Mulsum and antipasto service
Mulsum: Lightly Honeyed Wine
Add 3 - 4 Tablespoons of honey to each bottle of dry wine. Stir to blend and refrigerate for at least 3 days. Warming the honey before adding it to the wine helps it to blend. Although I have no idea how this practice traveled, it resembles an old Scandinavian trick my family used to sweeten overly dry wine. Decant and serve the wine from a pitcher. With care choosing, you don’t need to sully a truly fine wine this way, because Roman wine was probably not that ‘refined’. I have no idea whether or not Romans used blush wines, but they did add water and juices to their wines, so the effect was probably the same.
Medium to Hard-boiled Eggs with Caper-Pine nut Sauce (adapted from Apicius)
8 medium to hard-boiled eggs (cook 8 in view of possible accidents)
½ cup pine nuts soaked in 4 Tablespoons wine vinegar 4-6 hours & drained
½ cup dry white wine
2 Tablespoons finely chopped celery leaves or lovage
1 ½ teaspoons honey
1 medium size anchovy mashed (more if you like them)
Season, but careful with salt. A dash of white pepper if needed.
Soak the pine nuts in vinegar as noted. Cook the eggs until almost hard-boiled over a medium flame. Peel and let cool. For the sauce, process all the other ingredients (except the eggs) in a blender.
Serve the eggs halved lengthwise with the sauce topping on the eggs, or on the side for dipping at room temperature. If preferred, process the yolks too and fill the white halves with the yolks mixed with the sauce.
Hearts of Artichoke with Lentil Stuffing
12 large canned artichoke bottoms, rinsed. Cook your own if large enough
½ cup cooked lentils (little more if needed) prepare using package guidelines.
¼ cup white onion, finely minced
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon wine vinegar
1 teaspoon garum sauce - your choice as to which adaptation
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon crushed dried mint
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon coriander seeds
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350. Use a good brand of prepared large artichoke bottoms, rinse them, or make your own. Except for the olive oil, mix the remaining ingredients well, and partly crush the lentils to help meld the flavors. Do this step by hand or fork, but not in a blender.
Fill the artichoke bottoms to heaping, and dribble a few drops of olive oil over them. Heat these for about 6 minutes in the oven to blend the flavors. They can be served hot, warm or at room temperature. Toasted pita bread wedges make a good side dish.
Onion Chicken Appetizer
7 chicken thighs, skinned and dusted with flour
2 small to medium white onions, sliced thinly
½ cup dry white wine (or dry red wine if desired)
¼ cup chopped celery leaves (a few small stem pieces too. Use lovage if available)
½ cup chopped Greek style olives
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons dry vermouth
2 Tablespoons garum alternative of your choice
2 teaspoons cornstarch (moistened with a bit of water)
½ teaspoon cumin (or asafetida from Middle-eastern or Indian markets)
salt and pepper to taste on the chicken.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over a moderate to slightly higher sizzle. Brown the chicken thighs all over, remove and reserve. Lower the heat and sauté the onions until softened/transparent. Add the celery leaves near the end and stir. Set aside.
Mix together the vermouth, garum, white wine, olives and spices and add to the skillet. Season the chicken thighs lightly and return to the skillet. Stir well, semi-cover and simmer slowly until done. Remove the chicken. Add moistened cornstarch little by little, whisking until the sauce thickens a little. Reheat the chicken if needed and serve on small plates.
Pear Patina
‘Patinas’ are dishes which include eggs. They remain Mediterranean favorites to this day (cf. with Dalby & Grainger, p.125). In Roman times, patinas were often served as starters.
2 pounds firm ripe (not overripe) pears (Bosc or Bartlett are fine)
1 cup sweet dessert wine, or juice of choice
½ cup water
½ cup finely chopped almonds
2 Tablespoons honey
5 large eggs or 6 medium
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons wine or apple vinegar
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and white pepper to taste if necessary
Peel, core and coarsely chop the pears. Cook pears in the wine and water until softened, turning them often. Purée the pears with their juice and reserve.
Preheat oven to 375. Whisk the eggs until light and lemony in color and add cumin, nuts, honey, vinegar, salt and pepper.
Fold this mixture into the puréed pears. Pour this patina into an oiled casserole and bake for about 25 minutes or until it sets. Serve hot or warm.
Mensa Prima
Duck with Prune Sauce
1 large duck (5 or more lbs.) cut into serving pieces
1½ cups of pitted prunes
3 large turnips (more if small), cubed and cooked in water only until crisp
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
1 cup slightly sweetened wine (or add a dash of honey to a dry wine)
2 Tablespoons chopped celery leaves, or 1 Tablespoon celery seeds, or the same amount of fresh chopped lovage if available)
2 Tablespoons mild vinegar of your choice (I like apple or rice vinegar)
1 Tablespoon garum
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste, and a little melted butter for the turnips
Prepare the turnips first and set them aside, once cubed and lightly cooked.
Heat olive oil in a deep skillet or casserole and brown duck parts on all sides. Add remaining ingredients except the prunes and turnips. Cover and cook slowly for 30 minutes, turning the duck pieces occasionally.
Add the prunes, cover and cook for another 45 minutes until the duck is done. Use a meat thermometer to check, since duck joints may not move easily.
Remove the duck, skim the sauce of most fat, and adjust the seasonings (neither too sour nor too sweet). Thicken the sauce with a bit of moistened cornstarch or breadcrumbs if needed. Add the duck parts, reheat and serve alongside the hot, lightly seasoned turnips, or a similar crisp root vegetable