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Thorion Tarikhous (Mackerel-stuffed Vine Leaves)

Thorion Tarikhous (Mackerel-stuffed Vine Leaves) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe (but based on a Greek original) for vine leaves stuffed with a mackerel and cheese mixture and baked in fish stock. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Thorion Tarikhous.

prep time

30 minutes

cook time

60 minutes

Total Time:

90 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : Cheese RecipesBaking RecipesAncient Roman Recipes

Original Recipe

Thorion Tarikhous (from an Ancient Commentary on Aristophanes' Knights)

The commentary shows that this is originally a Greek recipe; however as many of the Roman cooking slaves (and cooking sources) were Greek in origin (and a similar dish is known from a number of Roman murals) I think that it's fair to include it in this list as a Graeco–Roman dish.

Translation

Smoked fish thrion smoked fish thirion is a name given to another recipe consisting of brain and smoked fish seasoned with fish sauce and cheese, wrapped in a fig leaf and baked.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

250g smoked mackerel
250g Feta cheese
20–25 salted vine leaves
1 fish stock cube (or fresh fish stock)
2 tbsp garum (or Nam Pla)

Method:

Skin the mackerel fillets and remove any bones then place in a bowl and mash roughly with a fork. Add the feta cheese and mash them together.

Lay out one of the vine leaves and taking a tablespoon of the mackerel and cheese mixture lay it along the bottom third of the vine leaf. Bring the bottom portion of the leaf over the mixture, fold-in the sides and finally roll the leaf up to form a parcel.

Repeat this process until all the mackerel and cheese mixture has been incorporated into vine parcels. Tightly pack the parcels into a heavy dish so that there is almost no space between them.

Make 100ml of fish stock by dissolving a fish stock cube in 100ml of boiling water, or use 100ml of fresh fish stock. Season with 2 tbsp of garum and pour over the vine-leaf parcels.

Place the dish in an oven pre-heated to 170°C (325°F/Gas Mark 3) and cook for an hour. Serve immediately. If you make a cheese sauce and pour this over the vine parcels, topping with a sprinkling of paprika this makes an excellent starter.

Though the original recipe calls for brains, the concerns about the safety of central nervous system components in the wake of the various prion disorders (BSE, Scrapie etc) has led me to leave them out of this redaction. However, the recipe works well enough without their inclusion.