Recipes from Ancient Rome and Greece

[guy]

Here's a fun article discussing many known recipes from ancient Greece and Rome:

 Cabbage the Athenian way

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‘Cabbage should be sliced with the sharpest possible iron blade, then washed, drained, and chopped with plenty of coriander and rue. Then sprinkle with honey vinegar and add just a little bit of silphium. Incidentally, you can eat this as a meze.’ – Mnesitheus, quoted in Oribasius, Medical Collections 4, 4, 1

This is a popular recipe among Greek and Roman writers. Oribasius (4th century AD), a well-known doctor of the late Roman Empire, borrowed it from a much older book of dietary advice by Mnesitheus, a medical writer from Athens who lived in the 4th century BC.

Olive Relish

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‘How to make green, black or mixed olive relish. Remove stones from green, black or mixed olives, then prepare as follows: chop them and add oil, vinegar, coriander, cumin, fennel, rue, mint. Pot them: the oil should cover them. Ready to use.’ – Cato, On Agriculture 119

The recipe from Cato dates to about 200 BC, but olives provided relish and flavouring all through ancient times. The olive tree had been under cultivation in Greece for a thousand years, if not longer, when the Iliad and Odyssey were composed (around the 8th century BC). At classical Greek banquets olives were served in brine, and sometimes, no doubt, they were served as relishes like this.

Roast lamb or kid

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‘Marinated kid or lamb: 1 pint milk, 4 oz honey, 1 oz pepper, a little salt, a little asafoetida. For the sauce: 2 fl oz oil, 2 fl oz fish sauce, 2 fl oz honey, 8 crushed dates, half pint good wine, a little starch.’ – Apicius 8, 6, 7

This recipe is from Apicius, a Roman cookery book of different recipes thought to have been compiled in the 1st century AD. This recipe is one of the few in the book that gives quantities, which has led some to believe that this might in fact be an old ancient Greek recipe.

 

 [The pungent-smelling Asafoetida (hing) mentioned in the recipe above is an excellent substitute for onions, by the way. It is frequently used today in Indian food.]

Pancakes with Honey and Sesame Seeds

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‘Let us find time to speak of other cakes, the ones made with wheat flour. Teganitai, as we call them, are made simply with oil. The oil is put in a frying-pan resting on a smokeless fire, and when it has heated, the wheat flour, mixed with plenty of water, is poured on. Rapidly, as it fries in the oil, it sets and thickens like fresh cheese setting in the baskets. And at this point the cooks turn it, putting the visible side under, next to the pan, and bringing the sufficiently fried side, which was underneath at first, up on to the top, and when the underneath is set they turn it again another two or maybe three times till they think it is all equally cooked. Some mix it with honey, and others again with sea-salt.’ – Galen, On the Properties of Foods 1, 3

These are just a few of the 49 ancient recipes found in this book:

 

 

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/cook-a-classical-feast-nine-recipes-from-ancient-greece-and-rome/

 

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The updated edition of this best-selling cookbook features a delicious collection of recipes from every strata of classical civilization, all accessible to the contemporary cook. Using a subtle mix of sweet and sour flavours, fragrant herbs, creamy cheesecakes and hearty red wines, ancient Mediterranean cuisine is brought to life. Pioneering the exploration of menus and manners of ancient Greece and Rome, "The Classical Cookbook" features adaptations of 49 sumptuous dishes. Sitting alongside sun-soaked recipes are rich illustrations of murals, marbles and mosaics, plus lively commentary painting a vibrant picture of everyday wining and dining in the ancient world. "The Classical Cookbook" will prove that we can still enjoy Terrine of Asparagus, Sweet Wine Cakes, Olive Relish or even Toronaean Shark. Featuring step-by-step instructions, the modern cook will be able to tackle everything from simple meals and street food through to lavish banquets and wedding feasts with an authentic Anci

 

 

guy also known as gaius

 

I found this book when reading article about Shrove Tuesday (Marti Gras) in the UK:

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Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is celebrated in the UK, Ireland and parts of the Commonwealth on a Tuesday in February or March by gorging on pancakes before the 40 days of Lent.

Always preceding Ash Wednesday, Pancake Day falls 47 days before Easter.

Many Britons take to the streets to participate in pancake races.

In other countries, the day is celebrated with a carnival and is referred to as Mardi Gras, or 'Fat Tuesday', the last night of eating fatty foods before the fasting period of Lent begins.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9265655/Second-century-pancake-recipe-proves-Romans-similar-sweet-tooth-modern-day.html

 

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Galen, writing in his work On The Properties of Foodstuffs, says: 'Let us find time to speak of other cakes, the ones made with wheat flour. 

'Teganitai, as we call them, are made simply with oil. The oil is put in a frying-pan resting on a smokeless fire, and when it has heated, the wheat flour, mixed with plenty of water, is poured on.

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'Rapidly, as it fries in the oil, it sets and thickens like fresh cheese setting in the baskets. 

'And at this point the cooks turn it, putting the visible side under, next to the pan, and bringing the sufficiently fried side, which was underneath at first, up on to the top, and when the underneath is set they turn it again another two or maybe three times till they think it is all equally cooked. 

'Some mix it with honey, and others again with sea-salt.'  

 

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by guy