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Jingles Revisited

Chicken in Cream Sauce with Pasta

By Euriol of Lothian

Most of what we know about Roman Cookery comes down to us from translations of from manuscripts of the work of Apicius. According to Vehling, there was probably more than one man of the name of Apicius and they lived around the first century B.C. The manucripts that have survived to the present time date back to the ninth century. A translation into English had not occurred until early this century. The following recipe is taken from two different translations. Since I do not read Latin, I based my recipe upon the translations.

Chicken in Cream Sauce with Pasta
Original Recipe (in Latin)

"PULLUS TRACTOGALATUS: PULLUM COQUES LIQUAMINE, OLEO, VINO, CUI MITTIS FASCICULUM CORIANDRI, CEPAM. DEINDE, CUM COCTUS FUERIT, LEVABIS EUM DE IURE SUO ET MITTIS IN CACCABUM NOVUM LAC ET SALEM MODICUM, MEL ET AQUAE MINIMUM. [ID EST TERTIAM PARTEM.] PONIS AD IGNEM LENTUM UT TEPESCAT, TRACTUM CONFRINGIS ET MITTIS PAULATIM, ASSIDUE AGITAS, NE URATUR. PULLUM ILLIC MITTIS INTEGRUM VEL CARPTUM VERSABIS IN LANCEM, PERFUNDIS IUS TALE: PIPER, LIGUSTICUM, ORIGANUM, SUFFUNDIS MEL ET DEGRITUM MODICUM, ET IUS DE SUO SIBI, TEMPERAS. IN CACCABULO FACIES UT BULLIAT. CUM BULLIERIT, AMULO OBLIGAS ET INFERES."

Translation by Flower and Rosenbaum:

"Chicken with Milk and Pastry Sauce. Braise the chicken in liquamen, oil, and wine, to which you add a bouquet of fresh coriander and onions. Then when done, lift it from its stock and put into a new saucepan milk and a little salt, honey, and very little water. Set by a slow fire to warm, crumble pastry, and add gradually, stirring continually to prevent burning. Put in the chicken whole or in pieces, turn out on a serving dish, and pour over the following sauce: pepper, lovage, oregano, add honey and a little defrutum and cooking liquor. Mix well. Bring to the boil in a saucepan. When it boils thicken with cornflour and serve."

Translation by Vehling:

"Cook the chicken [as follows, in] broth, oil, with win added, to which add a bunch of coriander and [green] onions. When done take it out [strain and save] the broth, and put it in a new saucepan, add milk and a little salt, honey and a pint of water, that is, a third part: place it back on a slow fire to simmer. Finally break [the paste] put it little by little into [the boiling broth] stirring well so it will not bum. Put the chicken in, either whole or in pieces dish it out in a deep dish. This cover with the following sauce: pepper, lovage, oregano, moistened with honey and a little reduced must. Add some of the [chicken] broth, heat in a small sauce pan and when it boils thicken with roux and serve."

My interpretation:

In stock pot place chicken with bouquet of coriander & onion quartered, with wine, liquamen (or salt) and oil. Cook over medium low heat until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove chick and strain remaining broth. Reserve 3 1/2 cups of the broth.

In saucepan melt butter then add flour, cook for about I minute to incorporate flour into the butter. Slowly add the broth, stirring constantly until smooth. Then add the cream (or milk) and honey, bring to a simmer and add pepper, lovage and oregano. Add chicken, cut up into pieces, heat until warm. Serve over cooked pasta.

*Liquamen is a fish sauce which I will discuss in a future column.

Sources:

APICTUS The Romas Cookery Book translated by Barbara Flower and Elisabeth Rosenbaum, Peter Nevill Limited
APICIUS Cookery and Dining in Inperial Rome translated by Joseph Dommers Vehling, Dover Publications, Inc

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