Boiled eggs with pine nut sauce
The most widely used condiment in Ancient Rome was garum. It was a sauce made from fish guts preserved with salt, wine, vinegar, olive oil and black pepper and was used as an accompaniment of many meat, fish and vegetable dishes. Garum is no longer available and the only ingredients that are similar are anchovy paste or Thai fish sauce. Don’t be tempted to use Silphium Garum, which is available, as this is a sauce made of spices and vegetables and doesn’t contain the essential fish guts. This is a somewhat challenging dish and, I have to say, not to my taste. But, nevertheless, it’s interesting to discover what Roman tastes were like, and some might find them delicious?!
Preparation method
Day 2
The next day, drain the pine nuts and place in the blender with a few tablespoons of water and whizz them to a paste. Alternatively, if you want to be strictly authentic, place them in a mortar and pound them to a paste.
Place in the small saucepan and add the pepper, honey and anchovy paste.
Heat gently and stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
Place the eggs in the medium saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil.
Boil the eggs for 5 minutes, then take them off the heat and transfer them with a slotted spoon into the bowl of iced water.
Allow the eggs to reach room temperature, remove from the water and peel off the shells.
Cut the eggs in half, spoon on the sauce and top with a few pine nuts.
Place on a serving dish and serve as an hors d’oeuvre.
