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Amia (Roman Fish in Vine Leaves)

Amia (Roman Fish in Vine Leaves) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe (based on a Greek original) for a fish covered with and baked in vine leaves. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Amia.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

60 minutes

Total Time:

80 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : Herb RecipesBaking RecipesAncient Roman Recipes

Original Recipe

Amia (from Athenæus' Deipnosophistae)

Athenæus was born in Naucratis, Egypt circa 180CE. He is remembered chiefly for his his compilation Deipnosophistae (The Deipnosophists [which is most often loosely translated as The Partying Professors). Writing in Greek, the book itself is a dialogue in which a variety of characters debate a wide spectrum of topics. Luxury, diet, health, sexual relationships, music, humour and Greek lexicography all come under discussion, but the focus is on food, wine and entertainment. There are numerous descriptions of meals and the curses involved in those meals. So detailed are many of these that a modern redaction of the food can easily be created. Though Egyptian Athenæus was a learned member of the Roman empire (Greek being the second language of the Roman Empire) and it is fair to assume that the food described by Athenæus would have been known across the Empire. It is also good to have someone apart from Apicius as a source of recipes!

Translation

I took without using any sauce a tuna fish, an exceedingly fine specimen, poured plenty of olive oil over it, wrapped it like a baby in fig leaves, sprinkled it with marjoram and buried it like a firebrand in the hot ashes.

Modern Redaction

This is originally a Greek recipe, however as many of the Roman cooking slaves were Greek in origin and a similar dish is known from a number of Roman murals I think that it's fair to include it in this list. I have substituted vine leaves here, as they are edible. To aid presentation firm while fish are used instead of tuna, but you may use tuna or swordfish steaks if you like.

Ingredients:

4 whole herring or mackerel, gutted
20% vine leaves
a handful of fresh marjoram
12 tbsp olive oil
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

Wash the fish and chop the marjoram finely. Cut four pieces of aluminium foil large enough to form a parcel to envelop the fish. Overlap the vine leaves in the foil and place the fish on top. Place the marjoram in the body cavity of each fish and cover with 3 tbsp each of olive oil.

Fold the vine leaves over the fish, adding more vine leaves on top if needed. Close the parcels and make sure they are properly sealed before putting them on a baking tray and placing in an oven pre-heated to 150°C (300°F/Gas Mark 2). Bake for an hour then take the fish out of the foil and serve still wrapped in the vine leaves.