Ius in Pisce Rubellione

Sauce for Red Snapper or Sea Bream

Original Recipe:

Ius in pisce rubellione: piper, ligusticum, careum, serpyllum, apii semen, cepam siccam, vinum, passum, acetum, liquamen, oleum. amulo obligas.

Translation: by Joseph Dommers Vehling

Season for Redsnapper

Pepper, Lovage, Carraway, Wild Thyme, Celery Seed, Dry Onions, Wine, Raisin Wine, Vinegar, Broth and Oil; bind with Roux.

My Interpretation:

Grill or broil fish filets. Meanwhile, in a saucepan combine in wine, raisin wine, fish sauce, vinegar, pepper, olive oil, pepper, lovage, caraway seeds, celery seeds and dried onion. Bring liquid to a simmer. Dissolve wheat starch in cool water, then add to the saucepan.Let the sauce simmer until thickened. Pour sauce over fish filets.

Notes:

Vehling translates "amulo obligas" to mean "bind with Roux". However, "amulo" translates to "starch". I have chosen to interpret this as starch, using wheat starch in this recipe. Corn Starch should give the same result to the dish.

Sources:

APICIUS: The Romas Cookery Book translated by Barbara Flower and Elisabeth Rosenbaum, Peter Nevill Limited

APICIUS: Cookery and Dining in Inperial Rome translated by Joseph Dommers Vehling, Dover Publications, Inc

De Re Coquinaria: Librorvm X Qvi Dicvntvr De Re Coqvinaria, Apicius , edited by Cesare Giarratano & Friedrich Vollmer, The Project Gutenberg EBook of De Re Coquinaria