Marinated liver, Apicius 7.3.2
from Cooking Apicius: Roman Recipes for Today by Sally Grainger

As translated by Christopher Grocock & Sally Grainger in Apicius: A Critical Edition with an Introduction and an English Translation of the Latin Recipe Text Apicius

7.3. FIG-FATTENED LIVER.
7.3.1. An oenogarum for fig-fattened liver: pepper, thyme, lovage, liquamen, a little wine and oil.
7.3.2. Alternatively: punch holes in the liver with a reed, marinade in liquamen, pepper, lovage and 2 laurel berries. Wrap in caul fat and grill on a gridiron and serve.

Liver and all kinds of offal were considered a great luxury in the Roman world and this is not surprising given its rarity in relation to the quantity of meat on a carcass and the fact that some offal must be used fresh. Here, liver is marinated in a combination of fish sauce, bay berries and lovage, then wrapped in caul. Bay berries add the flavour of the bay leaf in a form that can be ground and consumed. The caul gives the liver added moisture while it is cooking and the finished item is an ideal gustum – hors-d’oeuvre and finger food at parties.

220 g lamb’s or calf ’s liver
½ tsp lovage seeds
2 bay berries (or a broken bayleaf )
2 tbsp fish sauce
generous freshly ground black pepper
a small amount of caul fat

Prepare the liver by removing the larger sinews and skinning if necessary. Cut into roughly 5 cm chunks and leave aside in dish. Dry-roast the lovage seed and bay berries and grind to a powder in a mortar. Add to the liver in the dish with 2 tbsp of fish sauce and the pieces of bay leaf if you cannot get bay berries. Turn over in the marinade and leave for a few hours to marinate.

Open up the caul fat into a sheet and cut pieces a little larger than the liver. Wrap each piece. Ensure that you use the minimum caul fat necessary; avoid folding the fat too thickly over the liver. Grill until the fat is crisp on the outside and the blood ceases to flow when the liver is pierced. These are ideal as barbecue food, but can also be roasted in an oven.

Serve with a separate dish of a sweet oenogarum (see page 33), on cocktail sticks so they can be dipped into the sauce.