SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #2409

[ChannonM at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/26/00 8:24:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
owner-sca-cooks at ansteorra.org writes:

> excerpt from a fictional account of young cleopatra, Cleopatra VII,
>  Daughter of the Nile  Egypt 57 B.C.
>  " The cook put ground meat onto a plate.  Several small bowls on a
>  sideboard held salt and other spices.  He pinched some of each, then
>  added a fistful of pine nuts to the meat, mixing it together with his
>  hands.  Then he patted the meat into two flat disks, each the size of his
>  palm.
>  "from a jar he poured olive oil into a pan that was heating on the coals.
>   The oil spit when he dropped in the meat, then began sizzling.... I
>  asked what our meal was called.  It had tasted so good.  'The usual', she
>  said, 'fried dormouse.' "
>  question 1--- did they actually have an equivelent to hamburgers?!  or is
>  this just writer's license?

Actually this is very similar to "iscia" type recipes of the Roman food. Here 
is my redaction for 
Isicia Amulato ab Aheno/Rissoles with a Thick Sauce in a Metal Casserole
The recipe I chose to adapt does not designate which type of meat to use so I 
decided to use beef. Beef was not a common meat as it was a work animal and 
was rarely found to be other than a tough meat.  However, beef is mentioned 
in one recipe  and veal in three more in  Book V Bubula Sive Vitellina/Beef 
or Veal,  of the Apicius manuscript (Flower and Rosenbaum).
Original Recipe
Book II Section II-7Isicia Amulata ab Aheno sic facies/Rissoles with a thick 
sauce in a metal casserole.
Make as follows;Pound  pepper, lovage, origan, a little silphium, a pinch of 
ginger and a little honey blend with liquamen, mix. Pour over the rissoles, 
bring to boil. When boiling fast thicken cornflour*and serve. The dish should 
be sipped.
* Flower & Rosenbaum,  have substituted cornflour as the thickener of choice 
in this recipe. Although I agree with their substitution, the period 
thickener was amulum, a wheat  or rye starch as corn was not available to the 
Roman table. 
The original recipe calls for the spices to be cooked in the broth  and the 
meatballs to be added. I have chosen to combine the spices, herbs and meat,  
form into meatballs and cook in the liquid ingredients. This choice was one 
to facilitate a successful feast dish  for 100, however the choice is up to 
the cook and I have used the method of the original recipe as well.
Redacted Recipe 
2 lb ground round
3 TB fresh lovage chopped
2 TB fresh oregano chopped
1 ½ tsp honey
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp asafoetida
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1tsp anchovy paste in 2 cups beef broth ( when working with this recipe, it 
was impossible to have it “boil” with out  more liquid. I chose to 
incorporate the beef stock to accomodate this)
Combine the spices, herbs and ground meat. Form into 2 inch meat balls. In a 
large skillet, heat broth and honey. Add meatballs and cook 10 minutes or 
until the meat is no longer pink. Remove the meatballs and set aside. Add 2 
tsp cornstarch to ½ cup cold water and stir into the broth. Bring to a boil 
and stir until thickened. Place the meatballs on a platter and pour gravy 
over. Serve garnished with parsley. 
Hauviette