Meatballs in hydrogarum
esicia plena: accipies adipes fasiani recentes, preduras et facis ex eo tessellas. cum pipere liquamine caroeno in esicio includes; et idrogaro quoques et inferes.
idrogarata esicia sic facies: teres piper ligusticum piretrum minimum. suffundes liquamen, temperas aquam cisterninam. dum inducet exinanies in caccabo, et cum esicia ad uaporem ignis pones et caleat et sic sorbendum inferes.
Stuffed isicia: take fresh pheasant fat, brown it lightly, and make little cubes of it. Enclose them in the forcemeat with pepper, fish sauce, and caroenum; cook in hydrogarum and serve.
Make the isicia in hydrogarum thus: grind pepper, lovage, and a very little Spanish camomile. Moisten with fish sauce and thin with cistern water. When it comes to a boil, empty it into a pot, and put it with the isicia over the heat of the fire; let it warm, and so serve it to be sipped.
I have not, unfortunately, been able to find the pheasant fat called for in Apicius 2.2.1. Nevertheless, as the only recipe given for meat, rather than seafood, isicia, I have combined it with the recipe for hydrogarum that immediately follows.
Ingredients
For meatballs
- 1 kg pork mince
- 30 ml fish sauce
- 30 ml defrutum
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
For hydrogarum
- 45 ml fish sauce
- 1½ tsp dried Spanish camomile
- 1 tsp dried lovage
- Generous ground pepper
Method
- Mix the meatball ingredients together, then form into small balls.
- Place the hydrogarum ingredients into a large saucepan along with 800 ml of water. Bring to a simmer, then add the meatballs. Poach for around 10 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through, then serve the meatballs with the hydrogarum.