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In Locusta Elixa (Sauce for Boiled Lobster)

In Locusta Elixa (Sauce for Boiled Lobster) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic dish of boiled lobster served with a pepper, cumin, rue, honey and vinegar sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Sauce for Boiled Lobster (In Locusta Elixa).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

50 minutes

Serves:

2

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Sauce RecipesSpice RecipesAncient Roman Recipes


Original Recipe


(Ius) In Locusta Elixa (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria) IX, i, 5


In locusta elixa: piper, ligusticum, cuminum, rutam, mel, acetum, liquamen et oleum.

Translation


[Sauce] for Boiled Lobster: Pepper, lovage, cumin, rue, honey, vinegar, stock and olive oil.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

1 whole lobster, about 1.2kg

For the Sauce:
1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of rue (or rosemary)
2 tbsp lovage, finely shredded
1 tsp honey
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
150ml reserved lobster stock

Method:

Bring a pan of water just large enough to hold the lobster to the boil. Plunge the lobster in this, bring back to a boil and continue cooking for 25 minutes. Take off the heat, remove the lobster and set aside to keep warm (reserve the stock).

In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Pound together the black pepper, cumin seeds and rue (or rosemary) in a mortar. Mix with the honey, vinegar, olive oil and reserved lobster stock then turn into a pan. Brin the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Either split the lobster in half and pour over the sauce, or serve the sauce to accompany the lobster. Garnish with the shredded lovage.

Serve hot...

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.