[Sca-cooks] The Further Adventures of the Sanity-Seeking Cook [pre-period roman]

[Marion -Sue Laing]

Just to let you know what I've been up to lately on the cooking front...

Well… Last night was the “Garum” adventure.

I had headed home early from work with a thwingy back (legacy of a book
shelving mishap) and had some quality “lying on floor with hot pack applied”
time before it decided to settle down.  At this point I was feeling
strangely hyped (possibly from the amount of Neurofen I’d induced :-p) and
decided that it was NOW or NEVER for the base sauces that I require for some
of the dishes for dinner on Saturday night. [I'm cooking a 3 course Roman
dinner for five friends]

Where to start…  The recipe I have Fish Garum (aka Liquamnen) is based on
anchovies – specifically “Salted Anchovies”… which appear to be “not
available in Australia” it seems we only get the “stored in olive oil”
variety.  Humph! – okay – drain anchovies – rinse and place in a bowl of
water to help lift the oil out. Leave them there for a while.

Move on to the Sapa – which is a reduced wine sauce.  The redaction I have
suggests using Red Grape Juice… okay – can do… [interlude here as Marion
discovers the bottle she grabbed at the supermarket is in FACT Blackcurrent
& Apple… and not Grape.  Head off to shops… get correct juice.. come home
again] okay… add one litre of juice to a heavy based saucepan.. boil
vigourously until 1/3 remains… stir constantly… Stir…. Stir…. Stir… take off
heat and cool… [sips Blackcurrent & apple juice… wonders how I’m gonna get
through 3 litres of the damm stuff]

On to sauce 3 (meanwhile I’ve taken the anchovies out of the water and
placed on paper towels for more oil absorbion)…

Sauce 3 is “Liquamen ex Piris” – Piquant Pear Sauce in the vulgar tongue.  A
recipe originally from Palladius’ “On Agriculture” –  the translation starts
“A liquamen from pears suitable for those avoiding meat…”  HELLO!!! – one
for the Vegetarians!! WAHHOO!

Okay – as I don’t have the 3 months spare to make it the old-fashioned way
(left in small wood tubs treated with pitch) I’ll follow Mark Grant’s
(Author – Roman Cookery) suggested quick method.  Peel & core 6 ripe pears
(they were smallish so I used 8) pulp in a blender until smooth.  Take a
heavy based pot – add water (700mls) and sea salt (400 grams) and dissolve
over a low heat….. [problems encountered at the this stage – the salt just
WOULDN’T dissolve…  heat cranked up a bit]… okay salt mostly dissolved –
pear pulp & red wine (125ml) added to salt water mixture. Simmered gently
for 30 minutes – stirring once or twice. Leave to cool & decant to
sterilised bottle.  Hmmm…. Smells faintly fruity – tastes rather salty –
looks divine (nice mauve shade)

So..  two down – one left to go… back to the anchovies…
Take a heavy based pot – add water (700mls) and sea salt (400 grams) and
dissolve over a low heat…..  Add in anchovies (about 100 grams) with dried
oregano (a pinch) and some of the Sapa made previously (1 tablespoon).
Simmer gently for 20 minutes and leave to cool. Strain the garum through a
fine cloth or sieve and store in a sterilised jar.  The Anchovies pretty
much dissolved in the mixture and the straining process resulted in a salty
residue left over.  Smells kind of strange and no power on earth will induce
me to taste it as is!! :-p  Will just assume it’s correct until proven
otherwise! :-p

Stayed up until after midnight waiting for the sauces to cool enough to
store in the bottles and have therefore reacquired the “Panda Look”…  So
there we have it – 3 basic roman sauces done, 6 or so roman dishes to cook
for dinner tomorrow (not counting the Nut Cakes & the pate I’m pre-making
tonight and I’m truly appreciating the reasons that Romans believed in
having SLAVES!!  Annnnddd the house still smells FISHY :-p

Marion

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