A gourmet dish of sliced pork tenderloin glazed with a grape reduction

Pork Tenderloin with Grape Reduction: Sweet and Sour Flavors of Ancient Rome

Written by on in Recipes, Sin categoría

Caroenum is one of the grape must reductions used in Ancient Roman cuisine. The 4th-century agronomist, Palladius, describes caroenum as grape must reduced to two-thirds of its original volume.

In De re coquinaria, the book on which I am basing many of the recipes featured in this blog, caroenum appears constantly as a culinary ingredient, used to add both color and sweetness to the dishes.

Just as we drench many of our dishes in ketchup to achieve that balance of sour, sweet, and salty, the people of Ancient Rome were experts at finding this flavor combination; they were true aficionados of sweet and sour profiles.

Pintura mural o fresco romano que representa racimos de uvas y vides, detalle de decoración de una villa romana.

Reinterpreting the ‘Isicia Omentata‘ Recipe

To create this dish, I have based myself on the ‘Isicia Omentata‘ recipe from De re Coquinaria, which could be translated as something like ‘Meatballs wrapped in caul fat’.

In my first attempt, I followed the book’s instructions closely, but I wasn’t quite happy with the result. I must also admit that I’m not a big fan of meatballs. However, since the combination of ingredients seemed interesting, I decided not to mince the meat or form the meatballs. I did use the rest of the ingredients, substituting the caul fat with olive oil and leaving out the breadcrumbs, which served to bind the meatballs in the original recipe.

Making this change led me to ask myself a question: after studying several recipes from the book, I’m left wondering why they had this habit in Ancient Rome of mashing certain foods until they became a sort of meatball. Was it a way to use up leftovers that the authors took for granted and therefore didn’t mention? Or perhaps it was a matter of status and refinement?

In case anyone wants to follow the original recipe, here it is in both Latin and English:

ISICIA OMENTATA. Pulpam concisam teres cum medulla siliginei in vino infusi. Piper, liquamen, si velis, et bacam mirteam extenteratam simul conteres. Pusilla esicia formabis, intus nucleis et pipere positis. Involuta omento subassabis cum careno.

De re coquinaria, II, I, 6

6. MEATBALLS WRAPPED IN CAUL FAT. Mince pieces of meat with wheat breadcrumbs soaked in wine. Grind together pepper and liquamen, and if you wish, add myrtle berries1 as well. Shape into small meatballs, placing pine nuts and peppercorns inside. Wrap them in caul fat and roast them with caroenum.

Translation

  1. In the kitchen, myrtle berries are used as a seasoning and flavoring agent in various recipes. They are frequently found in Mediterranean cuisine—including Ancient Roman cooking—to season meats, poultry, fish, sauces, and marinades. They can also be used to prepare beverages and spirits, such as the famous Sardinian myrtle liqueur (Mirto).

    Myrtle berries were widely used to season food, as well as to produce myrtle oil and many types of myrtle wines. Pliny reports that before the introduction of pepper, myrtle berries were used as a similar seasoning.     ↩︎
Pork Tenderloin with Grape Reduction (Caroenum)
Print

Pork Tenderloin with Grape Reduction (Caroenum)

Raciones

2

raciones
Tiempo de preparación

15

minutes
Tiempo de cocinado

15

minutes

Ingredientes

  • 1 pork tenderloin (about 600 g)

  • 4 tablespoons of pine nuts

  • 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

  • Grapes

  • Salt

  • Pepper

Instrucciones

  • Cut the pork tenderloin into slices about 1 cm thick. Season with salt and pepper on one side only. Set aside. Allowing the meat to reach room temperature will ensure it stays juicier.
  • Fill a medium-sized mortar with the fresh grapes and crush them until all the juice is extracted. Set aside.
  • Add a drop of oil to a pan and lightly toast the pine nuts. Keep a close eye on them to prevent burning, as they can turn bitter. It is better to undercook them slightly than to overdo it.
  • Set the pine nuts aside and add a tablespoon of oil to the same pan. Over medium-high heat, sear half of the tenderloin for about one minute per side. Add another tablespoon of oil and cook the other half. Set aside.
  • Lower the heat to medium-low and add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Pour in the grape must and simmer until it has reduced by just over half.
  • Then, add all the seasonings to the pan and season the unseasoned side of the meat with salt and pepper. This will also season the grape must, which, as it reduces, will take on a slightly sweet yet savory flavor that pairs perfectly with the meat. Here, salt has been used to replace liquamen, as it serves the same purpose in the recipe: seasoning the meat.
  • Let the meat brown in the grape must—now transformed into caroenum—for about 4–5 minutes per side over medium-low heat. Serve immediately.

Vídeo de la receta

Notas

  • In Ancient Rome, they adored pepper, as can be seen throughout De Re Coquinaria itself. It is the spice that appears most frequently. In this particular recipe, adding myrtle berries is also given as an option, which would further enhance this flavor. Therefore, to get closer to the original taste, if you enjoy this spice, don’t be afraid to be generous with it.

Leave a Reply