Pisa Farsilis (Forced Peas)*

Categories:	Vegetable   Roman   peas
Original Source:	Apicius, De Re Coquinaria
Secondary Source:	Vehling translation
Cook:	Tamara Iz Kieva
Meeting Date:	1976-04-03
Serves:	4 Use the slider to adjust the recipe to the correct number of servings

PISAM FARSILEM.
Coques. cui oleum mittis. accipies abdomen, et mittis in caccabum liquamen et porrum capitatum, coriandrum viridem. imponis ut coquatur. isicia minuta facies quadrata, et coques simul turdos vel aucellas vel de pullo conciso et cerebella prope cocta cum iuscello coques. lucanicas assas, petasonem elixas, porros ex aqua coques, nucleorum heminam frigis. teres piper, ligusticum, origanum, gingiber, ius abdominis fundis, lias. Angularem accipies, qui versari potest, et omentis tegis. Oleo perfundis, deinde nucleos aspargis et supra pisam mittis ut tegas fundum angularis, et sic componis supra petasonis pulpas, porros, lucanicas concisas. Iterum pisam supermittis. item alternis aptabis obsonia, quousque impleatur angularis. novissime pisam mittis, ut intus omnia contineat. coques in furno vel lento igni imponis, ut ducat ad se deorsum. ova dura facies, vitella eicies, in mortario mittis cum pipere albo, nucleis, melle, vino candido et liquamine modico. teres et mittis in vas ut ferveat. cum ferbuerit, pisam mittis in lancem, et hoc iure perfundis. hoc ius candidum appellatur.

Cook the peas with oil and a piece of sow's belly, put in a sauce pan a broth, leek heads the lower white part green coriander and put on the fire to be cooked. Of tid-bits, cut little dice. Similarly cook thrushes or other small game birds, or take sliced chicken and diced brain, properly cooked. Further cook, in the available liquor or broth, Lucanian sausage and bacon; cook leeks in water; crush a pint of toasted pignolia nuts; also crush pepper, lovage, origany, and ginger, dilute with the broth of pork, tie, take a square baking dish suitable for turning over which oil well and line with caul, sprinkle on the bottom a layer of crushed nuts upon which put some peas, fully covering the bottom of the squash dish; on top of this arrange slices of the bacon, leeks and sliced Lucanian sausage; again cover with a layer of peas and alternate all the rest of the available edibles in the manner described until the dish is filled, concluding at last with a layer of peas, utilizing everything. Bake this dish in the oven, or put it into a slow fire covering it with live coal so that it may be baked thoroughly. Next make a sauce of the following put yolks of hard boiled eggs in the mortar with white pepper, nuts, honey, white wine and a little broth; mix and put it into a sauce pan to be cooked; when the sauce is done, turn out the peas into a large silver dish and mask them with this sauce which is called white sauce.

Steps

1. Brown sausage meat.
2. Boil peas with bacon grease and mash lightly. Set aside to cool off a little.
3. To pea puree, add egg, salt, white pepper, ginger, marjoram
4. Slice 1 small to medium onion very thin.
5. Grease a small (2 cup) mold very well.
   Sprinkle bottom of mold with chopped nuts. Apicius calls for pine nuts: all I had on hand were almonds.
   Place half of pea mixture on top of layer of nuts.
   Top with a layer of sliced onions.
   Next, layer of cooked ground sausage, including all the drippings from the pan.
   Finish with layer of peas. (with a larger mold, layers could be repeated as desired.)
   
   Cook 375º for 45 minutes.
   
   Let cool at least 10 minutes. Unmold and serve with white sauce:
   
   Melt 1 T. butter
   Bend in 1+ T. corn starch.
   Gradually add 1/2 c. strong chicken (or pork) bouillon.
   Remove from heat.
   Mix together 1 beaten egg, 1 T. honey, 2 T. white wine, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. nutmeg, speck white pepper. Gradually blend ingredients. Warm before serving.
6. Cook 375º for 45 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
7. Unmold and serve with white sauce:
   
   Melt butter
   Bend in corn starch.
   Gradually add bouillon.
   Remove from heat.
   Mix together egg, honey, white wine, salt, nutmeg, speck white pepper. Gradually blend ingredients. Warm before serving.

Note

Makes 1 small mold
Serves: 4-6 (very heavy and filling)
Cost: $1.50 or less (depends on quality of peas and sausage used....)