Ancient Rome – apparently a hotbed of treachery, deceit and amabition. At least that’s how Crystal King depicts it in her novel “Feast of Sorrow”, the current selection for the Cook the Books group.
The protagonist in the book, Marcus Gavius Apicius, was a man of tremendous appetites and full of a quest for wealth. He was among the first to write about cooking. Although none of those books survive, one that bears his name, “On Cooking”, documents his gourmand tastes. I was fascinated that each chapter in King’s book begins with a recipe from that book. I particularly liked Part III, which focused on leeks with a fish sauce called liquamen.
I have to say that all those ancient names confused and baffled me somewhat as to which name went with which character. However, Thrasius, the slave, presented an attractive character amidst all the skullduggery.
He was both a slave and cook extraordinaire, often preparing meals for visiting dignitaries on behalf of his owner Apicius, who passed them off as his own. In one passage from the book he reflected on a fine meal that another prepared, “For the first time in many weeks there were no guests at cena (funny how the word cena still signifies dinner in the Italian vocabulary). I was pleased as the quiet family meals were the ones I tended to enjoy best. Timon made our favorite dishes, which were always the ones that were most simple. That night it was fig cakes, sweet wine biscuits, Persian lamb, chicken and almond meatballs with soft plaited bread made from olive oil and goat milk.”
I had never made Persian dishes, nor do I cook with lamb, but the dish he described, like so many in the book, seemed exotic enough to try out. If you can manage the large array of spices, it’s really quite simple to make.
Persian Spiced Lamb Shanks
Ingredients
1-1/2 lb lamb shanks, salted
2 tbs olive oil
¼ tsp saffron, juice of 2 limes, ½ cup water heated
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black pepper
1 onion rough chopped
2 thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves, ½ tsp cardoman, ¼ tsp cumin
Zest of 1 lime and ¼ orange
6 cups chicken broth
Soft herbs such as parsley
Preparation
Preheat oven to350 degrees. Salt lamb and brown all sides in olive oil in heavy, deep pot, set aside. Warm saffron, lime juice and water in a small pot, put aside.
Saute chopped onion in large pot with the olive oil used for lamb, season with salt.
Add thyme, bay leaves, zests and other spices. Stir in saffron mixture.
Add lamb and broth to large pot. Bring liquid to a boil then turn off heat. Put pot in oven, covered and cook for 1-1/2 hours. Remove lamb, strain and skim broth. Add soft herbs. Remove lamb from pot. Let cool slightly. Break into small chunks. Serve with couscous in a wide, shallow bowl.
This is my contribution to the current Cook the Books review of Feast of Sorrow. Look out for the coming roundup of dishes inspired by this book. I can’t wait to try them as the book is literally a Food Network collection of great dishes. This round of Cook the Books is being hosted by Deb of Elliots Eats, and we thank her for organizing.
