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Ius in copadiis (Sauce for Choice Cuts)

Ius in copadiis (Sauce for Choice Cuts) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic egg sauce flavoured with herbs and spices, vinegar, honey, mulsum and olive oil that's thickened with starch. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Sauce for Choice Cuts (Ius in copadiis).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

25 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Sauce RecipesSpice RecipesHerb RecipesAncient Roman Recipes


Original Recipe


Ius in copadiis (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria) VII, vi, 8


Ius in copadiis: piper, ligusticum, careum, mentam, nardostachyum, folium, ovi vitellum, mel, mulsam, acetum, liquamen et oleum. agitabis satureia et porro, amulabis.

Translation


Sauce for Choice Cuts: [Blend] pepper, lovage, caraway, mint, spikenard, bayleaf, the yolk of an egg, honey, mulsum, vinegar, stock and olive oil. Stir with a bouquet garni of savory and chives. Thicken with starch.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1 tsp lovage seeds (or celery seeds)
generous pinch of caraway seeds
leaves from 1 sprig of mint, finely chopped
1 tsp dried spikenard (or bayleaves), crumbled
1 egg yolk
2 tsp honey
60ml mulsum
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp liquamen
100ml good meat stock
2 tsp olive oil
1 bouquet garni of savory and chives tied together
cornflour, to thicken (originally wheat starch (amulum) would have been used)

Method:

Pound together the black pepper, lovage (or celery) seeds, caraway seeds, mint leaves and spikenard (or bayleaves) in a mortar. Add the egg yolk and work in until smooth then stir in the honey, mulsum, vinegar and liquamen.

Turn the mixture into a pan then beat in the meat stock and olive oil. Add the bouquet garni and bring just to a simmer (do not boil). Mix about 1 tsp of cornflour (cornstarch) with 1 tbsp water to a smooth slurry. Add this to the egg sauce and whisk to combine. Remove the bouquet garni, cook until thickened then pour over the meat, 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.