“That night her handmaids brought her lamb, with a salad of raisins and carrots soaked in wine, and a hot flaky bread dripping with honey. She could eat none of it. Did Rhaegar ever grow so weary? she wondered. Did Aegon, after his conquest?” -A Storm of Swords
Roman Lamb and Carrots
Thoughts:
This was a delicious dish. Hands down one of our favorites so far. The sweetness of the sauces suited carrots, raisins, and lamb alike, while drawing out their natural flavors. We served our with Naan bread, warmed in the oven, and iced milk sweetened with honey.
Cooks’ Notes: The original recipes come from Apicius (3.21.3, 6.2.7), the Roman writer of recipes. He details the ingredients for a carrot/parsnip side dish, and a sauce for cooked meat. I added the raisins to the carrot dish, and in both cases took out the garum (fish sauce) because of our tasters’ diet restrictions.
Carrots and Raisins
Ingredients:
- Carrots
- 2 Tbs. olive oil
- 2 tsp. cumin (roasted & ground seed is best, but powdered works well)
- 2-3 Tbs. honey
- equal portion of raisins as of carrots
- 2 Tbs. sweet wine
- 2 Tbs. wine vinegar (we used fig infused…YUM!)
- black pepper to taste
Cut the carrots into discs and chunks. Put in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and drain immediately. Add carrots, raisins, honey, vinegar, cumin, and pepper to an ovenproof dish. Drizzle the oil over top, then shake well to coat carrots, and roast in an oven at 400 degrees F until the carrots are tender. Add the wine to deglaze the sticky pan, and serve.
Lamb
Ingredients:
- lamb for 4 people
- 2 Tbs. honey
- 2 Tbs. wine
- 1 Tbs. wine vinegar (again, we used fig infused)
- 1Tbs. olive oil
- handful of currants
- ground pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients over low heat until they blend and begin to thicken. Pour over the meat and allow to marinate, or use as a sauce when the meat is served. We cooked our lamb outside on the grill for just a few minutes on either side.