Happy 1940th birthday, Hadrian! For this year's birthday cake I chose to cook Cato's recipe for savillum (a kind of cheese cake/bread). Savillum recipe in Latin (from LacusCurtius): Cato’s De Agricultura 84: Savillum hoc modo facito. Farinae selibram, casei P. II S una conmisceto quasi libum, mellis P. et ovum unum. Catinum fictile oleo unguito. Ubi omnia… Continue reading Felicem diem natalem, Hadriane!
As mentioned in a previous post (see here), I organised a small banquet at home on the occasion of the Saturnalia festival. I love ancient Roman food, and I tried a few more ancient recipes for this banquet. Once again, everything was delicious! For the appetiser (gustatio), I chose to bake Mustacei must (grape juice)… Continue reading A taste of Ancient Rome – A Saturnalia feast
It has been over a year since I last blogged about ancient Roman cooking, even though I have tried a few more recipes in the meantime, as people who follow me on Twitter or Facebook have probably noticed. One of my last cooking sessions was on the occasion of Hadrian's birthday on 24th January. Pullum… Continue reading A taste of Ancient Rome – Pullum Numidicum (Numidian Chicken) and Conchicla Cum faba (Beans with Cumin)
Pullum Particum (Parthian Chicken) is so far my favourite Apician recipe. I have cooked and tasted it twice, and it is an absolute delight! This is one of the best chicken dishes I have ever had. But what is Pullum Particum? Sally Grainger, a highly knowledgeable food historian, suggests that the name originated with the use… Continue reading A taste of Ancient Rome – Pullum Particum (Parthian Chicken) and Parthian Chickpeas
As it it Asparagus season, yesterday I tried this ancient recipe with asparagus called "Aliter Patina de Asparagis" and taken from Apicius’ book, “De Re Coquinaria”. It is made with eggs, asparagus, wine and lots of herbs. It turned out to be very tasty. I can’t wait to make it again! The recipe in Latin: Aliter patina de… Continue reading A taste of Ancient Rome – Aliter Patina de Asparagis (Omelette with Asparagus and Fresh Herbs)
Bring on the feast! What type of food did the Ancient Romans eat? What ingredients did they use? What were the Ancient Roman dessert recipes like? When I started to look at some Roman recipes on the internet, I realised that most dishes had sweet-sour flavour combinations, an abundant use of fresh herbs and fragrant spices which I… Continue reading A taste of Ancient Rome – Minutal ex Praecoquis (Pork and Fruit Ragout)
