But back to the reason I have delayed in making this dish: asafoetida. Yes, it does smell like it reads -- fetid ass. The stuff stinks like a dead mouse left in a desk drawer. It scared me and I am not afraid of much (except spiders). Asafoetida (Ferula assafoetida) is a spice derived from the root of a fennel-like plant and is also known as Devil's Dung. That pretty much sums up the smell.
Anyway, I built up the courage and since I have twelve pounds of chicken thighs (which I despise) mistakenly purchased because someone (who shall remain nameless) thought they were chicken breasts, I decided to give it a go.
Here is the recipe from Apicius:
"pullum aperies a naui et in quadrato ornas, teres piper ligusticum carei modicum, suffunde liquamen, uino temperas. conponis in cumana pullum et condituram super pullum facies. laser uiuum in tepida dissoluis, et in pullum mittis simul et quoques. piper aspersum inferes."
Translated ...
"Draw the chicken from the rear and cut it into quarters. Pound pepper, lovage, a little caraway, pour on liquamen, flavour with wine. Arrange the chicken pieces in a ceramic dish, put the sauce over the chicken. Dissolve fresh laser in warm water and put it straightaway on the chicken and cook it. Sprinkle with pepper and serve."
Given that Apicius provides no measurements with his recipes, I did an internet search and found the following recipe at www.parthia.com:
Ingredients:
4 pieces chicken (breast or leg)
ground black pepper
6 fl oz (3/4 Cup/170 ml) red wine
2 tablespoons (30 ml) garum (liquamen; substitute Vietnamese nuoc mam)
1/2 teaspoon laser (substitute asafetida powder or 5 drops asafetida tincture)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh lovage or celery leaf
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
4 pieces chicken (breast or leg)
ground black pepper
6 fl oz (3/4 Cup/170 ml) red wine
2 tablespoons (30 ml) garum (liquamen; substitute Vietnamese nuoc mam)
1/2 teaspoon laser (substitute asafetida powder or 5 drops asafetida tincture)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh lovage or celery leaf
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
Directions:
Place the chicken in a casserole dish and sprinkle it liberally with pepper.
Combine the wine, fish sauce and asafoetida, add the lovage and caraway seeds and pour over the chicken.
Cover and bake in a pre-heated oven at 375° F (190° C/gas mark 5) for 1 hour. Half-way through the cooking time remove the lid to brown the chicken.
Serve with a little of the sauce poured over the meat.
Cover and bake in a pre-heated oven at 375° F (190° C/gas mark 5) for 1 hour. Half-way through the cooking time remove the lid to brown the chicken.
Serve with a little of the sauce poured over the meat.
Modern Ingredients |
Pre cooking |
Post cooking |
Unfortunately, the ajwain fruit has given the dish a slightly bitter flavor. Ajwain has an extremely strong petrolchemical aroma before it is cooked and is not pleasant at all in the dish.
The other thing I noticed about the dish is that it is not salty at all. This could be because my fish sauce was too old -- I noticed that salt crystals had precipitated and were visible in the bottom of the bottle. I ended up adding a pinch of salt to my chicken and ate it with a side of farro and fresh tomato (I know ... un-Roman!).
Despite my complaints about the dish, I recommend it and I will cook it again. Next time though using fresh fish sauce, fresh lovage, and chicken breasts.