Cook a classical feast: nine recipes from ancient Greece and Rome
June 21, 2020 10:27 AM Subscribe
Cook a classical feast: nine recipes from ancient Greece and Rome. Bored with banana bread? Whip up a classical feast with nine recipes from ancient Greece and Rome. Courtesy of The British Museum Blog
Recipes include things like Very garlicy garlic cheese, and Pancakes with honey and sesame seeds. Recipes taken from The Classical Cookbook by Andrew Dalby and Sally Grainger.
Recipes include things like Very garlicy garlic cheese, and Pancakes with honey and sesame seeds. Recipes taken from The Classical Cookbook by Andrew Dalby and Sally Grainger.
For a Latin club event on high school, I made dates stuffed with almonds and poached in honey. They were really good but I had to go through a huge list of recipes that looked Very Not Good to find that one. The selection here is definitely catering to modern tastes - no honey-glazed mice to be found!
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:30 AM on June 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:30 AM on June 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
Doctors were interested in this dish because it was said to cure headaches and was good for stomach upsets. Pliny claimed if taken before a meal it prevented drunkenness, and if taken after drinking it could cure a hangover!
Yes. The first recipe tosses the cabbage with asoefoetida (hing) and that is common in Indian kitchens to counteract the bilious nature of lentils (and one supposes, cabbage). Interesting they were using this resin. I wonder if it was part of the ancient Indian Roman trade?
posted by Mrs Potato at 1:22 PM on June 21, 2020
Yes. The first recipe tosses the cabbage with asoefoetida (hing) and that is common in Indian kitchens to counteract the bilious nature of lentils (and one supposes, cabbage). Interesting they were using this resin. I wonder if it was part of the ancient Indian Roman trade?
posted by Mrs Potato at 1:22 PM on June 21, 2020
Way too much coriandor though, almost as bad as Indian cuisine.
posted by Mrs Potato at 1:25 PM on June 21, 2020
posted by Mrs Potato at 1:25 PM on June 21, 2020
On the topic of the garlicky thing: process the garlic WITH the vinegar. At the same time, in the same container, not sequentially.
If you break the garlic cell walls in presence of acid you'll cut the chemical-warfare burn but keep the garlicky greatness (it's one of the tricks to making Zahav hummus, although in that recipe you use lemon juice rather than vinegar, but the principle is the same).
posted by aramaic at 1:43 PM on June 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
If you break the garlic cell walls in presence of acid you'll cut the chemical-warfare burn but keep the garlicky greatness (it's one of the tricks to making Zahav hummus, although in that recipe you use lemon juice rather than vinegar, but the principle is the same).
posted by aramaic at 1:43 PM on June 21, 2020 [7 favorites]
I suspect the asafoetida in the cabbage recipe is being used as a substitute for silphium, a similar resin that was so popular with the Romans that it is now thought to be extinct. Asafoetida was also used by the Romans as a cheaper substitute for silphium.
posted by Fuchsoid at 2:08 PM on June 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by Fuchsoid at 2:08 PM on June 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
The fish sauces you want to use are Red Boat, Megachef or in a clutch, Squid. There is a fish sauce made in south China but that is rare to get in the US. The Romans had grades of fish sauce and the recipes in Apicius seem to use first draw liquid. If you are looking for something approximating Roman muria then you want Vietnamese mam ca which is fermented fish which has a variety that is a draw from the bottom remnants of the fermentation jars for nuoc mam. Cambodian prahok is fermented fish but not done in quite the same way as the Romans but hey, it gives you a substitute if you want a very ROBUST flavor.
Another ancient Roman dish that is easy for modern kitchens is an egg patina, which is basically an egg frittata using fish sauce/garum. I served that at a history conference as a demo. Hmm... I really should do a chart comparing Roman classifications of garum and SE Asian quality classifications since they are remarkably similar.
posted by jadepearl at 3:01 PM on June 21, 2020 [10 favorites]
Another ancient Roman dish that is easy for modern kitchens is an egg patina, which is basically an egg frittata using fish sauce/garum. I served that at a history conference as a demo. Hmm... I really should do a chart comparing Roman classifications of garum and SE Asian quality classifications since they are remarkably similar.
posted by jadepearl at 3:01 PM on June 21, 2020 [10 favorites]
I've always wanted to make those really sad barley cakes that were a staple of Archaic Greek cuisine. I love the nutty flavour of barley. I'm convinced it would actually be quite delicious.
posted by constantinescharity at 7:14 PM on June 21, 2020
posted by constantinescharity at 7:14 PM on June 21, 2020
Maza, I'm guessing? They look kind of like portable porridge, what with not being baked, at least from this recipe.
posted by tavella at 9:48 PM on June 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by tavella at 9:48 PM on June 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
For a bit more historical context it is worth reflecting that enslaved people were the ones cooking these delicious meals and enabling feasts and social occasions. From Plautus on the slave cook is all over Roman literature, and those people running back and forth on paintings and mosaics at meals and in houses aren't there by choice.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 12:32 AM on June 22, 2020
posted by lesbiassparrow at 12:32 AM on June 22, 2020
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That garlicky garlic cheese sounds amazing and I will be making it sometime this week.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:50 AM on June 21, 2020 [2 favorites]