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Gustum Versatile (Turnover Antipasto)
Gustum Versatile (Turnover Antipasto) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic layered dish of turnips, leeks, celery, onions, snails, chicken and meatballs that are cooked and set with eggs before being turned over onto a dish and served with a wine sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Turnover Antipasto (Gustum Versatile).
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
70 minutes
Total Time:
90 minutes
Serves:
4-6
Rating: 
Tags : Wild FoodSauce RecipesChicken RecipesFowl RecipesVegetable RecipesAncient Roman Recipes
Original Recipe
Gustum versatile: albas betas minutas, porros requietos, apios, bulbos, cochleas elixas, gizeria pullorum, aucellas, isicia coques ex iure. perungis patinam et folia malvarum substernis et praemixta holera componis sicut laxamentum habeant, permisces bulbos intunsos, damascenas, cochleas, isicia, lucanicas breves concidis, liquamine, oleo, vino, aceto ponis ut ferveat. cum ferbuerit, teres piper, ligusticum, gingiber, pyrethrum modicum, fricabis, suffundis... et facies ut bulliat patina. ova complura confringis et ius mortarii reliquum commoves, commiscis, patinam obligabis. dum ducit, oenogarum ad eam sic facies: teres piper, ligusticum, fricabis, suffundis liquamen et vinum, passo temperabis vel vino dulci. temperabis in caccabulo, mittis olei modicum, facies ut ferveat. cum ferbuerit, amulo obligas. patinam versas in lancem, folia malvarum ante tollis, oenogaro profundis, insuper piper aspargis et inferes.
Translation
Turnover Antipasto: Take small white beets, stored leeks, celery, bulbs, poached snails, chicken giblets [cooked], small bird meats, and meatballs cooked in their own gravy. Grease a shallow pan and line with mallow leaves and add to it the green vegetables, which you have previously mixed [with the meat] so that they have plenty of room. Add to these the bulbs, which have previously been bruised, damsons, snails and meatballs and small Lucanian sausages, finely sliced, liquamen, olive oil, wine and vinegar. Put the dish [on the fire] to cook. When it has cooked, grind pepper, lovage, ginger a little pellitory, pound well, [moisten with wine], blend and pour [into the stewing dish]. Cook well. Break several eggs, mix them with the remainder of the sauce left in the mortar and use this to thicken the dish. While it is setting, prepare the following wine sauce to accompany: crush pepper and lovage, pound well, moisten with liquamen and wine, blend with passum or sweet wine. Stir into the pan, add a little olive oil, bring to a boil. Afterwards, thicken with starch. Now turn the dish out onto a serving dish, remove the mallow leaves and pour the wine sauce [over]. Season with pepper and serve.
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. I am providing this information for historical context only so you can better understand the text.
Method:
Take a cast iron casserole dish and grease liberally with olive oil. Use the mallow (or grape) leaves to line the base and sides of the dish. In a bowl, combine the turnips, leeks and celery. Toss with the strips of chicken breast and chicken livers. Add this mixture to the base of the casserole dish. Bruise the onions in a mortar and sit these on top of the vegetables then carefully layer over the poached snails, the damson halves, chicken dumplings and sausage slices.
Drizzle a little olive oil over the top, then pour over the white wine, chicken stock, liquamen and vinegar. Place on the heat, secure a tight fitting lid and cook gently to steam the ingredients for 20 minutes, ensuring that the dish does not dry out.
In the meantime, pound together the black pepper, lovage (or celery) seeds, pellitory and ginger in a mortar. Moisten with the white wine then pour half of this into the casserole. Work the beaten eggs into the sauce remaining in the mortar then pour this on top of the casserole. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170°C and cook for 40 minutes, or until the eggs are set.
Whilst the casserole is cooking, prepare the second sauce. Pound together the black pepper and lovage (or celery) seeds along with the dried pellitory in a mortar then work in the chicken stock, white wine and passum. When the casserole is almost ready, pour the sauce into a pan, add a little olive oil and bring to a boil.
When the casserole is done, carefully invert onto a serving dish. Remove the leaves from the outside and pour over the hot sauce. Sprinkle with black pepper 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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