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Aliter Ius in Murena Elixa (Another, Sauce for Poached Moray Eel)

Aliter Ius in Murena Elixa (Another, Sauce for Poached Moray Eel) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic sauce of pepper, lovage, aniseed, celery seeds, sumac and dates in a honey, vinegar, stock, olive oil, mustard and wine base that's intended to be served with poached moray eel. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Another, Sauce for Poached Moray Eel (Aliter Ius in Murena Elixa).

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

25 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Spice RecipesAncient Roman Recipes


Original Recipe


Aliter Ius in Murena Elixa (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria) X, ii, 4


Aliter ius in murena elixa: piper, ligusticum, anethum, apii semen, rhus Syriacum, caryotam, mel, acetum, liquamen, oleum, sinape, defritum.

Translation


Another, Sauce for Poached Moray Eel: [Combine] pepper, lovage, anise, celery seeds, Syrian sumac, dates, honey, vinegar, liquamen, olive oil, mustard and defritum.

Modern Redaction

Though the Romans loved it, moray eel is not much consumed these days. However, this sauce works well with other types of eels and fish such as ling.

Ingredients:

1kg eel steaks, poached

1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1 tsp lovage (or celery) seeds
generous pinch of aniseed
1 tsp celery seeds
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp ground sumac
4 pitted dates, finely chopped
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
250ml fish stock
60ml defritum
1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Combine the black pepper, lovage (or celery) seeds, aniseed, celery seeds, mustard powder and sumac in a mortar. Pound to grind then add the dates and pound again. Mix in the honey, white wine vinegar, fish stock defritum and olive oil then turn into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook gently for 20 minutes, or until thickened.

Serve to accompany the poached eel.

Find more recipes from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria along with information on Apicius and his cookbook, all part of this site's Ancient Roman recipes collection.