Book 7
41
And Sotades, not the Maronite poet, who composed Ionian songs, but the poet of the middle comedy, in the play entitled The Shut-up Women, (for that was the name which he gave to it,) introduces a cook making the following speech,— First I did take some squills, and fried them all; Then a large shark I cut in slices large, Roasting the middle parts, and the remainder I boil'd and stuff'd with half-ripe mulberries. Then I take two large heads of dainty grayling, And in a large dish place them, adding simply Herbs, cummin, salt, some water, and some oil. Then after this I bought a splendid pike, To boil in pickle with all sorts of herbs. Avoiding all such roasts as want a spit, I bought too some fine mullet, and young thrushes, And put them on the coals just as they were, Adding a little brine and marjoram. To these I added cuttle-fish and squills. A fine dish is the squill when carefully cook'd. But the rich cuttle-fish is eaten plain, Though I did stuff them all with a rich forced meat Of almost every kind of herb and flower. Then there were several dishes of boil'd meats, And sauce-boats full of oil and vinegar. Besides all this a conger fine and fat I bought, and buried in a fragrant pickle; Likewise some tench, and clinging to the rocks Some limpets. All their heads I tore away, And cover'd them with flour and bread crumbs over, And then prepared them as I dress'd the squills. There was a widow'd amia too, a noble And dainty fish. That did I wrap in fig-leaves, And soak'd it through with oil, and over all With swaddling clothes of marjoram did I fold it, And hid it like a torch beneath the ashes. With it I took anchovies from Phalerum, And pour'd on them one cruet full of water. Then shredding herbs quite fine, I add more oil, More than two cotylee in quantity. What next? That's all. This sir is what I do, Not learning from recipes or books of cookery.
