Wurt Bolf’s Cooking with the Legion Part 2: Favorite Foods of the Officers at Fobin

Author's Note

This is the second Baker's Bizarre article. While the author has not tried any of the below recipes, she does trust the sources. For the reader's convenience, the recipes have been converted to a more standardized (imperial) form of measure and weights. All the below recipes come from A Taste of Ancient Rome [By Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa. Translated by Anna Herklotz. The University of Chicago Press, 1992.]

Introduction

Officers of the Thardic legion eat far better fare than the soldiers. Villa Equestria has a dining room on the third floor wherein all the officers and occasionally the Wytel family meet at the end of the day to sup.

This "officer's mess" tends to be a formal dining area. Uniforms, usually being limited to armourments, are rarely worn to dinner-instead the officers are expected to appear dressed in good fashion and on time. Only if an officer is in the midst of another duty may he be excused from dinner.

A typical officer's meal would consist of three courses, served over a period of two hours. Between each course a light conversation on trivial matters is expected. Tales of combat, crime and other violent matters is best saved for after dinner.

The first course is a garum1. It is light, usually mostly broth or creamed. It is served with a pale apple brandy, local to the region.

The second course contains meat, the most popular of which is Lucanian Sausages; expensive primarily because of the amount of hot spices and pepper required in the recipe. Beef is served three evenings each tenday, chicken, lamb and eggs fill the rest of the week. Pork, with the exception of sausages, and goat are considered "peasant meats" and served only in stews, soups or for luncheons. Traditionally dinner is toasted with a mild cider that, while more robust than water, does nothing more than cleanse the pallet.

The third would be a sweet dish. Of the officer's favorites, Pear Patina and Libum are presented.

The following lists a few common recipes from the list of favorites of the officers currently serving at Fobin keep.

Lucanian Sausages

This sausage was brought back to Tharda by traders from the Lythian continent. They are peppery, spicy, smoked sausages, usually served with boiled cabbage or some equally bland vegetable to soak up the spice and provide a respite for those not use to the sting of hot spice. The sausages are best if fresh, but many officers have theirs smoked for two to three days and take the tube of toughened meat with them on patrols - claiming the spice keeps them warm through the wet winters.

Ingredients
Instructions

Combine all the filling ingredients and mix them together well.

Fresh sausage skins are preserved in salt. To remove the salt, let soak in cool water for 20 minutes, then rinse well. While wet tie a knot in the end of each one.

Put a 1/2 inch sausage skin in a piping bag and 1/2 fill with the mixture; do not put too much in at one time or it will be difficult to squeeze. Take the open end of the skin, pull it over the tube and push down repeatedly until the majority of the skin sits like a collar half way down the tube. Grip this with your finger and thumb and slowly release the skin as you squeeze the bag. Stop squeezing well before the skin runs out, leaving 2-3 inches of skin to allow for shrinkage. It will take some practice before you get this procedure right.

When you have used up all the meat, twist each length of sausage into 4 even or similar segments.

If you are able to smoke the sausages, drape them over a coat hanger or similar item and suspend in smoke. You can still give them a smoky flavor before grilling them. If you have an open fireplace, suspend them from the mantelpiece for a few hours while you burn wood. You can use your barbecue: Sprinkle wood chips over the coals and suspend the sausage at least 12 inches above the fire for an hour or so. Otherwise, cut them into individual sausages and grill them under a medium heat.

Boiled Eggs with Pine Nut Sauce

Boiled eggs are a common man's meal. Relatively cheep and easy to prepare, most Thardians see it as a respectable break-fast or dinner. To the Officer's of Fobin, it is not the eggs, but the sauce served with the eggs that makes this recipe a favorite. The recipe does not last and should be served and eaten within the same candle. The sauce may be prepared in advance and stored separately.

Ingredients
Instructions

Soak the pine nuts 3-4 hours beforehand in the vinegar.

Mix all the sauce ingredients thoroughly in a blender. This exquisite sauce should be presented in a sauce boat so that each person can serve himself or herself, since the eggs cannot be sliced and placed on a dish in advance.

Pear Patina

No meal would be complete without some form of desert. The officers at Fobin have two favorites, although this one is the most common in the fall - when the pears are ripe.

Ingredients
Instructions

Poach the whole pears in water or white wine. When they are done, peel and core them, then crush them into a puree, mixing in the honey, pepper, cumin and passum. Beat the eggs, adding the milk if desired. Then blend this into the pear mixture with the olive oil. Pour into a casserole and bake for around 20 minutes at 350° F.

Libum

Libum is said to be the favored food of Halea and that all who go to her realm eat it regularly. Unfortunately, for the Officers at Fobin, this is a monthly speciality. The cake is a common speciality during the feasts of Halane. It can be served either hot or cold.

Ingredients
Instructions

Sift the flour into a bowl. Beat the cheese until it's soft and stir it into the flour along with the egg. Form a soft dough and divide into 4. Mold each one into a bun and place them on a greased baking tray with a fresh bay leaf underneath. Heat the oven to 425° F. Cover the cakes with your brick3 and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden-brown. Warm the honey and place the warm cakes in it so that they absorb it. Allow to stand 30 minutes before serving.

1. A type of soup made with a wine base.

2. A modern version of this raisin wine is the Italian dessert wine Vin Santo. A mild sherry may be substituted according to taste.

3. The Romans often covered their food while it was cooking with a domed earthenware cover called a test. You can use an overturned, shallow clay pot, a metal bowl, or casserole dish as a brick.

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