Tisana Et Alica

"Barley & alika or alika: You will wash and rub barley and alika, which you steep the day before; you will put them on the fire. When it has boiled, add enough oil, a little bundle of dill, a dry cultivated onion, and celery stalks. When these have cooked, add ground pepper, coriander, and salt ground together; and let it boil so that it is well cooked. Remove the herb bundle and transfer to another pot so that the tisane does not touch the bottom, to avoid burning. Bind well and strain into a pot over the sediment of the celery. Grind pepper, lovage, a little dried pennyroyal, and cumin together so that it is well mixed. Pour in honey, well-beaten vinegar, and liquamen (fish sauce); return to the pot, but make sure to have a very strong sediment and let it boil over a gentle fire. Another way: Infuse the tisane, then rub in a little lentil and pea. Add plenty of oil to the tisane and add dill, soft fennel over fresh greens, chopped leek, coriander, dill, soft fennel. Add all these chopped greens to the pot. Boil little cabbages and grind enough fennel seed and oregano, follow with pepper and lovage, then crush them and mix with liquamen. Pour this over the vegetables, add broth of the boiled little cabbages, and pour over the dishes."

The original recipe is written in abbreviated, almost shorthand Latin, characteristic of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts derived from much earlier Roman texts. It presumes the cook’s experience and omits precise measurements, focusing instead on sequences, key flavorings, and desired outcomes ('bene cocta'—well cooked). Spelling reflects medieval usage: 'hordium' for barley, 'alicam' for emmer wheat, 'tisana' referring to a decoction. Terms like 'liquamen' (now obsolete, replaced by modern fish sauce) and 'colium' (straining implement) are period-specific. The recipe’s structure is modular, offering primary and alternative methods as was common in historic kitchen practice.