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So, I dug up some forgotten ancient recipes that are over 2,000 years old and gave them, along with some ingredients, to a chef and an amateur cook to try to decipher and cook. Let's just say, it's been pretty interesting so far. This is not written in the English we know. Evers looks skeptical. I am ready for any adventure that awaits us. Well, we can't cook ancient dishes without ancient ingredients. OK. Lift the first fabric. Come on, you're ready. You lift the first cloth. Relic. Antiques. It doesn't look like syrup. It doesn't look oily.
Ahem. Oh, it's garum. Not to be confused with garum. Oh, yes. This is essentially Worcestershire sauce. Garum. Yes. A Roman pungent fermented fish sauce that was prized as a condiment. Very "umami It does not have a fishy smell. Oh, rub me some now. It looks like anchovies. Yes. Fabric number two. Powerful. OK. I wanted to say thyme, but no, but it's grassy. This is a type of.This is definitely thyme. Oh, wow. Try it. Suddenly there are a lot more citrus notes. It's kind of like.I'm trying to remember old herbs like marjoram or something like that. Have you heard of savory?
Yes. Yes, is that savory? A Mediterranean herb with two main culinary types: winter savory and summer savory. He is almost sharp on the tongue. Well, yes. He tingles his tongue. I would like to add it to mutton or lamb. For chicken or pork, that's too much. It performs the same function as rosemary. Yes, isn't it? Fabric number three. OK. This is an herbal mixture. And the flower? But I.yes, I would say there are seeds, pollen. It gives little.
I.need to add this to the wand. Oil or fat. This is a canuper. Never heard of such a thing. It is a strongly aromatic perennial from the aster family that has a long history in European cooking as well as herbalism. Deep in the throat, a vegetal, herbal aftertaste. And finally, Oh, that's bright. Look, it immediately resembles mustard powder. This. Greetings. This is a fake. You have to recognize it. While the previous three are very rare today, this one is still very common.
It's a very distinct smell that's bothering me right now because I can't. It's like onion powder, but maybe. it's not asafoetida? This is asafoetida. Oh, heavens. Asafetida, native to Central and South Asia, is used as a seasoning, especially for lentils, vegetable sauces, and meats. As far as I understand, if you add it to legumes while cooking, they cause less bloating. And it is good for digestion. As for the taste, I'm a little confused now, because with savory and tansy, it seems quite familiar. But once you add something very fishy, like you said, what's popular in Asia, it's something completely different.
So, using these key ingredients and the ones we have left, you will prepare two recipes by Marcus Gaius Apicius. Apicius was a 1st-century gourmet, and his book is the oldest surviving collection of recipes from the ancient Roman world . So we are dealing with recipes that are about 2,000 years old. Oho. The recipes are printed on a card. You have everything you need. I wish you success. What are you doing? Just take a little walk. Oh, fantastic. This is not like the English we know. No, I think it's Latin.
Hedim sui agnum particium. No, I'm participating. Partic.okay. I found a translation. What ingredients do we have now? We recognized Acetum-it's vinegar. Yes. Look, why do we need v-Vino verit-veritas, truth in wine. Here is the translation. You won't like it. Put in the oven. Oh, the meat inside, yes, we have that. So, this is a big stew. Crush the pepper. There is a piper, yes. Rue. The herb of grace. She looks like.like a daisy.
Oh, we'll use that. Yes, okay, great. This will be it. This is ruta. Savory, pitted blackthorn, a little laser. Lica-licamen. OK. Liqu-liquamen. Oh, that's it, exactly. And oil. Er. Liquamen. Pour plenty of boiling sauce over the meat on the plate Eat with vinegar. Here's her suggestion: just add a little vinegar at the end. Okay, I understand. This is our.this is our first card. I think we need to do some more Google searching, but do you have enough to get started?
I'll grab a board and we'll start preparing the food. So what we know about Roman cuisine that remains to this day is cacio e pepe. Cacio e pepe. The spice was pepper. Yes. So, it has survived. Aha. So, let's just crush some pepper and put it all in a bowl. And let's add a little laser. A What if I google "a little laser"? This is a popular song from 1986 by Latin Lover. Laser love. OK. I'll do it, Buzz, because it's. Well, it's basically pepper crushing, right? This is where we got confused, Baz.
U is V. The language has changed. Unam is vinum. As in the word "vine", as in Venus vitrus. A. So, a little wine, liquid wine. We'll get to the cumin later. What I like here is the combination of savory and sweet with the lamb I'll put it all in a saucepan. A little thorn, lamb. I add a little savory. I have crushed pepper. Yes. Which one can I add here. Oh, there was no mention of adding that. From the very beginning, we missed the first word. This is "head of lamb"
Wait a minute. This translates as " Parthian goat". Goat. Yes, a Parthian goat. Yes, a little goat. Head of sea. Party come (Parthian goat). Yes, let's put the goat down. Party is coming. Stop saying that. That's literally what it says. Part is some party come. Part is some-it's " to participate." Yes. So, the lamb will be participating in the meeting with the oven along with all these ingredients. Aha. We need some wine, liqueur, and oil.
They were big fans of olives back then In my opinion, that's just "a little". I'll add some salt. It doesn't say it, but I just. You're like, you have to do it. You kind of have to, right? Throw that daisy thing in there. And asafoetida. Of course, because that was the thing called " laserus". Yes. If you are allergic to onions or garlic, you can use asafetida. Mm. Liquamen is a fermented fish sauce. Ahem. So this goes there too. That's quite a lot.
Buzz, during our major kitchen renovation, I lost the lid on this. This will also work. Now I'll just wait until the lamb is cooked. 45 minutes. Buzz, I think we've made it. Yes, I think so. The head of a kid or lamb M-m. must participate. Party is coming. Meat infernum, meat from the oven, put in the oven. Teres-crush, we didn't crush, but we just ground it. pepper. Yes. Onions, all the pieces we had. A little wine, garum and oil.
Laser is asafetida. Liquamen is a garum. Point. So, this is um And then Serve all together at the disco. Have a disco. Throw a party, buddy. Rest. With the addition of vinegar. Okay, cool. Should we move on to Yes, we're only halfway there, my friend. Next step? Cook quinara. What is elixatos? What do you think this is? Recipe. Rapeseve seven napos. Again, this word is teres, which means "to crush." Sweet and sour turnip. Rapaseve napos. A. I'm sure MEL is honey. A little more garum. So, we have something and some oil.
Turnips are cooked until soft. The water is squeezed out. Boil. In Roman times, they boiled everything, didn't they? Then grind a lot of cumin and a little rue. It was a canuper. And then asafetida, the same laser. And you also have liquamen, which is garum and boiled wine. Mulled wine. Just boiled wine. Just grape juice. Grape syrup, right? Apparently. Yes. I am reading an interesting book now. Turnip was a real hit in those days. We forgot about her. We lost sight of her.
Not a very sexy ingredient, eh Well, that's how it looks. Look at this beautiful color. They are so, so beautiful. But how are we supposed to use them? Like boiled potatoes? Yes. Or like a root vegetable, but with the same flavors. Good. In the broth, I think. Should I boil them and then season them with those ingredients? I think I'll fill it up. I think they should be cooked separately, because it says "reheat moderately" and serve. It's interesting that from the previous recipe we understood the composition, but with the volumes in the recipes it's easier because we still
use those words. So, then grind cuminum plurimum. I don't like to use it too often. Cumin. Plurimum, plural. So, lots, lots, lots of cumin. Ruta, which, as you already know, is a minus. So, less. Laser, now we know, is asafetida. Crumb. Just a little bit. Just a crumb. Strew. Well, I added a little honey. Acetum, acetic acid. So, it's sweet and sour. It's honey and vinegar. Perfectly. A little fish sauce. Defritum and a measuring cup of oil. Moderate amount of And we have grape syrup, defritum.
This is a bit reminiscent of our Georgian experience Yes. A game of sweet and salty. I have to say, I was drooling after that. I don't know if it's necessary to heat it, but you can.Could you? I think it would be good. It would be nice. It would be nice if it became sticky, glazed. Do you think so? Yes, I think so. I wonder, in Roman times they all had cooks, right? Emperors would have They all had cooks. Yes. Now you can really smell the aroma of all these herbs. That's right.
I'm in awe because turnips are great. has such a savory earthy flavor. And now you've actually combined it with sweet and sour, spicy and other ingredients. I think it would be great. Our sweet and sour turnip is ready. The lamb is ready. Let's give her a rest. And the rest of the sauce will simmer, mashing the plums and onions. This creates the atmosphere of a grand Roman banquet. And yet, it would look appropriate in a gastropub today. Hey, that looks very appropriate.
Guys. Yes. Wow, that looks incredible up close. Is this what you were expecting? Um, well, I can tell you a story, man. Historian. Want to know the correct method and how close you were? Yes. We've achieved something. So, this is a translation and recipe by Sally Grainger and Christopher Grocock from Apicius. Place the lamb on a rack in a baking dish and place in the oven with olive oil. Okay. Then grind all the other ingredients: onion, garlic, savory.
Mix the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil in a separate pan. And then at the end they cover the lamb with it. But given that you did everything together, you got the same result. Well, yes, we strained the sauce at the end, it boiled down, it has meat juices in it, but we didn't make a paste of the onion and other parts so that it cooked. Well, it should be served with vinegar, remember? There was a little vinegar in there. Okay. Because we used um parts, measuring cups, fractions and um minus and all that.
I think we went overboard with the vinegar in the sauce. I love that we added so many herbs on the outside and the fat melted away. The lamb is wonderful. It's an incredible fruity note that goes so well with lamb. Prunes, red wine. With this? Yes, and savory. Wow, wow. You could make the same dish with rosemary, it would be close, or with marjoram, maybe a little sage. The only ingredient we substituted was asafetida, because the original was sylphia.
Yes. is already extinct and is literally impossible to get. I think we should eat more turnips, because sweet and sour turnips are wonderful. It holds its shape, but it's like a boiled potato. Soft inside. Wow. Sweet, sour and spicy. So, the whole dish is the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and vinegary. And it also has a real earthy, floral note that permeates everything. Onion, asafetida, savory and laser. Such historical dishes are usually dominated by one main flavor, and you think: if only they had a little more of everything, more seasonings to liven them up.
It's alive, and it could be safely served in a gastropub today as a Sunday roast, and that's what strikes me: yes, we haven't exactly recreated the method. We didn't make the pasta or cook them separately, but braising the lamb keeps all the juices in the sauce. Apparently, thanks to new French technology, it's even better. The stew turns out richer than the original, and the lamb fat goes into the sauce. Turnip- no comments. It turned out just right. Absolutely, there was a moment when I thought you weren't going to heat up the sauce, but you guessed it, and that was right on target. There is a sense of familiar taste, although there is no potato
, rosemary, or thyme, but they harmonize and seem so familiar. And the lamb is exceptional. I love immersing myself in history, and the fact that this dish exceeded my expectations makes me want to make videos like this more often. I like the problem-solving element because we have all the answers. We could prepare these ingredients without a recipe, improvising, and the result would probably be similar, but the ability to calculate proportions by solving problems. This is simply brilliant. It's fun and interesting. I will eat more turnips. Amazing work. Did you like it? If so, like and write in the comments whether you want us to do more experiments with forgotten old recipes. We are ready. We like it
. If you like it too, we'll make more of them.
