Scallop Croquettes and Garum

Introduction.

When I was younger, I remember asking my father what the Romans ate for dinner. I do not remember what he said, but I know I lost my appetite straight after. Therefore, when the opportunity to cook a Roman dish became available, I knew I wanted to attempt to change my perspective on ancient food. It was hard to find a recipe that could accommodate my family’s diverse allergies, but I settled on recipe 46 of Apicius: sea scallop croquettes. Unfortunately, the original recipe was rather basic. It stated.  [Lightly] COOK SCALLOPS [or the firm part of oysters] REMOVE THE HARD AND OBJECTIONABLE PARTS, MINCE THE MEAT VERY FINE, MIX THIS WITH COOKED SPELT AND EGGS, SEASON WITH PEPPER, [shape into croquettes and wrap] IN CAUL, FRY, UNDERLAY A RICH FISH SAUCE AND SERVE AS A DELICIOUS ENTRÉE. It was unclear how the Romans even made fish sauce, as there were no preservatives.  Luckily, I found a recipe for an anchovy sauce called Garum. To make the sauce, follow the below recipe.

560 g black olives, stoned

16 anchovy fillets, soaked in water for 1 hour and patted dry

1 hard-boiled egg yolk

90 g capers

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon grainy mustard

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh marjoram, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

1 teaspoon white pepper

60 ml olive oil

Mix all ingredients together in blender or food processor until light and fluffy. Puree the mixture in a food mill or push it through a sieve with a wooden spoon. Return to the blender or food processor and process briefly to obtain a smooth paste.

Now that the sauce is sorted, I am also adding a more detailed version of the Croquettes.

You will also need

One pack of caul sausage casing (can be found on Amazon) 

1 cup of spelt (can be found on Amazon) 

2 Cups of water

Lots of olive oil

24 small scallops

2 eggs

A pinch of black pepper

A funnel

1. Put the spelt and water into a pan and cook it on medium heat on the stove for 80 minutes.
2. Sautee the scallops in some oil, then chop them finely.
3. Put the scallops, the spelt, the pepper, and the raw eggs into a bowl and mix by hand.
4. Put the casing around the small end of the funnel and push the filling through with a knife. If the filling is too large, use a blender. If you want multiple croquettes, cut the casing and tie the ends. This would work best if one person holds the casing while the other pushes the filling through.
5. Tie the casing closed and fry the croquetes in oil until they are a dark brown color.
6. Serve with Garum

Unfried croquettes

Results are Reactions

The croquettes were a huge hit with my family. We were all surprised that the dish was seasoned well. The recipe called for no salt, but the anchovies in the Garum provided enough seasoning for the dish. I was also curious how Romans got the ingredients I had to purchase through the internet. This dish does show that the Romans were resourceful with their food as this seems like a dish that was made with leftovers. We also found that the gluten free version of this dish (we replaced the spelt with gluten free pasta) was also better than expected. However, it was apparently slightly chewy. People are already asking me to make the dish again, which surprised me because I had not cooked a dish in over a decade. Due to my lack of kitchen knowledge and poor fine motor skills, this took me about seven hours from shopping to plating. This dish could not have been completed without the help of my grandma. She helped tie the casing together and supervised the frying process. I recommend trying this recipe and I hope to make other dishes in the near future.

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