The 7th book of De Re Coquinaria, the widest source of ancient Roman cuisine, is dedicated to miscellaneous recipes, mostly for meat. A large section includes preparations for roasts, stews, and boiled meat without specifying the type of meat to use. There are plenty of possibilities, keeping in mind that the most commonly used meats in this source are pork, beef, lamb, kid, and game meat, in addition to poultry and various kinds of wild birds.
The recipe we have chosen is for simmered meat, but we have adapted it for beef skewers because the pairing of flavors is particularly suitable for beef, especially the interesting combination of fennel, pepper, and raw shallot, balanced by the sapidity of garum and the slight bitterness of rue. This sauce would also be very good with lamb or chicken, which are also suitable when boiled, but in these cases, we recommend using spring onion instead of shallot to better enhance the flavors.
The key to making a good ancient Roman dish is moderation, and the same goes for this sauce. We recommend using equal amounts of spices, such as a pinch each, and liquid ingredients, such as two tablespoons each. Half a date and a few leaves of rue (or another aromatic herb) are more than enough to make a perfectly balanced dish, as the author of De Re Coquinaria probably intended.
The recipe calls for cepa, which is the generic word for onion: shallot is considered a variety of onion and is called cepa Ascalonia in the Latin sources. The text specifies using ruta arida, dry rue, which has a milder flavor than fresh rue. We used the herb freshly harvested from our garden, but you can use dry rue or another aromatic herb instead. Rue is difficult to find and substitute: the easiest way to have it is to grow a plant. Our suggestion is to replace it with another herb, such as mint, cilantro, or parsley, obtaining an excellent dish anyway.
Garum, as always, can be substituted with a South-East Asian fish sauce, muria, colatura di alici, or just two pinches of salt, remembering that one pinch of salt is more or less equivalent to one tablespoon of garum.
For more information about ancient cuisine, we suggest reading our book Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Recipes, Sources. Moreover, the full translation of De Re Coquinaria is available on Patreon, with further translations and articles on ancient and medieval cooking.
To know more about the transition between ancient and medieval cooking, check out our translation, commentary, and glossary of a beautiful 6th-century source, De Observatione Ciborum, written by the physician Anthimus to the king of the Franks Theuderic; if you are interested in late-medieval cuisine, we recommend Libro de la Cocina. Medieval Tuscan Recipes and Registrum Coquine. A medieval cookbook.
If you are interested in recipes with aromatic herbs from the Antiquity to the beginning of the Modern Era in Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers available in English and Italian. To learn about the use of cereals throughout history, read Early Italian Recipes. Cereals, bread, pasta, and pies.
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Ingredients
beef
shallots
spices (black pepper, fennel seeds)
rue
dates
garum
olive oil
Method
Cut the beef into pieces and roast it on skewers. In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Mince a shallot, then pound the pepper and fennel seeds in the mortar, adding half a date and a few rue leaves. Dilute with two tablespoons each of garum and olive oil.
Serve the beef skewers with the sauce.
Original text
Teres piper, rutam aridam, feniculi semen, cepam, caryotam, liquamen et oleum.
Translation
Grind pepper, dry rue, fennel seeds, onion, date, garum, and oil.
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Books
Early Italian Recipes. Cereals, bread, pasta, and pies
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano. Medieval Tuscan Recipes
Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus. Early-medieval recipes at the court of the Franks.
Registrum Coquine by Johannes Bockenheim. A medieval cookbook
Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Sources, Recipes
Translations of Historical Sources
De Agri Cultura by Cato – first part (2nd century BCE)
De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (Ancient Rome)
Apicii Excerpta by Vinidarius (5th or 6th century)
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus (6th century)
Appendicula de Condituris Variis by Johannes Damascenus (8th or 9th century)
De Flore Dietarum (11th century)
Tractatus de Modo Preparandi et Condiendi Omnia Cibaria (13th or 14th century)
Liber de Coquina – first part (14th century)
Enseignemenz (14th century)
Opusculum de Saporibus by Mainus de Maineris (14th century)
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano (14th century)
Anonimo Veneziano (14th century)
Registrum Coquine by Johannes von Bockenheim (15th century)
Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Maestro Martino – parts 1-4 (15th century)
Recipes
Patina de Cydoneis – Frittata with Quinces and Leeks
Moustakia Sesamata – Bread Rolls with Must and Sesame
Plebeian’s Mushrooms
Beef Skewers
Stuffed Chard
Shrimp
Frittata with Peas – Conchicla Commodiana
Tuna
Pork Stew with Red Wine
Chicken with Green Sauce
Pork Chops – Ofellae
Chicken with Dill – Pullus Anethatus
Religious Offering to Mars Silvanus
Rabbit
Gourds – Gustum de Cucurbitis
Roast Pheasant
Tyropatina – Honey Pudding
Pork Shank with Apician Sauce
The Diet of the Legionaries – Soup with Mutton and Beans
Chicken with Dill
Beef Roast with Quinces
Chard with Mustard
Religious Offering to Carna – Puls Fabacia
Pork Stuffed with Pasta – Porcellus Tractomelinus
Gilt-Head Sea Bream
Moretum – A Religious Offering to Cybele
Patina Versatilis
Aristophanes’ Roasted Birds
Pork Roast with Myrtle Berries
Cabbage Rolls
Pork Collar
Chicken with Taro
Honey and Millet Libum
Ham in Crust
Encytum
The diet of the ancient Germans
The diet of the Franks
Kandaulos
Wild Boar
Hypotrimma
Oysters and Clams
Peas
Ancient Sicilian Sea Bass
Pork Roast and Lentils with Sumac
Scampi
Cuttlefish and Eggs
Gustum de Praecoquis – Appetizer with Apricots
Octopus and Cucumber Salad
Copadia Agnina – Lamb Stew
Apothermum – Spelt Cakes
Pullus Parthicus – Roast Chicken
Tisana Barrica – Barley Soup
Beef Roast and Shallots
Staitites – Ancient Greek Sweet
Chicken Meatballs and Mashed Peas
Sweet Fritters – Dulcia Domestica
Columella’s Moretum and Hapalos Artos
Ancient Roman Frittata
A Saturnalia Recipe – Roast with Saffron Sauce
Muria – Ancestor of Colatura di Alici
Globi – Ancient Roman Sweet
The Diet of the Roman Legionaries – Buccellatum, Lardum, and Posca
How to make garum
Fig Sweet
Ancient Roman Gourd and Eggs
Ofella – Ancient Roman Steak
Fruit salads – Melon and Peaches
Isicia Marina – Shrimp Cakes and Cucumber Salad
Sala Cattabia – Snow and Posca
Copadia – Beef Stew
Puls Punica – Phoenician Dessert
Farcimina – Spelt and Meat Sausages
Ova Spongia ex Lacte – Sweet Omelettes
Flatbread and Chickpea Soup
Chicken stew
Salted Fish with Arugula Sauce
Savillum – Cheesecake
Pasta and Meatballs – Minutal Terentinum
Venison Stew with Spelt Puls
Veal with Allec Sauce – Ius in Elixam Allecatum
Isicia Omentata – Meatballs Wrapped in Caul Fat
Placenta – Honey Cheesecake
Pork Laureate – Porcellum Laureatum
Mashed Chestnuts
Poppy Seed Bread with Ancient Dry Yeast
Cured Olives and Epityrum
Historical Italian Cooking 