Apicius 32

 

Cuminatum in ostrea et conchylia

Piper, ligusticum, petroselinum, mentam siccam, cuminum plusculum, mel, acetum et liquamenº.

 

Cumin sauce for oysters and shell-fish

Pepper, lovage-seed, parsely, dried mint, quite a lot of cumin, honey, vinegar and garumº.

Pound the herbs in a mortar and add honey, vinegar and a few drops of garumº. Fresh parsely didn't seem appropriate to me, so I used it in its dried condition. Actually, I suspect Apicius of having meant parsely seed. As to quantities: it is meant to be a cumin sauce, so cumin has to be added in a sufficient amount to come to the front. When using this sauce for the dish of peaches, it is to a great advantage if the mint also will be clearly recognised in the end. The other flavors may form a background to cumin and mint.