[1] Dann. mead.
[2] Remarkable ingenuity! Try this on your turkey legs. Danneil is of the opinion that the head and its feathers were to be saved for decorative purposes, in style during the middle ages when game bird patties were decorated with the fowl’s plumage, a custom which survived to Danneil’s time (ca. 1900). But this is not likely to be the case here, for it would be a simple matter to skin the bird before cooking it in order to save the plumage for the taxidermist.
[214] CRANE OR DUCK WITH TURNIPS GRUEM VEL ANATEM EX RAPIS [1]
TAKE OUT [remove entrails, [2] CLEAN WASH AND DRESS [the bird] AND PARBOIL [2] IT IN WATER WITH SALT AND DILL. NEXT PREPARE TURNIPS AND COOK THEM IN WATER WHICH IS TO BE SQUEEZED OUT [3]. TAKE THEM OUT OF THE POT AND WASH THEM AGAIN [4]. AND PUT INTO A SAUCE PAN THE DUCK WITH OIL, BROTH, A BUNCH OF LEEKS AND CORIANDER; THE TURNIPS CUT INTO SMALL PIECES; THESE PUT ON TOP OF THE [duck] IN ORDER TO FINISH COOKING. WHEN HALF DONE, TO GIVE IT COLOR, ADD REDUCED MUST. THE SAUCE IS PREPARED SEPARATELY: PEPPER, CUMIN, CORIANDER, LASER ROOT MOISTENED WITH VINEGAR AND DILUTED WITH ITS OWN BROTH [of the fowl]; BRING THIS TO A BOILING POINT, THICKEN WITH ROUX. [In a deep dish arrange the duck] ON TOP OF THE TURNIPS [strain the sauce over it] SPRINKLE WITH PEPPER AND SERVE.
[1] Duck and Turnips, a dish much esteemed on the Continent today. Only few prepare it correctly as does Old Apicius; hence it is not popular with the multitude.
[2] Tac., Tor. excipies; Hum. legendum: ex rapis.
[3] G.-V. ut exbromari possint; Tor. expromi; Hum. expromari; all of which does not mean anything. To cook the turnips so that they can be squeezed out (exprimo, from ex and premo) is the proper thing to do from a culinary standpoint.
[4] The turnips are cooked half, the water removed, and finished with the duck, as prescribed by Apicius. It is really admirable to see how he handles these food materials in order to remove any disagreeable flavor, which may be the case both with the turnips (the small white variety) and the duck. Such careful treatment is little known nowadays even in the best kitchens. Cf. Note 2 to ℞ No. [212].
[215] ANOTHER [SAUCE FOR] CRANE OR DUCK ALITER IN GRUEM VEL ANATEM ELIXAM
PEPPER, LOVAGE, CUMIN, DRY CORIANDER, MINT, ORIGANY, PINE NUTS, DATES, BROTH, OIL, HONEY, MUSTARD AND WINE [1].