BONELESS PIECES OF ANCHOVIES OR [other small] FISH, EITHER ROAST [fried] BOILED, CHOP VERY FINE. FILL A CASSEROLE GENEROUSLY WITH THE SAME [season with] CRUSHED PEPPER AND A LITTLE RUE, ADD SUFFICIENT BROTH AND SOME OIL, AND MIX IN, ALSO ADD ENOUGH RAW EGGS SO THAT THE WHOLE FORMS ONE SOLID MASS. NOW CAREFULLY ADD SOME SEA-NETTLES BUT TAKE PAIN THAT THEY ARE NOT MIXED WITH THE EGGS. NOW PUT THE DISH INTO THE STEAM SO THAT IT MAY CONGEAL [but avoid boiling] [2]. WHEN DONE SPRINKLE WITH GROUND PEPPER AND CARRY INTO THE DINING ROOM. NOBODY WILL BE ABLE TO TELL WHAT HE IS ENJOYING [3]. [1] Tac., Tor. _sic_. List., G.-V. _p. de apua sine apua_--a dish of anchovies (or smelts) without anchovies. Tor. formula bears the title _patina de apua_, and his article opens with the following sentence: _patin de abua sive apua sic facies_. He is therefore quite emphatic that the dish is to be made with the _abua_ or _apua_ (an anchovy) and not without _apua_, as List. has it. Lan. calls the dish: P. _de apabadiade_, not identified. [2] Tor. _impones ad uaporem ut cum ouis meare possint_--warning, get along with the eggs, i.e. beware of boiling them for they will curdle, and the experiment is hopelessly lost. List. however, reads _meare possint_ thus: _bullire p._--boil (!) It is quite plain that Tor. has the correct formula. [3] _et ex esu nemo agnoscet quid manducet._ Dann. renders this sentence thus: "Nobody can value this dish unless he has partaken of it himself." He is too lenient. We would rather translate it literally as we did above, or say broadly, "And nobody will be any the wiser." List. dwells at length upon this sentence; his erudite commentary upon the _cena dubia_, the doubtful meal, will be found under the heading of _cena_ in our vocabulary. List. pp. 126-7. List. undoubtedly made the mistake of reading _sine_ for _sive_. He therefore omitted the _apua_ from his formula. The above boastful sentence may have induced him to do so. The above is a fish forcemeat, now seldom used as an integral dish, but still popular as a dressing for fish or as quenelles. The modern fish forcemeat is usually made of raw fish, cream and eggs, with the necessary seasoning. The material is poached or cooked much in the same manner as prescribed by the ancient recipe. [140] A RICH ENTRÉE OF FISH, POULTRY AND SAUSAGE IN CREAM _PATINA EX LACTE_