 Scappi’s Opera is an encyclopedic tome, the largest and most
detailed cookbook ever written at the time. The recipes are precise
and clearly worded; the procedures described are detailed and easy
to follow. It is almost scientifi c in its organization and presentation.
There’s also an excellent translation in English now.

 Scappi was willing to go very far afi eld for novel recipes. One of
his most interesting is an extraordinarily detailed description of
how to make couscous, or as he calls it succussu, which comes
from North Africa. It is essentially semolina fl our formed into tiny

Polpettoni

(Meat Rolls Roman Style)

T

he procedure for making Scappi’s polpettoni involves
pressing and marinating the meat and then making a gravy
based on the meat juices itself. Scappi’s common spice
mixture includes 4 ounces of cinnamon, 2 ounces of cloves, 1
ounce of ginger, 1 ounce of mace, 1/2 ounce of grains of paradise
[melegueta pepper], 1/2 ounce of saffron, and 1 ounce of sugar. The
fi nished effect—with sweet, sour, and spicy fl avors—would not be
unlike a good barbecue sauce.

Take the leanest part of the loin, without bone, skin, or sinews, and
cut it across in large pieces of 6 ounces each. Sprinkle them with
salt, fennel fl owers, or a condiment of pounded common spices.
Place four slices of fat-streaked prosciutto for each piece and let it
stay pressed down with this composition and a bit of rose vinegar
and sapa [concentrated grape juice] for three hours. Then, skewer
them with a slice of bacon between one and another piece with a
sage leaf or bay. Let it cook over a moderate fi re. When cooked,
serve hot with a sauce over them made from whatever drippings
fall from them mixed with the left over from the pressing, which will
give the sauce a bit of body, and give it the color of saffron.