Throughout the history of Italian cuisine, pheasant has always been a prized, expensive meat, considered particularly delicate and good. In Diocletian’s Edict of Maximum Prices, issued at the beginning of the 4th century, we notice that a fattened pheasant costs more than eight chickens, a little less than a peacock. A wild pheasant, instead, is less costly, but in any case, more than four chickens.
Pheasants were both hunted and bred in the villae, as we read, for instance, in Martial’s Epigrams, in which these birds are listed among poultry kept in the backyards. Records of the breeding of pheasants are even older in ancient Greece: in the Deipnosophists, Athenaeus mentions a pheasant breeder, Leogoras, who lived in the 5th century BCE. This practice continued in the following centuries. We find pheasants among the poultry that must be kept in the farm even in Carolus Magnus’ Capitulare de Villis, in which it is specified that they are birds that the farmer must breed pro dignitatis causa: essentially, as a status symbol.
The dignifying nature of pheasant is very clear in the ancient and medieval sources: according to Petronius, in the Satyricon, it is the difficulty to find this kind of meat that makes it more palatable (whereas the goose and duck, way more common, have a plebeian flavor), and Michele Savonarola, in the 15th century, writes that pheasant is rare and expensive (rara e cara). Despite the cost, however, not all authors seem enthusiastic about the flavor of this meat: Ugo Benzi, contemporary with Savonarola, writes that it tastes halfway between a hen and a gray partridge.
The success of pheasant, however, is not limited to its appeal as food for the rich. Ancient and medieval physicians (such as Galen and Savonarola) believe that it is well digestible and suitable for the convalescent, elderly, and weak.
In De Re Coquinaria, pheasant appears a few times. It is also mentioned in the index of the sixth book, which we used for the recipe we are preparing today, but the recipes are unfortunately lost. We chose a method for a white sauce to accompany whichever kind of bird. In this case, the sauce is for simmered birds, but pheasant is way better roasted. If you prefer, use different kinds of meat, simmered or roasted to taste: in De Re Coquinaria we find, for instance, duck, goose, chicken, guinea fowl, ostrich, dove, pigeon, gray partridge, and many others.
We used almonds, but the text also recommends hazelnuts and walnuts, peeled to make a white sauce. Actually, this sauce is not white, for the presence of spices, honey, garum, and olive oil, differently from medieval sauces and dishes, which are, generally, completely white, for instance blancmange. To obtain a balanced sauce, we used a part each of the spices, two tablespoons of olive oil and vinegar, a tablespoon of garum, and 15 grams of almonds, but feel free to adjust this ratio to your taste. If the sauce is too thick, add more vinegar; if it is too liquid, add a couple of almonds.
Garum may be substituted with a South-East Asian fish sauce, muria or colatura di alici, or salt. If you do not have lovage, use cumin or fennel seeds, which were common substitutes for lovage in the Antiquity according to Pliny and Dioscorides.
For this recipe, we used our testum, an ancient portable oven perfect to be placed in the fireplace or a brazier, but you can use your regular oven without changes in the outcome.
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 of ancient and medieval sources.
To know more about the passage 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 vegetables in historical cuisine, read Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers available in English and Italian, with recipes from the Antiquity to early Modern Era.
To support our work, you can buy us a beer or purchase our merchandise.
Ingredients
pheasant
15 gr almonds
spices (white pepper, lovage, cumin, celery seeds)
honey
garum
white wine vinegar
olive oil
Method
Roast the pheasant in the oven or under the testum for about an hour. In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Toast the almonds. Pound a pinch of each spice in the mortar, then add the almonds and dilute with the liquid ingredients: just a bit of honey, a tablespoon of garum, and two tablespoons of olive oil and vinegar. Stir the sauce well. Plate the pheasant with the raw sauce on top.
Original text
Ius candidum avem elixam: piper, ligusticum, cuminum, apii semen, Ponticam vel amygdala tosta vel nuces depellatas, mel modicum, liquamen, acetum et oleum.
Translation
White sauce for simmered birds: pepper, lovage, cumin, celery seeds, toasted hazelnuts or almonds or peeled walnuts, a bit of honey, garum, vinegar, and oil.
Buy me a coffee
Patreon
Ancient Roman Recipes Playlist
Ancient Greek Recipes Playlist
Medieval Recipes Playlist
YouTube Channel
Merchandise
Books
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 Re Coquinaria by Apicius (Ancient Rome)
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus (6th century)
Appendicula de Condituris Variis by Johannes Damascenus (8th-9th century)
De Flore Dietarum (11th century)
Tractatus de Modo Preparandi et Condiendi Omnia Cibaria (13th-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 – first and second part (15th century)
Recipes
Chicken with Dill – Pullus Anethatus
Religious Offering to Mars Silvanus
Rabbit
Gourds – Gustum de Cucurbitis
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 