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Oa Pnikta (Eggs Poached with Oil, Wine and Garum)

Oa Pnikta (Eggs Poached with Oil, Wine and Garum) is a traditional Ancient Greco-Roman recipe (by the physician, Galen) for a dish of eggs poached in wine, olive oil and the fish sauce, garum. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Mesopotamian version of: Eggs Poached with Oil, Wine and Garum (Oa Pnikta).

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

15 minutes

Total Time:

25 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : Ancient Roman Recipes

English Translation

Better than boiled and baked eggs are those called poached. The recipe for them is as follows. Drizzle them with oil, fish-sauce and a little wine, put hot water into the large basin containing their pot, then cover the whole lot completely with a lid. Put over a flame until the eggs are of a moderately firm consistency. If they have become too firm, they turn out like boiled and baked eggs, but if they are average in firmness they are better digested than hard eggs and furnish the body with finer food.

Galen De alimentorum facultatibus (On the Properties of Foodstuffs)

So for a moderate consistency you should aim for eggs that can be poured over the plate, not leaving them to thicken completely, but removing the pot from the fire while they are still runny.

Modern Redaction

It's not just hen eggs that would be on the Greco-Roman diet, pheasant eggs, goose eggs and ostrich eggs were also commonly enjoyed.

These eggs are meant to be poached and the method is essentially cooking in a bain marie. I used one of those egg poachers where a four-well poacher sits over a pan of simmering water.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
3 tsp garum (use Than Nam Pla/fish sauce)
4 tbsp dry white wine
4 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Fill the pan of the egg poacher with water, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Place the poacher unit over the simmering water.

Grease the wells of the egg poacher with a little of the olive oil then divide the remainder between the wells.

Crack an egg into each well then a tablespoon of white wine and a teaspoon of garum over each egg. Sit the lid on top then poach for about 12 minutes, or until the egg is done to your liking.

Serve hot accompanied by crusty bread.