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Krea Tarikhera (Ham in Red Wine Sauce)

Krea Tarikhera (Ham in Red Wine Sauce) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe (based on a Greek original) for sliced ham served with a spiced red wine sauce thickened with bread. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Krea Tarikhera.

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

30 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : Sauce RecipesHerb RecipesPork RecipesBread RecipesAncient Roman Recipes

Original Recipe

Krea Tarikhera (from the Heidelberg Papyrii)

This is a rare example of a Greek recipe found within the collection of mostly Coptic papyrus documents held at the University of Heidelberg (which is why they are known as the Heidelberg Papyrii). This recipe is included here as the red wine lends the sauce a plum colour that contrasts with the generally brown and green shades of most Roman cooking.

Translation

Cured meat or slices of ham, similarly raw meat: first the cured meat is boiled a little just to take away its saltiness. Then put all these ingredients into a pan: four parts wine, two parts of grape syrup, one part of wine vinegar, dry coriander, thyme, dill, fennel. Fry, after putting everything in together at the start, then boil. Half-way through the cooking some people add honey and ground cumin, others pepper, and after putting the sauce into a warmed pot they add little pieces of hot loin and bread.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

250g sliced ham
250ml red wine
60ml red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp honey
half a head of fennel (about 175g)
1 tsp ground pepper
1 thick slice wholemeal bread
se salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Finely chop the fennel and add to a pan. Mix all the spices and the liquid ingredients together and add to the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer until the fennel has softened (about 15 minutes). Meanwhile remove the crusts from the bread and cut into rough portions. Put the bread in a blender and add the fennel and wine sauce. Blend until smooth and return to the pan, warming before serving.

Arrange the slices of ham on the plate and pour the warmed sauce over the top. Serve immediately.