Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome

AND DRY MINT. MAKE FISH BALLS OUT OF THIS MATERIAL AND POACH THE SAME IN WINE, BROTH AND OIL; AND WHEN COOKED, ARRANGE THEM IN A DISH. THEN MAKE A SAUCE [utilizing the broth, the _court bouillon_ in which the balls were cooked] SEASON WITH PEPPER, LOVAGE, SATURY, ONIONS AND WINE AND VINEGAR, ALSO ADD BROTH AND OIL AS NEEDED, BIND WITH ROUX [4] [pour over the balls] SPRINKLE WITH THYME AND GROUND PEPPER [5]. [1] Reminding us of the Norwegian _fiske boller_ in wine sauce, a popular commercial article found canned in delicatessen stores. [2] List. _patella sicca_--dry, perhaps because made of dried fish. [3] List. _isicia de Tursione_; G.-V. _Thursione_. Probably a common sturgeon, or porpoise, or dolphin. List. describes it as "a kind of salt fish from the Black Sea; a malicious fish with a mouth similar to a rabbit"; Dann. thinks it is a sturgeon, but in Goll. it appears as tunny. The ancients called the sturgeon _acipenser_; but this name was gradually changed into _styrio_, _stirio_ and _sturio_, which is similar to _tursio_ (cf. _styrio_ in the vocabulary). The fish in question therefore may have been sturgeon for which the Black Sea is famous. [4] List., G.-V. _ovis obligabis_--tie with eggs--certainly preferable to the Tor. version. [5] Tor. thyme. The above is an excellent way of making fish balls, it being taken for granted, of course, that the salt fish be thoroughly soaked and cooked in milk before shaping into balls. The many spices should be used very moderately, some to be omitted entirely. We read between the lines of the old formula that the _Tursio_ had a long journey from Pontus to Rome; fish however dry acquires a notorious flavor upon such journeys which must be offset by herbs and spices. It is quite possible that the ancients made a _réduction_ of the herbs and spices mentioned in this formula; in fact, the presence of vinegar leads us to believe this, in which case this formula would be nothing but a very modern sauce. The herbs and spices in a _réduction_ are crushed and