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Gustum de Holeribus (Vegetable Relish)
Gustum de Holeribus (Vegetable Relish) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic stew of baby onions with pork, chicken livers, chicken legs and bird meats that are stewed and flavoured with pepper, lovage, stock, wine and passum. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Vegetable Relish (Gustum de Holeribus).
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
80 minutes
Total Time:
100 minutes
Serves:
4
Rating: 
Tags : Sauce RecipesPork RecipesGame RecipesAncient Roman Recipes
Original Recipe
Gustum de holeribus: condies bulbos liquamine, oleo et vino. cum cocti fuerint, iecinera porcelli et gallinarum et ungellas et aucellas divisas. haec omnia cum bulbis ferveant. cum ferbuerint, teres piper, ligusticum, suffundis liquamen, vinum et passum, ut dulce sit, ius de suo sibi suffundis, revocas in bulbos. cum ferbuerint, ad momentum amulo obligas.
Translation
Vegetable Relish: Cook bulbs in stock, olive oil and wine. When they are done, cut up suckling pig and chicken livers, chicken legs and meats from small birds. Cook these along with the bulbs. When they are done, pound pepper and lovage, moisten with liquamen, wine and passum to sweeten. Blend with liquid [from the stew]. Pour this back on the bulbs. As soon as they boil, thicken with starch.
Modern Redaction
In Apicius, as is common in Roman cookery the term 'bulbos' really does refer to bulbs and these could be the bulbs of tulip, narcissus, and daffodil. These are the 'bulbs' that seem to be referred to by Apicius. . Columella and Pliny the Elder reported that the buds or shoots of reeds were sometime called “bulbs" and sometimes “eyes." Platina included the squill (scilla) and sea onion in the term. Apart from the onion, the other bulbs in these lists contain contain toxic glycosides and
CAN BE LETHAL. Only ever use onions in these recipes, DO NOT try the other bulb types. To keep with the 'bulbos' description use small or pickling onions.
Ingredients:
15 baby onions
250ml chicken stock
2 tbsp olive oil
120ml white wine
100g pork liver, sliced
100g chicken livers, sliced
4 cooked chicken legs, cooked, meat stripped off and sliced
4 quail (or other small bird breasts), sliced
For the Sauce:
1/8 tsp freshly-ground
black pepper
1/2 tsp
lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
220ml chicken stock
2 tbsp liquamen
60ml white wine
60ml
passum
cornflour, to thicken (originally
wheat starch (amulum) would have been used)
Method:
Peel the onions, place in a heat-proof casserole with the stock, olive oil and white wine. Cover and poach for about 15 minute, or until just tender. Stir in the livers, chicken meat and breast meats then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and cook for 60 minutes, or until all the ingredients are tender.
When the meats are almost done, prepare the sauce. Pound together the pepper and lovage in a mortar. Work in the chicken stock, liquamen, white wine and passum. Turn into a saucepan and add a little of the liquid from the casserole. Bring to a boil then work in a little cornflour (made into a slurry with water) to thicken.
Pour over the casserole, bring to a boil 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.
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