#apicius

[timetraveltasting]

MINUTAL MATIANUM (ROMAN PORK WITH APPLES, 1st c.)

It's a been a tougher week than usual - my husband broke his leg and had surgery, and I'm dealing with some dental pain - but amongst it all, I thought it would be a good idea to treat ourselves with a Tasting History dish that is especially hearty and comforting: Minutal Matianum (Roman Pork with Apples). From the quintessential Roman source by Apicius from the 1st c., De Re Coquinaria, this meat dish is made using ingredients that would have been available to Roman soldiers in Britain, near forts in the area of Hadrian's Wall. This hearty dish was probably closer to what the officers of the Roman army would have eaten rather than the foot soldiers, however. I decided to make this dish because my husband and I have enjoyed most of the Roman recipes I've made so far, and Max exclaimed this was the best Roman dish even he had made so far. We hope this dish provides us with the fortitude of a Roman soldier on the frontiers! See Max’s video on how to make the dish here or see the ingredients and process at the end of this post, sourced from his website.

My experience making it:

As usual for me with Roman recipes, I struggled to compile all of the specific listed ingredients, but I did my best! I sourced a pork shoulder from our local butcher, and for the ground meat, I used a mix of 60% beef and 40% pork (a very common mixture here in Germany). For the pork roast rub, I used oil, a bit of salt, lots of pepper, and a tablespoon and a half of linden tree blossom honey. For the meatballs, I didn't use any egg to bind them, as I didn't have any on hand. Instead of garum, I used an Asian fish sauce (which Max suggests as a substitute). For the apples, I used some sweet Pink Lady apples (which I definitely snacked on while I was cooking). Instead of the long pepper Max used, I used the tablespoon of peppercorns. I decided to omit the asafoetida completely, as I couldn't find it at 4 different supermarkets, including the bio-supermarket and the Turkish supermarket. I've recently learned that I should look instead at an Indian supermarket, so now I'm on the hunt for one! I reduced grape juice myself to make defrutum, as Saba seems a little expensive. Instead of starch/cornflour, I used regular white flour, since I think they would function fairly similarly.

First, I set out making the rub for the pork roast. Nice and simple with olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey, I loved that I could customize this part to my tastes (give me that sharp pepper taste!). Next, because I didn't have a roasting rack, I made one myself out of tin foil by taking a large sheet, rolling it into a snake shape, and curving it into a zig-zag pattern on top of a layer of tinfoil at the bottom of my pan. It fit the pork perfectly, and then I added the rub and tossed it in the oven. My pork shoulder was just over 2 pounds, so I roasted it for just over 2 hours. While it was cooking, I rolled my meatballs (sans egg), ground my spices for the sauce in the mortar and pestle (which took awhile), and chopped and portioned the ingredients for the next steps. When the pork was almost done cooking, I began cooking the meatballs in olive oil, also adding in the leeks. I added in the chicken stock and garum, stirring to get any bits from the bottom to release their flavour.

While this cooked on the stovetop, the pork roast was ready to take out of the oven. It looked wonderful and smelled delicious! I let it sit for a little bit, then chopped it into cubes and added them to the pot with the meatballs. I added in the cilantro, then a little bit more chicken stock so the pork and meatballs were 3/4 submerged and sizzling nicely in the juices. I simmered it for 15 minutes, then added the apple chunks. I simmered it further, but for less than the 20 minutes in the recipe (more like 15). I portioned the meat and apples into our serving bowls to cool a little while I prepared the quick sauce, being sure to leave some of the juices in order to provide the base to the sauce. I added the juices, defrutum, white wine vinegar, garum, and honey to a pot, added the crushed spices/herbs, and brought it to a light boil, stirring often. I made a roux with some flour by mixing a bit of water into it, then added it to my sauce to thicken it. By the looks of it, I think I ended up thickening it a decent amount more than Max did, but I like a thicker sauce, so I wasn't too upset about that. I took it off the heat once it was combined and thickened, and drizzled it over the pork, meatballs, and apples. It looked absolutely scrumptious - the sauce added a nice silky shine to the meat, the leeks added a pretty green, the peppercorns some texture, and the apples a beautiful yellow and red pop of colour. I served the Minutal Matianum with a side Greek Salad to balance the heaviness of the meat.

My experience tasting it:

I made sure my first bite was with pork, apple, and some sauce - it was very tasty! The pork was tender enough, but I might have overcooked it just a little. Luckily, the tougher, hearty texture was balanced by the crisp and light flavour of the apple and the acidity, sweetness, spice-infused, and herbed flavour of the silky gravy-like sauce. Like Max mentioned, the sauce first tastes a bit sour due to the vinegar, but it melts into a sweetness from the defrutum and honey. It is still a very 'Roman' flavour of sauce - I could taste hints of the previous Roman sauces I have made in other dishes in this one, but this one was more like a gravy, and maybe more in line with the modern palate. In terms of herbs and spices, I found that peppercorn and cilantro were the most forward in the sauce - the mint and cumin were just barely there. I decided to make my next bite a meatball with some sauce, apple and leek: an absolute winning combo! I don't always have time to make a pork roast, so I can't see myself making Minutal Matianum often in its complete form, but I will most certainly make the sauce with apples and meatballs again in the future. Like Max, my husband and I both agreed this is our favourite of the Roman dishes I've made so far. This is a great meal for late fall/early winter, and I will probably make it again as the weather gets colder this fall. If you end up making this dish, if you liked it, or if you changed anything from the original recipe, do let me know!

Links to harder-to-find ingredients:

Long Pepper

Flor de Garum

Colatura di Alici (Garum substitute)

Saba (Defrutum)

Asafoetida

Minutal Matianum (Roman Pork with Apples) original recipe (1st c.)

Sourced from De Re Coquinaria by Apicius, 1st century.

Put oil, garum, stock, chopped leek and cilantro and small ground meatballs in a pot. Chop previously cooked shoulder of pork with skin into cubes. Cook all together. Half-way through cooking add cored and diced Matian apples. While it cooks, grind pepper, cumin, cilantro and coriander seed, mint, and silphium root, pour in vinegar, honey, garum, defrutum, and some of the cooking liquid. Adjust the flavors with vinegar. Bring to a boil. Add broken tracta to thicken. Sprinkle pepper and serve. 

Modern Recipe

Based on De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (1st c.) and Max Miller’s version in his Tasting History video.

Ingredients:

Roasted Pork

Pork shoulder

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Honey

Pork and Apples

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 lb (340g) ground pork or beef, shaped into 1” balls

1 cup chopped leek

1 cup (235ml) chicken stock, plus extra as needed

2 teaspoons garum*

Small handful chopped cilantro

1 lb (450g) roasted pork, cut into cubes

1 lb (450g) sweet apples, cored and cut into about 1” pieces

Sauce

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp chopped cilantro

1 tbsp coriander seeds

2 tsp chopped mint

4 long peppers or 1 tbsp of peppercorns

1/2 tsp asafoetida

1/4 cup (60ml) white wine vinegar

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp garum*

1/4 cup (60ml) defrutum**

1/4 cup (60ml) cooking liquid from the pork and apples

2 tsp starch or cornflour

*Garum was a fermented fish sauce that was used in a lot of ancient Roman cooking. You can buy a modern equivalent or use an Asian fish sauce.

**Defrutum was a 1/3 reduction of grape must. Today, Saba is pretty much the same thing. It can be expensive, so you can reduce some grape juice instead.

Method:

For the roasted pork: Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Line a baking sheet with foil, then place a roasting rack on top of it.

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey. There should be enough to coat the pork roast. Adjust the amounts to your liking.

Brush the olive oil mixture onto the pork, then roast for 15 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 275°F (135°C) and cook for about an hour per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F (74°C).

For the pork and apples: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the meatballs and leeks and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they start to brown.

Deglaze the pot with the chicken stock and garum. Toss in the cilantro and roasted pork. Add enough additional chicken stock so that it covers the bottom of the pot.

Simmer for 15 minutes, adding more stock if necessary.

Add the apples, then cook for another 20 minutes or until the meatballs are fully cooked.

For the sauce: Grind the spices and herbs with a mortar and pestle, then put them in a saucepan with the liquid ingredients. Stir together and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.

Mix the starch with a little water, then add it to the sauce. Simmer for a couple of minutes until it thickens.

To serve: Dish the pork and apples into a bowl, drizzle with the sauce, and serve it forth.

[classicsstudentsunion]

Ancient Recipes: Apricot Dessert (Apicius, De re coquinaria)

Did you know when you Google Apicius, they call him a professional chef?

Given that he was the closest thing Ancient Rome had to Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart, we guess it makes sense. These apricots are a fantastic dessert from De re coquinaria (c. 5th cent. CE), arguably the best-known Ancient Roman cookbook. They likely would have been enjoyed at room temperature, but taste fantastic after being chilled. We make this at every rendition of our Ancient Food Day, and it's always a hit.

Latin: duracina primotica pusilla precoquiis purgas, enucleas, in frigidam mittis; in patina conponis; teres piper mentam siccam; suffundis liquids; adicies mel passum uinum et acetum; refundis in patina super precoquia, olei modicum mittis et lento igni ferueat, cum ferbuerit, amulo obligas, piper aspargis et inferes. (De re coquinaria, 4.177)

Translation (by John Liao): Wash firm, early or small apricots, pit them, and put them in the cold [water]. Arrange them in a pan. Crush pepper and dried mint, pour over liquamen and add honey, passum, wine and vinegar. Pour over the apricots in the pan. Add a little oil and heat on a low flame. Thicken [the sauce] with starch while it simmers. Sprinkle with pepper and serve. 

Ingredients

10-12 apricots (pitted and halved if fresh, rehydrated in water overnight if dried)

1 ½-2 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper (plus extra for garnish)

1 tbsp dried mint flakes

1 tsp garum/liquamen (substitute fish sauce if you can't find/make it yourself)

3-4 heaping tbsp of honey

3/4 cup of red wine

3/4 cup of passum (also known as raisin wine. Substitutes can include cranberry juice (less sweet), grape juice (more sweet), or ice wine (if you don’t have to make this for a school event).

1 tsp of vinegar (2 tsp if you're not using passum/alcoholic passum substitute)

1 ½ tbsp of olive oil

½ tsp corn starch

3-4 tbsp cold water

Our Recipe

Soak halved, pitted fresh apricots in cold water for 15 minutes (skip if using rehydrated fruit)

In a wide pan (at least 3 inches deep), lightly toast the black pepper and mint at medium heat until fragrant.

Add the liquids: honey, passum, wine, vinegar, and liquamen. Bring to a simmer and stir until well incorporated, and the honey has dissolved. Continue simmering to cook off the alcohol. If the mixture begins to reduce too much, add water in small amounts.

Once the desired amount of alcohol has been cooked off, add the apricots. Continue simmering until apricots reach your desired texture (usually 8-12 mins).

Remove the apricots from the pan. Mix cornstarch with cold water into a slurry, and add to the remaining liquid. Stir and cook until thick, then pour over reserved apricots. Let cool.

Serve chilled or at room temperature, with fresh black pepper sprinkled on top.

Below, we served them with libum (Roman cheesecake) and statites (Ancient Greek spelt crepes).

Some more anachronistic ways to serve this can include using it as pie or tart filling, mixing it with Greek yogurt, or serving it with vanilla ice cream while it's still hot (sort of like a poached pear situation).

Some FAQs

Q. "How long do I actually boil the sauce?"

A. As long as you want, depending on how much alcohol you want in the dish (we serve these at school events, so we have to boil it to hell and back to get rid of all the alcohol).

Q. "The ancient recipe says to cook the apricots first, why do you make the sauce first?"

A. When we tried the apricot-first method, the apricots fell apart and turned the whole thing into a jam-like stew because of how long we had to cook the sauce. It tasted great but lacked the nice texture of the whole apricots.

Q. "Can I substitute ingredients 1-1?"

A. Generally, yes. For our passum substitute, we use cranberry juice for its tartness, but any of the three substitutes work. However, if you have the ability to make/buy garum and passum, definitely give it a try!

[absolutechaosss]

Begging Brits to explain this word choice in a copy of translated Apicius I found. Anyway. I hope the faggots are tasty

[riddlebirdweek]

Day 8 of Riddlebird Advent and we have a paranormal transformation courtesy of Apicius

[dykepuffs]

If you want to cook ancient roman stuff, here's a solid translation of De Re Coquinaria:

My absolute favourite Apicius is this, which I eat all the time when I want to feel like I'm a put-upon low-ranking centurion pining for the warmth of the Mediterranean as I sit in my grim outpost in the back of beyond between Cambodunum and Eboracum;

Dulcia domestica- Palmulas vel dactilos excepto semine, nuce vel nucleis vel piper tritum infercies. Sales foris contingis, frigis in melle cocto et inferes.

Home made sweets: Stone some dates, stuff the cavity with nuts (I use chopped pine nuts, walnuts, ground almonds, white pepper, cardamom, and a little bit of honey to make it all stick together), sprinkle with salt (wipe the date with a wet finger, then dab on koshering salt), then fry in honey (heat the honey in a skillet until it bubbles, then quickly add the dates and roll them back and forth until they start to look toasty).

Well I would give a medieval peasant some spaghetti.

[cynthiabertelsen]

Honey, I'm Cooking!

As an infant, Zeus, the Greek god of gods, fed on milk and honey, or so the story goes. And in Exodus 3:8 (KJV), Moses states, “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey … “ By these ancient words, we know that honey served as an important food for humans and not…

[frimleyblogger]

A Slice Of Pork Pie

What makes a #porkpie a #MeltonMowbray pork pie? Pork pie history

A staple of the picnic hamper, a satisfying meal on its own, portable, and a perfect accompaniment to a salad, the pork pie is firmly established as one of Britain’s favourite pies. We spend more than £165 million a year on them, according to Kantar Worldpanel. Familiar fare it might be, but the pork pie had a long, fascinating and, at times, contentious history. An early version of the pork pie…

[hypokeimena]

stop sending me max miller's garum episode he said it was roman garum and used a recipe out of the geoponika

[alexanderpearce]

need to go back in time and show the romans goon

[salute-green]

Apicius Post: Integratore naturale contro reflusso e indigestione

Apicius Post è un integratore alimentare a base di ingredienti naturali, formulato per aiutare la digestione e contrastare i sintomi del reflusso gastroesofageo. Apicius Post è un valido alleato per la salute del tuo apparato digerente. Come funziona Apicius Post? Apicius Post agisce grazie alla sinergia dei suoi ingredienti naturali: Liquirizia: Lenisce la mucosa gastrica, riduce il bruciore…

[dipnotski]

Marcus Gavius Apicius – Marcus Gavius Apicius’un Mutfak Kültürü Hakkındaki 10 Kitabı (2022)

Flamingo ve [Papağan] için: Flamingoyu haşlayın, yıkayın ve soyun, bir tencereye koyun, kaynatmak için su, tuz, dereotu ve biraz sirke ekleyin. Bir demet pırasa ve kişniş ile pişirin ve renk vermesi için biraz seyreltilmiş şıra ekleyin. Havanda biber, kimyon, kişniş, lasar kökü, nane, sedef otu, dövün. Hurma ekleyin ve süzün, kuşu sosla kaplayın ve servis yapın. Papağan da aynı şekilde…

[timetraveltasting]

PATINA DE PIRIS (ROMAN PEAR PATINA, 1st c.)

I was somewhat reluctant to make this next Tasting History dish: Patina de Piris, or Roman Pear Patina, from the 1st century AD primary source De Re Coquinaria of Apicius. The reluctance came primarily from the unexpected list of ingredients (about half of them sweet, half savoury) and from Max's main description of the dish as "very Roman" in flavour. Based on the previous Roman dishes I've made, I assumed this to indicate there would be some unexpected flavours mingling together, both sweet and savoury. The Roman palate definitely differs from the modern one. The list of ingredients puts things together I would never expect: eggs, ice wine, cumin, honey, fish sauce, pears, pepper... not typically ingredients which I would say go well together. I appreciate a challenge, though. The 4th book of De Re Coquinaria features over a dozen recipes for patinae prepared with various ingredients (for example, rustic herbs or peaches) that seem to have little in common, save for the use of the same tool: the patina, a kind of pan or plate. While the Romans would likely have used a clay pot version, as does Max, I opted for enamel in its place, perhaps to the finished dish's detriment (spoiler...). Patinae probably would have been part of mensa secunda, or second meal, the final course in a larger meal which usually consisted of sweets, pastries, nuts, and egg dishes, like a modern dessert course. This explains the sweet ingredients, but I was still puzzled why there are so many savoury ingredients in Patina de Piris; I wanted to find out why! See Max’s video on how to make the dish here or see the ingredients and process at the end of this post, sourced from his website.

My experience making it:

My first and perhaps most crucial change from Max's directions lies in my choice of pan; I used an enamel pan, because I didn't have a clay pot like Max did or the Romans would have. Otherwise, I followed the instructions fairly well. I used an Italian rosé for boiling the pears, four firm pears, German linden tree honey, ice wine from Rheinhessen as my passum, black pepper, and Asian fish sauce as my garum replacement.

I started by preheating the oven, preparing my ingredients, and simmering the rosé wine with a bit of water. I peeled the pears, used an apple slicer to core them and cut them into wedges, and added them to the pot. While they cooked for 20 minutes, I separated the eggs and yolks for later. When the pears were soft and pierceable with a fork, I drained them and began mashing them with a potato masher. Unfortunately, my masher couldn't get the pear pieces very small, no matter how much I mashed, so instead of ending up with the 'applesauce consistency' that Max calls for, mine ended up more like a rustic, chunky pearsauce. I put it into a mesh strainer to get out as much of the moisture as I could without pushing any of the pear chunks through the holes. This was only partially successful, as when I put the pear chunks back in the pot, some juice still pooled a bit. As someone suggested in the comments of Max's video, I added a teaspoon of flour to soak up this moisture, which helped. While the pears were still warm, I melted the honey in, then mixed in the pepper and cumin. Instead of using oil to grease my pan, I used butter to prevent pools of grease from forming on the bottom and leaving the sides ungreased. I easily and quickly beat the egg yolks until uniform, then beat the egg whites for what seemed like an hour (actually about 20 minutes) in an effort to achieve 'stiff peaks', which never quite got very stiff. Once the pears were room temperature, I added the ice wine, fish sauce, and oil, mixed until uniform, then began folding in the egg yolks and egg whites, little by little, until combined. It was quite a frothy mix! I poured the mixture into the enamel pan and put it on the lowest rack in the oven. I baked it for 30 minutes, and the top looked brown, so I took it out to do the toothpick test. It did not come out clean, so I put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes. This time, the toothpick came out clean, so I added some pepper on top and served it after letting it cool a little. It turned out it was not quite cooked at the bottom, and was mushy to serve, so I decided to throw it back in the oven another 10 minutes. This time, upon serving, it was holding together a little better, but pear juice was still pooling at the bottom of the pan. I decided to serve it anyways at this point, as my patience was wearing thin. I served the dish with some of the ice wine from the ingredients, since the bottle was open and beckoning.

My experience tasting it:

I have to admit, it looked absolutely terrible plated up - almost like scrambled eggs. The pear chunks were visible, and seeing them mixed in with cooked egg was not an appetizing look. While the top of the dish looked lovely, as if it had a nice golden baked crust, it was in fact spongey. Very misleading! My husband and I put our most open-minded and optimistic hats on despite this, and tried our first bite. While pear was the main flavour (and I love pear!), the cumin and pepper were definitely noticeable. I get why Max described Patina de Piris as tasting 'very Roman' - it did have hints of flavour I recognized from previous savoury Roman dishes I have made (perhaps the wine, garum, and honey combo?). The flavour was fine, but to me it was very clear that these specific ingredients don't work well together. I hoped they would surprise me by complementing each other, but this was not the case. On top of this, the texture was quite terrible: spongey and moist in all the wrong ways, with chunks of pear adding a bit more crunch, though still fairly soft. The texture of scrambled eggs - that jiggle - was also present. Honestly, the chunks of pear were the saving grace; they still tasted like pear, sweet and lovely. Still, the best part of this meal (which we had around lunchtime), was the ice wine. Evidently, this dish did disappoint, and we ended up throwing out the remainder, which is saying a lot, since I am usually really against wasting food. I'm not sure where this dish went wrong, exactly. It could have been that I used the wrong pan, my pears could have had too much moisture, the egg whites might not have been frothy enough, maybe I shouldn't have used butter instead of oil to grease the pan, or I might have left it in the oven too long somehow. Or, equally likely: the terrible texture and strange taste is just how this dish was originally intended by the Romans. Who's to say? Either way, I consider this a failed attempt at this dish, but I would love if you could change my mind. If you end up making this dish, if you liked it, or if you changed anything from the original recipe, do let me know!

Patina de Piris original recipe (1st c.)

Sourced from De Re Coquinaria by Apicius, 1st century.

Patina of Pears: Pound boiled and cored pears with pepper, cumin, honey, possum, garum, and a little oil. Add eggs to make the patina, sprinkle with pepper, and serve.

Modern Recipe

Based on the recipe from De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (1st c.) and Max Miller’s version in his Tasting History video.

Ingredients:

1 750 ml bottle rosé or other wine

4 medium firm pears, peeled, cored, and cut into quarters

2 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp ground long pepper or black pepper

A large pinch of cumin

4 large eggs, separated

1/4 cup (60 ml) passum*

1 tbsp olive oil

Garum** to taste

*Passum is a sweet raisin wine used in ancient Rome. Use a sweet wine like Vin Santo, ice wine, a sweet Riesling, or Moscato. **Garum was a fermented fish sauce that was used in a lot of ancient Roman cooking. You can buy a modern equivalent or use an Asian fish sauce. For this recipe, I used 1 tablespoon of my homemade garum, which is less salty than modern Asian fish sauces. If you use an Asian fish sauce, use 1 to 1.5 teaspoons.

Method:

Pour the rosé into a saucepan and add some water so that when you add the pears, they’ll all be covered. Bring it to a simmer. Add the pears and cook for 20 minutes or until they get very soft.

Drain the pears. Mash them to a puree, about the consistency of applesauce. Drain off any excess liquid.

While it’s still warm, mix in the honey, pepper, and cumin. Let it cool to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Move a rack to the lowest position. Lightly oil one large ceramic dish or four smaller ones.

Beat the egg yolks until smooth.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.

When the pear mixture is room temperature, mix in the passum, olive oil, and garum.

Stir the egg yolks into the pear mixture.

Fold the egg whites into the pear mixture until there are no streaks of egg white.

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish(es). Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

When the patina is done, take it out of the oven, sprinkle it with pepper, and serve it forth.

[capn-twitchery]

@thedeafprophet alex stumbling across the worst constructed parabolan base camp he's ever seen in his fucking life and thinking it's abandoned til twitch shows up trying to wrangle 7 forty voiced warblers at once

nobody is better at failing glasswork checks than twitch. i honestly think grace is better at monster hunting than twitch is at silvering. they're so good at fucking it up every single time it is Unreal

go girl give us nothing!! get lost in that jungle!!! get attacked by that warbler!!! go insane from nightmares!!

[jadagul]

Behold: the Biblically Accurate Angel Food Cake!

(Inspired by https://www.instagram.com/p/C3djEWBSA8K/ )

Today was my Second Annual Bad Idea Potluck. I make things that I know are great but can't convince other people to try, and also things that sound horrifying but I'm morbidly curious. Other creations from today:

Chicken and vegetable aspic:

Ham salad:

Tomato Soup Cake, from Dylan Hollis. Voted "most better than it sounds."

Bean Pie, also from Dylan Hollis:

A savory feta cheesecake, with a recipe from Cato:

And honeyed mushrooms from Apicius:

I also made a couple loaves of bread:

Old Fashioned and Manhattan jello shots (Old Fashioned was too strong but the Manhattan was great):

and a bizarre cocktail called the Death Flip (which was truly great, do recommend if you like that sort of thing).

Extremely fun party; will do again.

[ancientrome]

Tableware from the Tivoli Hoard. Roman mid-1st century BCE. x

This group of silver tableware forms part of a hoard, said to be from Tivoli, near Rome. Tivoli was a popular site for luxury villas in the Late Republic, and was to Rome what Boscoreale and Boscotrecase in the Campanian countryside were to Naples. The Tivoli hoard, comprising thirty pieces in all, includes two decorated skyphoi (wine cups), a ladle, a trulla (spouted pitcher), and several spoons, all of which would have been used at dining and drinking parties. Inscriptions on the pair of drinking cups and the ladle give the weight of each piece and the owner's name: "Sattia, daughter of Lucius." The hoard was probably buried as a result of the civil wars and political unrest in Rome during the last decades of the Republic. The elegant soup spoons in this group give a clue to the diverse courses favored in Roman cuisine; the ample bowl of the ladle, like that of the cups, shows an appreciation of wine. We learn details of Roman cuisine through the cookbook of Apicius and the writings of Petronius, Juvenal, and Martial. The dietary preferences of the Romans were remarkably close to the tastes of modern-day Italians. The gustatio, or first course, consisted of shellfish, eggs, or salad. The cena, or main course, featured a succession of roasted meats. The meal ended with sweetmeats and fruits.

[sirenjose]

Analysis of Norton's dish: Roast Beef with Pudding

The pudding is likely Yorkshire Pudding/Plum Pudding

Roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding are traditional dishes in Great Britain, especially in Northern England

Eaten by a variety of people, from the lower classes to the higher classes, and could even be found on the royal family's menu. Commonly served on Christmas day to workhouses/poorhouses.

“roast beef served with plum pudding is the most evocative of past traditions of hospitality. It was once Britain’s prime celebration dish and a potent symbol of the nation’s character and cohesiveness.”

Roast Beef

The history of roast beef dates back to King Henry VII in 1485. Henry’s bodyguards (Yeoman of the Guard) received part of their salary in chunks of beef. This practice took place up until the 1800s and allegedly they earned the title ‘beef-eaters’. The story goes that King Henry’s guards started the Sunday roast beef tradition by cooking the meat (usually fillet, sirloin or shoulder) in the morning before going to Mass. The practice became a habit during the 19th century.  Women would leave the meat to cook in their village baker’s oven, which closed on Sunday, and pick it up when back from church, perfectly roasted.

Eating beef was reinforced by a tradition outlined in William Kitchiner’s 1871 volume “Apicius Redivivus: Or, The Cook’s Oracle”.  In his book, the author recommends eating about 3 kilos of meat per week to stay healthy. This underlined the central role that meat played in the British diet and described the practice of cooking beef sirloin for at least four hours over a spit.  Sunday was the one day of the week when people had four hours to spare to roast beef. Fortunately a massive lump of meat could feed the family.  They would then use it again in stews, pies and as cold cuts for the rest of the week.  As the cost of meat and coal began to plummet working people continued the habit of roasting beef every Sunday.

Yorkshire Pudding

Traditionally, the word “pudding” referred to homely and rustic desserts that were commonly eaten by the lower classes. These could be either sweet or salty. Pudding dishes are mainly made with flour and have a cake-like consistency. But originally, pudding was a meat based, sausage-like food in Britain (ex: black and white puddings). However by the late 1700s, the contemporary puddings were no longer meat based and this change incidentally coincided with the first published mention of the batter pudding.

The Yorkshire Pudding is a baked pudding made from a batter of eggs, flour and milk or water. It has become a common British side dish which is versatile and can be served in many different ways – although mainly recognized as an accompaniment to a roast dinner.

It has been suggested the pudding was given the name “Yorkshire” due to the region’s association with coal and the high temperatures this produced that helped to make crispy batter.

The 1st recorded Yorkshire Pudding recipe appeared in a 1737 book titled "The Whole Duty of a Woman"and was listed as "Dripping Pudding". Wheat flour had come into common use for making cakes and puddings, and cooks in the north of England had begun baking batter puddings while their meat roasted to make use of the fat that dropped in the dripping pan. Batter was placed in a hot pan over the fire with a bit of butter, then placed under a shoulder of mutton in the oven in place of a dripping pan to collect the fat.

The next recorded recipe launched the pudding from a local delicacy to Britain's favorite dish. It appeared in "The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy" by Hannah Glasse in 1747. Glasse was one of the most famous food writers of the time, and the popularity of her book spread the word of the Yorkshire pudding. This distinguished the light and crispy nature of the batter puddings made in this region from batter puddings created in other parts of England. Back then, the puddings were flatter than they are served today and would be served as a first course filled with thick gravy to help to suppress the diner’s appetite for expensive meat with cheap, plentiful ingredients. The main course of meat and vegetables would traditionally be served with a white sauce, as the gravy used up for the pudding. Poorer households couldn’t afford meat, and would use dripping, flour, eggs and milk to make puddings which would be served with gravy as the only course. Then there was another recipe by Mrs. Beeton, another of Britain's famous food writers of the 19th century, but her 1866 recipe omitted one of the fundamental rules for making Yorkshire pudding: the need for the hottest oven possible. The recipe was also erroneous in instructing the cook to bake the pudding for an hour before placing it under the meat. Yorkshire folk supposedly blamed her error on her southern origins.

The point of traditional Yorkshire pudding was identified in its previous name, dripping pudding. The batter was placed in a large pan into which had been allowed to drip the fat and juices of meat roasting on a spit over the fire. Once the pan had been heated in the fire and the fat was bubbling, the batter was poured into it and placed under the roasting meat as it continued to turn on the spit, thus catching all the remaining drippings. Meat was very expensive through much of the eighteenth century, and none of it was wasted, even the drippings produced when it was roasted. The fat from the meat drippings provided crucially needed calories, particularly for men doing heavy manual labor. The drippings also imparted a rich flavor to the Yorkshire pudding, and the high heat needed to roast meat was necessary to ensure the pudding would rise and had a light and crispy texture.

Traditional Yorkshire pudding was not served with the roasted meat, it was served before, as an appetizer or starter course. The pudding was cut into smaller pieces which were served drenched with the gravy made from the roasted meat. It is generally believed that this was done to take the edge off the diners’ appetites so that they would be satisfied with the small portions of the much more expensive meat which would be served during the second course. In poorer households, the children would receive only Yorkshire pudding and gravy, while the adults were served both the pudding with gravy and the roasted meat. Since the gravy was usually all consumed with the first course on the Yorkshire pudding, the meat and vegetables which typically comprised the second course were served with parsley or a cream sauce. Though Yorkshire pudding could be made with any roasting meat, the eighteenth-century Englishman was very fond of his roast beef. Thus, by the turn of the nineteenth century, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding had become a quintessential traditional meal throughout England. Even before the Regency, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding were a favorite Sunday dinner, especially among the middle and upper classes. There were even many among the aristocracy who enjoyed such a meal.

Going back to the mention roast beef with yorkshire pudding as common in workhouses on Christmas Day, a ballad was written by George Robert Sims for the Christmas of 1877. It served as a criticism of the harsh conditions in English and Welsh workhouses under the 1834 Poor Law

Regarding the in-game dish, from the looks of it, the roast beef is being served in a large Yorkshire pudding, which isn't too abnormal either (ex: places in Yorkshire sometimes might serve your dinner in a large pudding)