Steamed Afrutum of Chicken Breast
'XXXIV. ÎafrutumÌ graece quod latine dicitur ÎspumeumÌ, quod de pullo fit et de
albumen de ouo; sed multum albumen ouorum mittatur, ita ut quomodo spuma sic
deueniat opus ipsud afruti, quod desuper iuscello facto et hygrogario in gauata
componatur quomodo monticulus, et sic gauata ponitur in carbones et sic uapore
ipsius iuscelli coquatur ipsud afrutum; et sic ponitur in medio missoiogauata
ipsa, et superfinditur modicum merum et mel, et sic cum cocleari uel nouella
tenera mandacatur. solemus et de pisce bono in ipso opere admiscere aut certe de
pectinibus marinis, quia et ipsi optimi sunt et satis apud nos abundant. et de
ipsis puris pectinibus fient sferae niueae.'
'34. What is called in Greek afrutum and in Latin spumeum is made from chicken
and egg whites. Lots of egg white must be used so that the afrutum becomes
foamy. It should be arranged in a mound on a shallow casserole with a previously
prepared gravy and diluted fish sauce underneath. Then the casserole is set over
the charcoal and the afrutum cooked in the steam of the sauce. The casserole is
then placed in the middle of a serving dish, and a little wine and honey poured
over it. It is eaten with a spoon or a small ladle. I often add to this recipe
some good fish or even some sea-scallops, because they are extremely tasty and
are particularly plentiful around where I live. From clean scallops are made
Îsnow ballsÌ. '
Text notes:
Different manuscript sources disagree as to what the gravy for this dish is made
of. Iuscello is a diminutive of ius, the French jus, or what the English used to
call gravy once upon a time. The defatted drippings from a roast or boiled
chicken would probably be excellent for this. I used some chicken stock which I
reduced to a gel, having some on hand, and not having a roast chicken. The real
question is what was meant by hygrogario, hydrogario, megroario, egroario,
oxygario, and oenegario, as the space in the sentence is variously filled in
different manuscript copies, and translatorsÌ opinions vary accordingly. Most
seem to agree that this is some product connected to garum, the salted Roman
fish sauce, of which there were several variations and mixtures based on the
basic theme. Oenegarum, for example, was garum mixed with wine, while oxygarum
was garum mixed with vinegar. Some translators feel the original word may have
been hydrogarum, which would suggest garum mixed with some water.
On another tack, you'll notice that Anthimus speaks of adding fish to this
preparation, then speaks of using scallops, and in another section, pike. This
might be seen to argue that this dish can be made, as with quenelles, with a
variety of light, easily-digested meats, and may not be intended to portray a
mixture. It is also significant that he really doesn't tell us how to make this
dish, except to refer obliquely to the egg whites making the dish resembles
foam. It's tempting to assume this is a sort of soufflee, or in the case of
callop 'snowballs', something very close to quenelles de poisson, with beaten
egg whites being carefully folded in to make the dish puff up and whiten as it
cooks. This is speculation, though, a possible downside to allowing an
experienced cook near this recipe in the absence of specific information.
Ingredients:
1 large skinless, boneless chicken breast piece, ~1/2 lb.
(alternately use pike or other white fish or scallops)
~6 egg whites
Optional: 1/8 tsp cream of tartar for emergencies
3/4 cup ÏgravyÓ, chicken stock reduced till syrupy
1/4 cup, or to taste, patis or other SE Asian fish sauce wine
honey
Recipe notes:
As mentioned above, we proceeded on the questionable assumption that the egg
whites were to be beaten till foamy and folded into minced raw meat. This may or
may not actually be the method Anthimus is speaking of, but the dish, cooked in
that way, was quite pleasant. I minced the chicken breast as finely as possible,
which was pretty fine with a sharp chefÌs knife, then quickly grew impatient
with attempts to process it further in a mortar. I wonder if perhaps the egg
whites could be added before putting the meat in a mortar, to aerate the mass at
the same time as pounding it smooth. Again, something to experiment with in
future.
Re the gravy/steaming base, we added our jellied stock to a non-stick electric
skillet (I found out on Thursday or so that we wouldnÌt be doing this class in
an actual kitchen), added some of our garum patis), and listened to the ritual
loud complaints regarding fishy aromas. We laid a mound of our afrutum on top of
it, then covered it, so the steam of the simmering sauce cooked the top of our
afrutum. Watching it cook through the transparent top of our electric skillet
was fun, especially when we (myself and Master Arval Benicoeur dÌEspas Nord, O.P.)
tried to decide amicably which branch of the SCA peerage the expanding mound
reminded us of. There being no members of our Chivalry in the room, we decided
it was neither the Laurellate _nor_ the Pelicans, after all. In deference to
Countess Brekke, we also decided it looked nothing at all like a Lady of the
Rose.
Having the modern cook's caution about undercooked chicken, yet being aware that
the success of this dish might depend on undercooking the meat, we cooked it a
bit too much. I had checked the temperature with a thermometer a couple of
times, and it suddenly went from being marginally raw to being overcooked in
less than a minute. As a result, the dish was slightly rubbery, but still light
and tasty. I think perhaps the best results might be achieved with fish or
scallops, unless one wants to take a risk with chicken and salmonella, which I
could not in good conscience advise. Maybe with experience and a careful watch
of the thermometer it can be fully cooked through without overcooking. For
people interested in cooking this in quantity for a feast or something, itÌs
worth noting that this dish could have made four good-sized servings with half a
pound of chicken breast, and provided decent-sized tasting portions to the ten
or twelve people in the class. It can probably be baked between two disposable
aluminum pie pans and served immediately to the table in its pan. It really
needs to be eaten fresh and hot.
Source:
Some Recipes from Anthimus' 'De Obseruatione Ciborum Epistula'
(roughly, 'A Little Letter Of Observations On Foods')
Translated by Mark Grant, 1996
Publisher: Prospect Books, Devon
ISBN 0907325 750