Roman Recipes for Modern Cooks

Roman Recipes for Modern Cooks is a collection of ancient Roman recipes adapted from their original texts to suit a modern kitchen and appetite. 

Sally Grainger has spent decades researching the cuisine of the ancient Romans and Greeks, testing hundreds of recipes found in Apicius, the most famous collection of ancient Roman recipes to survive. During the process, she built portable and permanent replicas of an ancient Pompeii kitchen for educational cooking demos (we recommend checking out A Taste of the Ancient World on Youtube for a visual companion to some recipes).

Luckily, to cook from this book, you don’t need as elaborate of a set up because Grainger has done the hard part–translating Latin phrases, calculating absent quantities, and finding substitutions for odd or hard to find ingredients and equipment. Dive right into the first century with herb- and spice-forward recipes such as:

• Roman ‘satay’ pork skewers with a pine nut sauce

• Coriander-crusted halibut 

• Cumin and honey-roasted root vegetables

• Warm Roman cheesecake pudding
  

Each recipe is presented in its original text, followed by historical context, modifications, and the modern version of the recipe. A bottle of fish sauce and a mortar and pestle are required for most recipes. Coquas feliciter!

Hardcover. Black-and-white illustrations. Yellow ribbon