Leeks with Fava Beans - a Roman Empire recipe

Sometimes parts of the universe come together in surprising ways.  Or, if you remember the 1970s at all, perhaps a bunch of biorhythms all aligned!

I have wanted a particular cookbook ever since I saw it at a culinary symposium.  It has translations of the Roman Empire recipes of Apicius along with modern redactions by the author.

ISBN 0-226-29030-1

So when I was wandering through a favorite used bookstore one day and saw it, I knew it would be coming home with me.

A few days later my friend, RK, gave me a box of ramps (wild leeks) from his home in West Virginia.

This is a small portion of what he shared with me.

And then another friend, MD, offered me some fresh fava beans from his garden.

The picture doesn't show it, but these pods are huge!

Well, when the universe sends such a clear message, I cannot ignore it.  On page 151, I found a recipe that uses both.

Leeks with Fava Beans  (Apicius 96)

Aliter porros:  [Si] in aquam elixati erunt, fabae nondum conditae plurimum admisce conditurae in qua eos manducaturus es.

Another recipe for leeks:  [If] they have been boiled in water, add a large quantity of unseasoned fava beans to the condiment in which you will eat them.

Author's redaction:

Boil the leeks in water, drain, and place in a serving bowl.  Season them with the sauce described in the previous recipe, and add cooked or raw fava beans.  You can also add fresh minced aromatic herbs if you wish.

The "sauce described in the previous recipe" is from Boiled Leek Salad, Apicius 93. 

Boil the leeks, slice them into rounds, and cover with a sauce made of olive oil, garum, and wine.  The quantities of the ingredients may vary according to taste; if you like the strong, salty flavor of garum, feel free to use it generously.  I find red wine is more successful here than white.

Homemade liquamen!

Garum is fish sauce, also often called liquamen.  I happen to have a great quantity of it from my previous experiments in making it.  Click here to see a post on it.

My Redaction

320 grams (11 ounces) of shelled fava beans

150 grams (5 1/2 ounces) of ramps, washed and trimmed of their roots

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup red wine (I chose pinot noir)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoon liquamen

Add the beans to boiling water, bring the water back to a boil and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Slice the ramps into pieces, add to salted, boiling water, and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.  Drain and add to the beans.

Mix the dressing, beating well to disburse the oil.  Pour over the ramps and fava beans -- put in what you think is right as you might not use all of it.  Toss well and serve.

This was about four servings.

My Notes

It was fun to shell the fava beans.  The pods' inner lining is white and fluffy, and it seemed like I was taking the beans out from their cozy little nest.  I used about half of the pods you see in the picture to get these beans.

I boiled them in plain water.

I really like this picture.

The ramps cleaned up well and were sliced into big bite-sized pieces.

After they were boiled in salted water, they were drained and mixed with the fava beans.

Then I whisked the sauce ingredients together, poured them over the veggies, mixed them well, and served them.

The Verdict

I served them as part of a simple yet tasty dinner.  The protein portion was pork that I had cured and smoked.  This was sliced paper thin (hooray for my new electric knife sharpener!) and dressed with a drizzle of lemon juice and some capers.

I also set out some homemade oatmeal bread, recipe courtesy of my friend GW.  I served the meal with the same pinot noir that I used in the dressing.

The fava beans and ramps combination was good.  I won't say "exceptional" or "outstanding" because I think I could have improved on my process.  

First, I tasted one bean for doneness before draining them.  The could have cooked a minute or two longer to get the bigger beans more tender.  Some were chewy and I didn't like that.  This convinced me that I would not use raw beans in this dish.  I cooked them for 3 minutes, which is why I put 3 to 4 minutes in my redaction.

Second, the dressing did not stick to the veggies.  Maybe I'm spoiled with today's availability of thickened sauces but I did wish to taste more of the dressing with a bite of the veggies.  I suspect I should have had the dressing ready to go when the veggies were all still hot.  I've noticed that some veggies absorb the flavors better when that happens.  I don't know for sure, but I would do that when making it again.

Third, both my guest taster and I thought it needed more salt.  Instead of making the dish saltier by using more fish sauce, we sprinkled a little salt over what was on our plates.  That worked out well.

Fourth, maybe the ramps would have had more flavor if they were only cooked 2 minutes.  They were good, and they weren't as potent as they are when raw, but I would have liked more of their rampy flavor.

The combination of hearty bread, cured meat, and ramps/fava beans was a good one.  It made for a solid and flavorful dinner, and we both enjoyed it very much.  

I thought the amount of liquamen in the dressing was just right.  It shifted the wine flavor to something different (liquamen adds salt and a good dose of umami).  The important part was that it didn't taste or smell fishy, a preference of my guest taster.  The olive oil added a good mouthfeel, too.

If I make this again (and I still have ramps and favas left over!), I would try it with some fresh herbs.  I guess that mint would be a good addition, and maybe some parsley or basil.  My explorations in historical cooking have taught me to really mix it up when using fresh herbs.  Don't be tied down to "traditional" uses or combinations!  Many go well together in surprising ways.

Success!

Roasted Quail, a Pinedo recipe

I have completed my translation of Encarnación Pinedo's book, El cocinero español, published in 1898. On page 69, I found a recipe I wanted to try:  Roasted Quail.

 Roasted quail.

         They are plucked, opened and cleaned inside, scorched over the flames, tied and covered with a slice of ham and a vine leaf*, and put on a spit, on the grill, or in the oven.

---

* The vine, or grape, leaf protects the quail from burning and also adds a sour flavor to the meat.  Use fresh, young leaves in the spring.

I was intrigued by this because it looked so simple -- no seasoning other than the ham and the grape leaf.  My grill was ready for action!

My Redaction

4 quail, cleaned and plucked

8 slices of thinly sliced deli-style ham

8 large, tender grape leaves

kitchen string

Preheat the grill to about 400 degrees F.

Wrap each bird in two slices of ham that overlap slightly.

Wrap again using one or two grape leaves, depending on their size and the size of the bird.

Tie the bundle with the kitchen string.

Cook over direct heat with the grill cover down.  Turn occasionally.

Remove when the breast meat is at least 140 degrees F, about 30 minutes.

Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

My Notes

I had six quail but only enough ham to wrap four.  The other two were sprinkled with salt and pepper and wrapped with oiled foil.  They grilled alongside the others.

Here are the pictures of the birds being wrapped:

I tucked the legs up against the body as best as I could.

Leave the ham wrap ends open so the legs don't poke holes in the ham.

I didn't worry about the holes in the leaf wrapping.

One was tied in two directions.  Not really necessary, I think.

The temperature of the grill varied between about 350 degrees F and 400, depending on how long the lid was up while I was checking on or turning them.

Here is what came in from the grill:

Notice the scorching of the leaves.

The Verdict

I served it with a rice pilaf and a tossed green salad that had a lot of fresh herbs from my garden.

At first my guest taster and I weren't sure if we were supposed to eat the leaf or peel it off.  But it was stuck tightly to the ham and we definitely wanted to eat the ham.  So we just dug in.

My reaction:  quail are tiny!  There isn't a lot of meat compared to the amount of bones you encounter while cutting into them.  It was challenging to eat with a knife and fork.  After a little cutting experience, we both ended up eating them with our fingers.  

The taste was interesting.  The meat by itself had a ham flavor but the best part was a bite with meat, ham, and leaf.  It had the umami along with the salty from the ham and the acid bite from the leaf.  Sometimes the bite was just ham and leaf, which was good, too.  We both approved.

Success!

The scorched parts didn't really add any flavor.  Mostly they crumbled and became little black flakes on the plate and on our laps.  

I wanted to do a taste comparison with the foil-wrapped quail.

It was more steamed than grilled, but it was cooked all the way through and the meat was very moist and tender.  More moist than the leaf-wrapped birds.  But the flavor was not as good.  The salt and pepper were nice, however we preferred the ham and leaf seasoning.

Looking forward, I can say that I won't seek out quail for this recipe again.  They are just too small and boney.  However, I do think this would work well with Rock Cornish game hens, especially if they were stuffed with a chopped ham and grape leaf filling.  This might season the meat from the inside.  Of course, it would take more ham and leaves to accomplish the wrapping, and it would have to cook longer.