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Ides of March Veal
This recipe may have been what you would have enjoyed on the 15th of March, 44 B.C.
The Romans didn’t count days of the month from 1 to 30. Instead, they marked the month based on the names of three days. Kalends was for the 1st, Nones for the 5th or 7th, and the Ides for the 13th or 15th.
Caesar ignored the warning "beware the Ides of March", so on the 15th with the Roman Senate’s approval, Brutus gave him the knife.
Prior to that event, he and others fortunate may have had a meal like this that day.
Recipe
Ingredients
- A sprig of white grapes
- Figs
- Olives, both green dark
- Oranges and lemons
- Veal loin roast, 5 lbs.
- Olive oil
- Fresh basil
- Fresh sage
- Black pepper and salt
- Sugar
- 1 cup dry white wine
Preparation
1. Set the grapes, figs, oranges and lemons on a side plate.
2. Rub the roast with some of the basil and sage, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and marinate for 1-2 hours in olive oil.
3. Preheat oven to 350. Set the veal in a roasting pan, coat it with remaining marinade. Sprinkle the meat with a bit of lemon juice, a pinch of sugar, and 1/2 cup white wine.
4. Roast on a rack in the pan 1-1/2 to 2 hours, basting and turning once halfway through.
5. When done to your desire, remove the roast and pour the remaining juices and white wine over it. The meat is still cooking once you’ve removed it from the oven, so this will create a thin glaze over it. Wait 5 minutes.
6. Cut the roast into 1/4-inch slices.
Serving
1. Place the slices on plates, garnish with basil and sage leaves.
2. Present your side plate of grapes, figs, olives, oranges and lemons.
Serves 6. Accompany this dish with a very dry, light Oregon Pinot Noir or Pinot Gris. The wine taste to search for is almost like an Italian pinot grigio. Typically, all of this would have been consumed using your fingers, but that got a little messy and required many napkins and a lot of handwashing, so never mind, use knives and forks.
Raise a toast to Caesar and the Ides of March!
For more information about the Ides and what happened that day, visit http://astrology.about.com/library/weekly/aa031500a.htm
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Wine Pairings
OregonWines.com suggests serving the following types of wine while enjoying Ides of March Veal. Click on a wine type to search our database for matching wines.
| Pinot Gris |
 A light, aromatic, wine with flavors of apple, pear, apricot, and other fruits, and with yellow to pale straw hues. |
| Pinot Noir |
 The flagship of Oregon's wine industry. Pinot Noir is a fruity, peppery, full-bodied wine with deep red hues. |
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