SWORDFISH.
The Greeks were fond of the swordfish, and often partook of it,[XXI_178] with a sauce of which oil was the basis, and with which were mixed yolks of eggs, leeks, garlic, and cheese.[XXI_179] The Romans thought very little of this fish, and prayed Neptune to send it far from their nets.
SHAD.
The shad was caught during the summer, and sold to the people,[XXI_180] who boiled it and dished it up with strong herbs and oil. This plebeian fish was excluded from all respectable banquets.[Y]
“Modern taste has allowed this estimable fish to re-appear on the table, where it is always seen with pleasure. This fish is caught in most of the great rivers of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa.”—Bosc.
RHOMBO, or, RHOMBUS.
The rhombo claimed the attention of the discriminating ichthyophagists of Rome by the delicacy of its flesh, and few fish would have been preferred to it had it not been feared that it rendered digestion difficult.[XXI_181] Some intrepid stomachs, however, greeted this dish without much repugnance when presented to them fried and sprinkled with pepper, in the midst of a seasoning in which pepper, cummin, coriander, benzoin, wild marjoram, and rue, heightened by a little vinegar, were mixed with dates, honey, cooked wine, and oil. This boiling sauce was poured over the rhombo, but not before it had been enriched with garum,[XXI_182] which we had almost forgotten—that inevitable brine which the ancient magiric genius placed everywhere, and whose prodigious renown ought to have preserved it from oblivion.