In the 4th book of De Re Coquinaria, we find a series of dishes called patinae prepared with various ingredients (for example, rustic herbs or peaches) that seem to have little in common, except for the use of the same tool, the patina, a kind of pan or plate. Some patinae are clearly similar to a frittata or omelet, like the one we are preparing today, others do not contain eggs. In this case, this patina is called versatilis, which alludes to the fact that it is served upside-down. The recipe, on the other hand, is just a list of ingredients, which include milk and eggs.
There are no directions about how many eggs we have to use. For this information, we referred to other recipes in the same book, in which the author uses six or eight eggs, adjusting the quantities to the size of our pan.
This dish allows many possible combinations of the ingredients: you may prepare a frittata with a lot of nuts (but we recommend avoiding an excessive quantity to prevent the patina from breaking), adding more honey and just a bit of garum to balance the flavors, or change this ratio and use more garum than honey; another possibility is to make a spicy patina with a lot of pepper.
In our preparation, we opted for balanced flavors, with a small quantity of garum and honey, a pinch of pepper, 10 walnuts, and about 10 grams of pine nuts, in addition to two tablespoons of milk.
This kind of dish, probably, was meant to be served as an appetizer in an ancient banquet, being a plate based on eggs, but would make an excellent main plate for a simpler Roman meal.
If you prefer, substitute garum with a pinch of salt, ancient muria or colatura di alici, or a South-East Asian fish sauce, prepared in the same way as some kinds of garum. However, for this kind of preparation, a bit of fish sauce or salt pair better with the other ingredients than colatura di alici.
The first six books of De Re Coquinaria are available on Patreon, with other translations of ancient and medieval sources in addition to several articles on historical food. For more information about ancient cuisine, we suggest reading our book Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Recipes, Sources.
To know more about the passage between ancient and medieval cooking, check out our new book, with the 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. This book contains some of the earliest medieval recipes, in addition to information about the diet of the Franks and the differences between their food habits and the alimentation of the Mediterranean populations, showing the passage between ancient and late-medieval cooking.
If you are interested in late-medieval cuisine, we recommend Registrum Coquine. A medieval cookbook.
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Ingredient
5 eggs
pine nuts
walnuts
milk
honey
black pepper
garum
olive oil
Method
Toast the walnuts, shelled and broken, for a couple of minutes. Grind the pepper in the mortar, adding the walnuts and pine nuts. Beat the eggs with a bit of milk, then add a little olive oil, garum, and honey and the mixture of pepper and nuts.
Warm a bit of olive oil in a pan and pour the mixture, cooking it at low heat until it thickens.
Serve the patina hot, turned upside-down.
Original text
Aliter patina versatilis: nucleos, nuces fractas; torres eas et teres cum melle, pipere, liquamine, lacte et ovis. Olei modicum.
Translation
Another patina upside-down: pine nuts and broken walnuts, toasted. Pound them with honey, pepper, garum, milk, and eggs, with a bit of oil.
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Books
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 – books 1-6
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 – first and second part (13th-14th century)
Opusculum de Saporibus by Mainus de Maineris (14th century)
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano – first and second part (14th century)
Anonimo Veneziano (14th century)
Registrum Coquine by Johannes von Bockenheim (15th century)
Recipes
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 