Though the term salciccia generally refers to sausages, so to minced meat wrapped in a casing, in the medieval Italian sources sometimes it means some kinds of fish cakes, shaped in different ways, for instance, in an elongated form which probably should recall regular sausages.
Salciccia is an interesting word that derives from sal, salt, and isicia or insicia, which, in its turn, comes from insecta caro, minced meat, according to Varro in his book about the Latin language. Essentially, salciccia means salted and minced caro in the general meaning of pulp, which includes meat, fish, and even mollusks and crustaceans in the 2nd book of De Re Coquinaria, as we analyzed in the past.
Anonimo Meridionale, in the 14th century, reports another recipe for a fish cake called lucanica, very similar to the one we are preparing today, and this is interesting because lucanica is another kind of sausage in De Re Coquinaria as well as today.
We selected our recipe for salciccia di pescio from Anonimo Toscano’s Libro de la Cocina, but we also find it in the Liber de Coquina. The Tuscan version, however, is particularly interesting because the recipe is recommended for either salciccie or tortelli: this means that the mixture used to make the patties may be the filling for pasta. We found the same direction for a recipe we prepared a few months ago, crispelli di carne, made with minced pork belly, cheese, and herbs, a filling recommended to prepare both tortelli and ravioli.
There are no directions about which kind of fish to use for this recipe. Anonimo Meridionale’s lucanica is made with tench, whereas Anonimo Toscano just writes to use pescio, the generic word for fish. Some good choices are tench, pike, red mullet, sea bass, or eel, but you may also choose a crustacean or a mollusk, for example lobster, shrimps, or calamari, making in this way a dish similar to De Re Coquinaria’s isicia marina.
Anonimo Toscano recommends parboiling the fish to help remove the bones and then squeezing it in a cloth, but these passages are unnecessary with trout. If the mixture of fish, herbs, and spices tends to break apart, add an egg white or a bit of starch.
Choose the herbs and spices you prefer among the most common in the Middle Ages, for instance dill, marjoram, thyme, parsley, cloves, nutmeg, or cinnamon.
Our translation of the Libro de la Cocina , accompanied by an introduction, notes about the recipes, and a glossary, is available on Amazon. To know more about medieval food, we recommend Registrum Coquine. A medieval cookbook and De Observatione Ciborum. Early-medieval recipes at the court of the Frank. You find further articles and translations of historical sources, among which De Re Coquinaria, Appendicula de Condituris Variis, and De Flore Dietarum, on our Patreon page.
For more historical recipes with aromatic herbs, check out Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers, which collects many recipes from the Antiquity to the early Modern Era. If you are interested in ancient food, we recommend reading Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Recipes, Sources.
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Ingredients
2 trouts
herbs (mint, fennel, rosemary, savory)
spices (fresh ginger, black pepper)
salt
olive oil
Method
Clean and gut the trouts, then remove the bones. Mince the herbs with the knife, then pound the black pepper and ginger in the mortar with two pinches of salt and add the herbs. Mince the fish and mix with the herbs and spices. Shape fish cakes and cook them with a bit of olive oil for a few minutes.
Original text
Metti il pescio in acqua bullita, sì che si possa bene spolpare da le spine, e togli erbe odorifere, tritte bene insieme con la dicta polpa di pescio, e spetie; poi metti tutto in uno panno di lino bene largo e bucato, e spremeli forte; poi metti in la padella con oglio caldo, e falle per lungo o per traverso, come ti piace.
Translation
Place the fish in boiling water to remove the bones, then mince aromatic herbs well with this fish pulp, adding spices. Place all the ingredients in a large and holed linen cloth and squeeze them well, then fry them in the pan with hot oil, by the length or sideways, as you like.
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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
Tuscan Fish Cakes – Salciccie di Pescio
Tuscan Stew with Pork Belly and Rutabaga
Pork and Onion Soup
Tuscan Radish Soup
The Diet of the Franks – Endive and Pork Jowl
Tuscan Fried Meatballs
The Diet of the Franks – Chicken Stew
Castagnazzi
Renaissance Stuffed Cucumbers
Pork Roast with Cherry Sauce
Renaissance Fried Tomatoes
Herbolata
The Diet of the Franks – Beef Stew
Fried Chicken Soup
Beef Roast with Garlic Sauce
Bread Soup
Salted Meat and Peas
Baghdadi Rice Cream
Chicken with White-Pepper Sauce – Piperatum Album
Indian Chickpeas and Meat
The Diet of the Franks – Pork Stew
Chestnut and Mushrooms
Lentils with Oregano and Watermint
Egyptian Bread with Pistachios and Almonds
Veal with Fennel-Flower Sauce
Pork Roast with Green Sauce
Eggs Poached in Wine
Brodium Theutonicum
Crispellae – Pancakes with Saffron and Honey
Brodium Sarracenium – Chicken Stew
Fava Beans and Pork
Erbe Minute – Meatballs with Herbs
Lettuce and Pork Soup
Zanzarelli – Egg and Cheese Soup
Turnip and Beef Soup for Servants
Cheese Pasta – Vivanda Bona
Gratonata – Chicken Stew
Chickpea Soup with Poached Eggs
Apple Fritters
Hippocras and Claretum – Mulled Wine
Pastero – Pork Pie
10th-century Goat Roast – A Langobard at the Court of the Byzantine Emperor
Romania – A Recipe Between Arabic and Italian Tradition – Medieval Chicken with Pomegranates
Emperor’s Fritters
Medieval Pizza – The Origin of Pizza
Roast Chicken with Salsa Camellina
Sweet Rice
Afrutum or Spumeum – 6th-century Byzantine recipe
A Medieval Breakfast – Wine, Carbonata, and Millet Bread
Salviata – Eggs and Sage
Tria di Vermicelli
Cabbage Soup
Frittelle Ubaldine – Pancakes with Flowers and Herbs
Saffron Cheesecake
Drunken Pork – Early Medieval Pork Stew
Medieval Monk’s Stuffed-Egg Soup
Apple Pie
Onion Soup
Gnocchi
Lentils and Mustard Greens
Chicken soup – Brodo Granato
Turnip Soup
Beans and Bacon – Black-Eyed Peas
Prawn Pie – Pastello de Gambari
Foxtail Millet Polenta and Spit-Roasted Goose
Beef Stew
Blancmange
Leek Soup
Quail Stew with Coconut
Chicken Pie
Ravioli
Almond Cream
Red Mullet Soup
Spit Roast Beef with Arugula Seeds
Walnut Bread
Lasagna
Tripe
Fried Fish
Roast Lamb with Green Sauce
Clams
Sweet and Sour Sardines
Trouts with Green Sauce
Lamb Stew
Quails with Sumac
Chicken with Fennel Flowers
Sea Bream
Historical Italian Cooking 