Once again, I am grateful to Volker Bach of Culina Vetus for publishing this recipe and his interpretation.
The fourth course, then, was served in the middle of a sizzling pan (sartago fervens) in which lay such a mixed dish (compositum … cibum) that was made of beaten (conlisis) eggs quickly (parumper) mixed with flour, which is customarily adorned with pieces of dates and the roundness (rotunditatibus – slices?) of olives.
2 eggs
1 tsp flour
1 Tbsp olive oil
6-8 dates, chopped small
1/4 c sliced green olives
I beat the eggs and then added the flour beat it again until all the flour was blended in. Then I heated the oil in my smallest frying pan. An even smaller pan would have given a thicker egg dish, but sometimes you work with what you have.
Once the oil was hot, I poured in the egg mixture and allowed it to cook. As the bottom and edges solidified, I reduced the heat and sprinkled in the dates and olives. Since Gregory described it as being “adorned”, I decided to make a cross of dates and fill in the rest with olives. This allowed me to taste the difference between sweet, salty and mixed sweet/salty bites. To ensure the op was cooked through, I put a lid on for about a minute before removing from the pan.
I’m particularly pleased that I was able to slide the dish out of the pan and onto a plate with minimal damage around the edges.
The verdict? Not bad at all. I’m more of a savoury person so I expected to like the olive bites best. However, the date portion was also nice. The mixed sweet and salty portions were particularly delicious and surprisingly turned out to be my favourite.
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