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Gruem vel anatem (Crane or Duck in Spiced Gravy)

Gruem vel anatem (Crane or Duck in Spiced Gravy) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a boiled and roasted duck (or crane) served with a spiced gravy. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Gruem vel anatem.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

130 minutes

Total Time:

150 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : Spice RecipesGame RecipesFowl RecipesAncient Roman Recipes

Original Recipe

Gruem vel anatem (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria)

Gruem vel anatem lavas et ornas et includis in olla. adicies aquam, salem, anethum, dimidia coctura decoques, dum obduretur, levas et iterum in caccabum mittis cum oleo et liquamine, cum fasciculo origani et coriandri. prope cocturam defritum modice mittis, ut coloret. teres piper, ligusticum, cuminum, coriandrum, laseris radicem, rutam, caroenum, mel, suffundis ius de suo sibi, aceto temperas. in caccabo reexinanies ut calefiat, amulo obligabis. imponis in lance et ius perfundis.

Translation

Wash the fowl and dress it nicely put in a stew pot, add water, salt and dill, parboil so as to have them half done, until the meat is hard, remove them, put them in a sauce pan with oil, broth, a bunch of oregano and coriander; when nearly done, add a little reduced must, to give it colour. Meanwhile crush pepper, lovage, cumin, coriander, laser root, rue, reduced wine and some honey, add some of the fowl broth to it and vinegar to taste; empty into a sauce pan, heat, bind with roux, and strain the sauce over the fowl in an entrée dish.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

1 large duck
1l water (about)
1 drop asafoetida essence (or ½ tsp aniseed)
50g butter or olive oil

duck stock
100ml red wine, boiled
2 sprigs of oregano finely chopped
bunch of coriander
twist of ground pepper
large pinch of black peppercorns
large pinch of celery seed (or lovage)
large pinch of ground cumin
large pinch of coriander seeds
pinch of fennel seed
sprig of rosemary (or rue)
caroenum
red wine vinegar
flour

Method:

Place the duck in a stock pot and cover with water. Add the aniseed and a twist of pepper and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes and remove the bird from the pot, reserving the stock.

Place the duck in a roasting tin and season with a mixture of butter about 150ml of the original stock and the chopped coriander and oregano. (At this point an 'Apician' stuffing composed of chopped sausages, damsons or dates, chopped almonds and spices may be placed in the bird).

Roast the duck at 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4) for 1½ hours, basting from time to time. For the final 30 minutes of cooking add the boiled red wine to the roasting pan.

To make the sauce grind the peppercorns, celery seeds, cumin, coriander seeds and asafoetida (or fennel seeds if you want) with a pestle and mortar. Add the chopped rosemary and grind these in as well. Add the caroenum and vinegar to this. Pour the mixture into a saucepan.

Remove the duck from the oven and set aside to rest. Pour 150ml of the duck gravy into the sauce, add a tablespoon of flour to thicken and bring to a gentle simmer. Carve the duck and place on a platter. Pour the sauce over the top and serve.
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.