There are many recipes of sausages and meatballs in the cookbook conventionally attributed to Apicius. From the Edict of Prices issued in the 302 by Emperor Diocletian, we know that they were sold already prepared at the market, made with beef or pork meat. In Horace and Martial’s poems, we find different kinds of sausages mentioned frequently. We find out that they were among the dishes served at the diners, called thermopolia, paired with other foods, usually a puls. However, sausages were served also in the richest convivia, as we read in Petronius’ Satyricon, and the presence in Apicius’ book is a testimony of their great popularity among the richest social classes. In the past, we prepared lucanica sausage; this time, we present farcimina, delicious sausages made with spelt and meat. The singular form is farcimen, which means filling, from farcio, to stuff. We suggest serving these sausages with barley polenta, taro, or spelt puls. Below, you find the original text with our translation, a note about the ingredients, and the video of the recipe subtitled in English and Italian. Enjoy!
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Ingredients 450 gr pork tenderloin 100 gr spelt pine nuts black pepper garum pork casing ancient Roman mustard
Method Soak in cold water the pork casing for a few hours. Boil the spelt in water for about 45 minutes. In the meantime, grind the pine nuts and black pepper in the mortar, then mince and pound the meat. Let the spelt cool down and pound it in the mortar, mixing it with the meat, pine nuts, pepper, and garum. Fill the pork casing to make the sausages, then boil them in water for about 5 minutes and discard the water. Grease a griddle with olive oil and cook the sausages for another couple of minutes. Plate the sausages, whole or sliced, with mustard.
Note about the ingredients This sausage is meant to be served with mustard. You find two recipes we prepared at this link. The author does not specify which kind of meat to use, just that it has to be lean. We suggest choosing pork or beef. The cooking time changes depending on the kind and cut of meat. Black pepper was the most common and less expensive in ancient Rome. We chose it because it pairs perfectly with the other ingredients, but you can use long or white pepper, both available in this period. The author writes nothing about the ratio among the ingredients. With the quantities we chose, we obtained a well-balanced meat sausage, but you can use more or less meat according to your taste. In this case, we suggest using a good amount of garum to obtain enough sapidity, remembering that you can always substitute it with salt. Garum was a fish sauce very popular among the ancient Mediterranean populations. The recipes survived show that the basic method was identical to the way South-East Asian populations prepare still today their traditional fish sauces, the best substitute for garum.
Original text Coctam alicam et tritam cum pulpa concisa et trita una cum pipere et liquamine et nucleis. Farcies intestinum et elixabis, deinde cum sale assabis et cum sinapi inferes, vel sic concisum in disco.
Translation Cooked and pounded spelt with minced lean meat pounded with pepper, garum, and pine nuts. Stuff a casing and parboil the farcimina, then roast them with salt and serve with mustard, [whole] or cut into pieces in a plate.
Buy me a coffee Patreon Ancient Roman Recipes Playlist Ancient Greek Recipes Playlist Medieval Recipes Playlist YouTube Channel Merchandise 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 Plebeian 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 