SC - LONG: Frankish Braised Beef Recipe w/Spikenard

[Darice Moore]

Frankish Braised Beef
A Recipe from Anthimus' De obseruatione ciborum

redaction and notes by Clotild of Soissons

At our recent Arts and Sciences event, I entered the following recipe
and received a perfect score.  Just thought you might all like to
share.  Because of respect for bandwidth, I'm only posting the original
recipe and the redaction.  If anyone wants the 4-page documentation (in
MS Word), just lemme know.  ;)

I had some interesting challenges in re-creating this dish, not the
least of which was identifying and obtaining some of the spices and
herbs.  The search for spikenard was successful (thanks to Francesco
Sirene), but to obtain costmary, I had to purchase the plants (and then
keep them alive).  I also found that the recipe included some very
specific measurements for these exotic spices, which I originally
thought were a translator's assumption, but turned out to be correct.  I
verified the amounts through Latin translation of the terms and some
supporting research.

Though this dish is often referred to as a "stew," my redaction of the
recipe was as braised beef.  The dish balances notes of sweet, sour and
bitter mint with the savory tastes of the beef and vegetables-an unusual
combination to modern tongues, but not a distasteful one.  More
interesting than the dish, perhaps, is the combination of cultures it
represents-a simple Frankish beef and vegetable stew, combined with
exotic spices enjoyed by the Romans (Apicius' De re coquinaria includes
recipes for all the exotic herbs in this dish).


The Recipe

I have provided here both the original Latin and Mark Grant's
translation:

3.  de carnibus uero uaccinis uaporatis factis et in sodinga coctis
utendum, etiam et in iuscello, ut prius exbromatas una unda mittas, et
sic in nitida aqua quantum ratio poscit coquantur, ut non addatur aqua,
et cum cocta fuerit caro, in uaso mittis acetum acerrimum quantum mediam
buculam, et mittis capita porrorum et pulegii modicum, apii radices uel
feniculi, et coquatur in una hora, et sic adddis mel quantum medietatem
de aceto uel quam quis dulcedinem habere uoluerit, et sic coquas lento
foco agitando ipsam ollam frequenter manibus, ut bene ius cum carne ipsa
temperetur.  et sic teris: piperis grana L costum et spicam nardi per
singula quantum medietatum solidi, et cariofili quantum pensat tremissis
I. ista omnia simul trita bene in mortario fictili addito uino modico,
et cum bene tribulatum fuerit, mittis in ollam et agistas bene, ita ut
antequam tollatur de foco, modicum sentiat et remittat in ius uirtutem
suam.  ubi tamin fuerit mel aut sapa uel caroenum, unum de ipsis, sicut
superius continetur, mittatur, et in buculari non coquatur, sed in olla
fictili meliorem saporem facit.

3.  Beef which has been steamed can be used both roasted in a dish and
also braised in a sauce, provided that, as soon as it begins to give off
a smell, you put the meat in some water.  Boil it in as much fresh water
as suits the size of the portion of meat; you should not have to add any
more water during the boiling.  When the meat is cooked, put in a
casserole about half a cup of sharp vinegar, some leeks and a little
pennyroyal, some celery and fennel, and let these simmer for one hour. 
Then add half the quantity of honey to vinegar, or as much honey as you
wish for sweetness.  Cook over a low heat, shaking the pot frequently
with one's hands so that the sauce coats the meat sufficiently.  Then
grind the following:  50 pepper corns, 2 grammes each of costmary and
spikenard, and 1.5 grammes of cloves.  Carefully grind all these spices
together in an earthenware mortar with the addition of a little wine. 
When well ground, add them to the casserole and stir well, so that
before they are taken from the heat, they may warm up and release their
flavour into the sauce.  Whenever you have a choice of honey or must
reduced either by a third or two-thirds, add one of these as detailed
above.  Do not use a bronze pan, because the sauce tastes better cooked
in an earthenware casserole.

The only specific amounts indicated were for the vinegar, the honey and
the spices.  For amounts that were specified, I felt it necessary to
double-check the amounts given by the translator-specifically the 2.5
grams each of costmary and spikenard.  With the help of a Latin
dictionary (and Latin-speaking friends), I determined that a more
accurate Latin translation was:  " of costmary and spikenard a single
measure equal to half the weight of a solidus."  The Roman emperor
Constantine I had reduced the solidus, to 1/72 of a pound, or 4.5
grams.  From this time on, the solidus retained a constant weight and
purity. .  The weight bears out the truth of the translation.  The
measurement for the cloves is based on another coin, the tremissus.


The Redaction

3-4 lbs. beef bottom round, cut into one-inch chunks
Water to cover beef
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (organic)
1/4 cup fresh catnip leaves, washed and torn (replacing pennyroyal)
2 leeks (white parts only), cut in 1/4-inch rounds
3 stalks celery, in 1/4-inch slices
1 bulb fennel, in 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup honey (can use must reduced by 1/3 or 2/3, according to the
recipe)
50 peppercorns
2.5 grams spikenard root, dried
2.5 grams costmary leaf, fresh
1.5 grams cloves
1/4 cup red wine

Put the beef in a large pot and cover with water.  Boil until the beef
is cooked through. Drain the beef and place in a pre-soaked unglazed
earthenware casserole.  Pour the vinegar over the beef and add the
catnip leaves, leeks, celery and fennel on top.  Put the cover on the
casserole and put it in a cold oven.  Turn the oven on to 400 degrees.

In an hour, add the honey to the beef mixture.  Cover and shake to mix. 
Reduce the temperature to 300 degrees and return the mixture to the oven
for another 30 minutes.

Using a mortar and pestle, grind the spikenard, peppercorns, costmary
and cloves together.  Add the red wine to the spices and then add the
spice mixture to the casserole.  Cover, shake and let rest for a few
minutes before serving, so that the flavors of the spices will be
released into the sauce.


Bibliography

Primary Source:

Grant, Mark (translator and editor).  Anthimus:  De obseruatione
ciborum; On the Observance of Foods.  Devon, Great Britain:  Prospect
Books, 1996.


Secondary Sources:

Boak, Arthur E. R. and Sinnigen, William G., A History of Rome to A.D.
565.  London:  The MacMillan Company, 1965.

Dendy, David.  E-mail on Spikenard, archived on Stefan's Florilegium: 
www.florilegium.com

Garland, Sarah.  The Complete Book of Herbs & Spices.  New York:  The
Viking Press, 1979.