Dessert (Dulcia)
Sauté pine nuts and crushed hazelnuts. Mix with pepper, honey, garum*,
milk, two eggs and a little wine and oil. Then cook the mixture in a shallow
pan and serve.
Main course and side dishes
Ham in a pastry crust (Perna)
Cook the ham with plenty of dried figs and three bay leaves. Remove
the skin, cut cross-shaped slices into the meat and fill them with honey.
Knead dough made from flour and oil and roll the ham in it so that it is
completely wrapped in it. Bake in the oven until the dough is baked, and
serve.
Cooked ham works best for this recipe. If a whole ham is too much meat
for you, you can use just the upper portion or even a joint. Plan on using
25 dg of figs for every 1.5 kg of meat, or more if the ham is already lightly
smoked. For the dough, use 500g of flour and add sufficient oil to get a
crumbly dough that can also stand a little rolling. The dough shell must
be at least one finger thick. Baking time: an hour or more at medium
heat (in a pre-heated oven).
Lucanius sausages (Lucanicae)
Using a mortar and pestle, crush up some pepper, cumin, bean herb,
herb of grace, parsley and other aromatic plants and bay berries. Mix the
spices with finely chopped pork and mash well once again in the mortar.
Add garum* to this, whole pepper corns, plenty of fat and pine nuts.
Stuff this mixture into a fine skin and form long thin sausages, which are
then smoked.
Courgettes Alexandrian style (Cucurbitas more Alexandrino)
Boil some courgettes, dry them, salt them and place them in a pan.
Using a mortar and pestle, crush up some pepper, cumin, coriander
seed, fresh mint, reindeer moss root, dates, pine nuts and garum*. Crush
and mix, adding in honey, vinegar and oil. Pour this sauce over the
courgettes and boil once again, toss with pepper and serve.
Recommended accompaniment
Spiced wine (Conditum paradoxum)
Mix 5 kg of honey with 1 litre of wine. For best results, use a copper pot.
Cook until the wine comes to the boil. Mix in the honey and if it starts
boiling over reduce the heat and slowly add another litre of wine. Cool the
cooked honey and then boil it up again. Repeat this two or three times, and
only then remove this wine mixture from the heat, skim off the foam and
add the following spices: 12 dg of ground pepper, 4 g of mastic, a handful
of bay leaf, saffron, 5 sautéd unpitted dates, which should have been presoaked in good wine. Finally pour 10 litres of sweet wine over the whole mix
and add a little charcoal to neutralise the aroma and bitterness.
Sweet potion (Mulsum)
Mulsum was a potion-like beverage that the ancient Romans adored with their
appetisers. Several writers of Antiquity wrote about this drink. Columella reported
it as being a sweet wine must, which was mixed with plenty of honey and then
fermented, while from Pliny we learn that it is best to make mulsum from sharp
(sour) wine because it mixes better with honey. Another version says that the
drink is prepared by mixing two tablespoons of honey with a litre of sharp wine.
For best results, it should be mixed together with a whisk so the honey completely
disperses, then chilled with ice. This produces a refreshing beverage.
*What is garum?
Garum is a fish sauce. The use of various fish sauces is the best-known feature of Roman cuisine. It took a long
time to produce these sauces and they commanded very high prices. They were stored in amphoras; the most
famous sauce, from a special mixture of different fish, came from Spain.
The quality of the sauce depended on the type of fish and method of preparation. A mixture of sliced fish was
placed out in the sun, then ground up and left to ferment. The residual liquor, called garum, was extracted from
this. A few drops were sufficient to give dishes a different flavour. We learn from one of Martial’s epigrams from
the 1st century that fish sauces had an unpleasant odour.
Recipe for the quick preparation of a Roman fish sauce: bring salt water to the boil; the water must be salty
enough for a raw egg to float in it. In the salt water, cook small sardines or similar fish, add oregano and cook until
the liquid boils dry. Then add cooked grape juice. Let the sauce cool and strain it several times, until you get a
completely clear, thick liquid.
Since the Romans used fish sauce instead of salt, nowadays you could also replace garum with salt when cooking
ancient Roman dishes, but the characteristic fishy flavour would be missing.
After: Ljudmila Plesničar Gec, Boris Kuhar, Hrana in kuha v antični Emoni, Ljubljana 1989.