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Conchiclatus Pullus vel Porcellus (Chicken or Suckling Pig Stuffed with Legumes)
Conchiclatus Pullus vel Porcellus (Chicken or Suckling Pig Stuffed with Legumes) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic dish of a chicken or suckling pig stuffed with a mix of peas, brains, Lucanian sausages and forcemeats in a spiced wine sauce that's roasted and served with a gravy made from the pan juices. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Chicken or Suckling Pig Stuffed with Legumes (Conchiclatus Pullus vel Porcellus).
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
165 minutes
Total Time:
185 minutes
Serves:
4
Rating: 
Tags : Sauce RecipesSpice RecipesPork RecipesChicken RecipesGame RecipesFowl RecipesBean RecipesAncient Roman Recipes
Original Recipe
Aliter conchicla: conchiclatus pullus vel porcellus: exossas pullum a pectore, femora eius iungis in porrectum, surculo alligas, et impensam [conchicla farsilis] paras. et farcies alternis pisam lotam, cerebella, lucanicas et cetera. teres piper, ligusticum, origanum et gingiber, liquamen suffundis, passo et vino temperabis. facies ut ferveat, et, cum ferbuerit, mittis modice. et impensam cum condieris, alternis in pullo componis, omento tegis et in operculo deponis et in furnum mittis, ut coquantur paulatim, et inferes.
Translation
Chicken or Suckling Pig Stuffed with Legumes: Remove the breast bone from the chicken. Straighten the legs of the bird and skewer them together. Prepare the stuffing: cooked peas, brains, Lucanian sausages, and all the other usual things. Pound pepper, lovage, oregano and ginger [in a mortar]. Moisten with liquamen and blend with passum and wine. Bring to a boil and when it has boiled add a little [to the stuffing]. When you have made your stuffing arrange everything in alternating layers in the chicken, wrap it up in caul fat, place in a casserole, place in the oven and cook gently. Serve.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1.8kg chicken
225g fresh garden peas, boiled for 10 minutes in unsalted water
100g cooked calf's brains (or tinned corned beef)
100g Lucanian sausages, sliced
100g chicken, pork or lamb forcemeat balls, fried to colour
100g cooked fowl meats (eg
pheasant, partridge, quail etc)
For the Sauce:
1 tbsp cracked
black peppercorns
1/4 tsp
lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
1/2 tsp dried
oregano, crumbled
1 tsp ground
ginger
120ml meat stock
4 tbsp liquamen (fish sauce)
2 tbsp
passum
60ml white wine
Method:
Begin with the sauce. Pound together the pepper, lovage (or celery) seeds, oregano and ginger in a mortar. Moisten with the liquamen, passum and white wine then turn into a pan and add the meat stock. Bring to a boil and take off the heat.
Arrange the stuffing ingredients in layers in the chicken, pouring a little of the sauce over each layer to moisten as you add it (use any remainder to stuff the neck). Sew the openings closed, place the chicken on a wire rack in a roasting tin, drizzle a little olive oil over the top then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 210°C and roast for 20 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and continue cooking for 44 minutes per kg (weigh the bird after stuffing). When done, the juices will run clear when you insert a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh.
Remove the chicken from the oven, cover with kitchen foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Scatter 2 tbsp flour over the pan juices. Stir until smooth and cook until browned then whisk in about 300ml water and any left-over sauce, until smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened. Serve to accompany the chicken.
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.
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