The table of old times,
The Book of Recipes

Shrimp with date sauce

Period: Roman Empire / Category: entry

Marcus Gavius ​​Apicius (around 25 BC – around 37 AD),

The Culinary Art, Book IX: The Sea (398)

Ingredients

for 6 persons :

  • 24 prawn shrimps
  • 1 bunch of chopped chives
  • 1 pinch of freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon lovage leaves (unless you are lucky enough to find fresh lovage, which would be ideal)
  • 1 teaspoon powdered caraway seeds (I use a coffee grinder, but if you want to make life easier you can use already ground cumin)
  • 1/2 teaspoon powdered cumin seeds (same note as point above)
  • 9 pitted and finely chopped dates (I use the Deglet Nour variety, less sweet than Medjool dates and more suitable for meat and fish dishes)
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • 10 cl + 5 cl of vinegar
  • 10 cl + 5 cl of dry white wine
  • 1 tablespoon of Garum* (I replace it with Nuoc-Mâm fish sauce)
  • 5 cl of olive oil
  • 10 cl of defritum** (I replace it with Port)
  • 1 teaspoon powdered mustard seeds (I use a coffee grinder)

The preparation

1- Peel the shrimp: to peel the shrimp, start by removing the head by gently pulling it to the side (reserve the heads). You must then detach the shell starting from the legs, peeling it off along each side up to the tail. To remove the intestine, it is recommended to make a slight incision on the back of the shrimp using a thin, sharp knife. Finally, gently lift the intestine with the tip of the knife and pull it with your fingers to extract it.

2- Mix together lovage, caraway, cumin, dates and ground mustard seeds. To book.

3- Heat the honey (over very low heat) in a saucepan. When the honey is hot, deglaze with 10 cl of vinegar. As soon as the liquid begins to boil, gradually add the mixture prepared in point 2. Add a tablespoon of garum (nuoc-mâm sauce). Leave to simmer for a few minutes while stirring. Add the defritum (Port or Malaga) and 10 cl of dry white wine. Let reduce a little until the sauce is well combined and smooth. Remove from the heat and add half the chopped chives. Keep warm.
4- In a large frying pan, pour the olive oil. As soon as the oil is hot, add the shrimp and quickly sauté them and add the remaining 5 cl of vinegar to deglaze. Add the white wine and a tablespoon of garum (nuoc-mâm sauce). Mix. Add the prepared sauce (point 2), mix and simmer for a minute and a half .
5- Serve the shrimp topped with sauce and sprinkle with chopped chives.

Annotations

  • Original recipe from Apicius 398 : “ Brown chopped chives… prepare a sauce with pepper, lovage, caraway, cumin, caryotic dates, honey, vinegar, wine, garu m, d e oil and defritum. Add this sauce to mustard, if you prepare them in court-bouillon .
  • Apicius does not mention doses or cooking times. The recipes are truly minimalist, which will give you the opportunity to find the perfect balance for your taste.
  • Garum* : If like me, you are not planning to start creating this ancestral sauce (in order to maintain courteous neighborly relations), you can very well use Colatura di alici or Nuoc-Mâm fish sauce . For purists, Spanish researchers analyzed remains found in sealed clay storage jars in a building in Pompeii and, with a recipe for garum believed to have been written in the 3rd century AD, they recreated this which they claim to be the first 2000 year old fish sauce. It is now marketed in Spain under the name “Flor de Garum”.
  • D efritum ** : In ancient Roman cuisine was a reduction of grape must. The fresh juice of the grapes (unfermented) was reduced Defritum was often used in Roman cooking as a sweetener . It could be added to various dishes, from sauces to desserts, and even in some wine recipes. Additionally, defritum probably also had preservative value, helping to extend the shelf life of certain dishes. Today, it can be replaced with Porto or Malaga .