When in Rome

The beautiful Roman frieze atop the Philadelphia Museum of Art, visited last weekend by Cafe Drake, inspired the following duet of recipes hailing from the Eternal City (that and a recent viewing of the Tennessee Williams classic The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, a movie everyone should Netflix if you haven't seen, starring an older but still luminous Vivien Leigh, a young Warren Beatty and Cafe Drake favorite - the divine Coral Browne).

ARTICHOKE OMELETTE

It seems we post a number of egg-based entrees here at Cafe Drake, and always get email requests for Italian recipes: hopefully we've happily combined the two in the following upload. Directions are loose here as this is the sort of dish one prepares very freely, adding salt, pepper or grated cheeses as desired. Absolute perfection for a late-night meal, after the theater or a concert, served with a green salad and simply followed by fruit and cheese or good chocolate. If serving at a luncheon meal, pair with a nice bottle of Vouvray and perhaps precede with a shrimp salad.

1. For 6 people clean 3 small Roman artichokes and cut into long pieces.
2. Cook them in a pan with half tablespoon of bacon fat or the equivalent of oil, moisten with a few tablespoon of dry white wine to keep them tender and season with a finely-chopped sprig of parsley, some salt and pepper.
3. In the meanwhile, beat 6 eggs in a bowl with some salt, rise the flame under the pan containing the artichokes and when the latter appear to be tender enough, pour over the egg.
4. Allow to cook for a few minutes, then turn over and cook the other side for another few minutes on a high flame so that the outside gets nicely cooked and the inside remains soft.

BAKED SOLE ROMA

One of the most exciting culinary trends of recent years is the discovery - and translation - of ancient recipes, as below adapted to modern kitchens. For the hell of it we present the original recipe in its original Latin incarnation, for history buffs and those brushing up on school lessons of many years ago.

Patina solearum (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria)
Patina solearum: soleas battues et curatas compones in patina. adicies oleum, liquamen, vinum. dum coquitur, teres piper, ligusticum, origanum, fricabis, suffundes ius, ova cruda et unum corpus facies. super soleas refundes, lento igni coques. cum duxerit, piper aspargis et inferes.

4 fillets of sole (or other delicate white fish) /1 onion /1 tbsp olive oil /1/2 cup Feta cheese /2/3 cup dry white wine / 2 tbsp. seedless raisins /2 tbsp white wine vinegar /2 tsp coriander seeds /1 tsp cumin /4 sprigs of thyme /sea salt to taste

1. Slice the onion into very thin rings and gently fry these in olive oil until they become clear.
2. Arrange these on the bottom of a large oven-proof dish and palce the fish fillets on top.
3. Place the coriander and cumin in a mortar and crush with a pestle. Add the raisins and sprinkle over the fish fillets. Cover with a sprig of thyme.
4. Mix the wine and vinegar together, season with salt and pour over the fish.
5. Next, slice the Feta cheese as thinly as possible and use to entirely cover each fillet.
6. Cover the dish with a lid and bake in an oven pre-heated to 325° for an hour.