Perdicem cum pluma (Sauce for Wood Pigeon or Partridge)

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Perdicem cum pluma (Sauce for Wood Pigeon or Partridge)

Perdicem cum pluma (Sauce for Wood Pigeon) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a spiced red wine sauce intended to be served with wood pigeon, but which also works for other game birds. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Perdicem cum pluma.

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

25 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Serves:

Rating:

Tags : Sauce Recipes Vegetable Recipes Ancient Roman Recipes

Original Recipe

Perdicem cum pluma (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria)

Perdicem cum pluma sua elixabis et madefactam depilabis. [perdices coctura]: occisa perdix potest ex iure coqui, ne indurescat. si III dierum fuerit, elixa coqui debet.

Translation

For roasts; pepper, lovage, coriander, caraway, shallots, mint, yolks of egg, dates, honey, vinegar, broth, oil and wine.

Ingredients:

A pinch each of pepper, lovage seeds (or celery seeds), fresh coriander, mint, spikenard and dried onion
120g stoned dates
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp red wine (or port)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp liquamen (or Nam Pla, Thai fish sauce)
1 tbsp honey

Method:

Place the pepper, lovage, coriander, mint and spikenard in a pestle and grind with a mortar until they form a paste. Add the dates and egg yolk and pound with the pestle until smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients to a small pan and spoon in the mixture from the mortar. Heat gently until the sauce thickens (remember to stir all the time with a wooden spoon otherwise the eggs will scramble).

Pour the sauce over oven-roasted pigeons or fried pigeon breasts 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.