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Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Ancient Roman Libum Bread and Moretum & Olive Spreads

 




The Libum was a type of bread, or rather a cake made with ricotta, flour, eggs and bay leaves, which used to be prepared at the time of Ancient Romans.


To make the libum you need:
  • 2 pounds of white cheese
  •  1 pound of wheat flour
  • 1 egg
  • olive oil
  • bay leaves
Beat the cheese in a mortar; when it is well beaten, add in the flour. Add one egg and mix all together well. Shape it so that it is flat and round. Lay onto olive oiled pan over spread bay leaves under it, and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden-brown.



To make the Moretum spread:
  • 1 clove of garlic (or less for a milder taste)
  • parsley to sprinkle it
  • 1 tbsp of coriander seeds
  • a pinch of salt
  • 200 gr. of white cheese
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • A splash of wine vinegar
Crush the garlic into a mortar, add the coriander and parsley. Beat until made smooth, add salt and the white cheese along with the olive oil. Work to make a homogenous mass then add the vinegar and blend everything well.



Black Olive Spread

  • 100 gr dried tomatoes
  •  100 gr black / brown olives (pitted)
  • olive oil (a drizzle)
  • a pinch of salt
  • {sunflower seeds}
Put the ingredients into a blender and work until you make a puree. When spread over a piece of bread you can sprinkle it with sunflower seeds.

To learn more about Romans and their dietary habits, I found an interesting read you may want to indulge as well as a recipe for an incredible video / recipe how to make bread as the Romans did 2000 years ago.

 



13 comments:

  1. Never before have I heard of cheese being mixed with flour to make bread making this post very interesting to read. I noticed that you added neither salt nor spice but bay leaves, so I am wondering how it would taste. Maybe the salt comes from the cheese?

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    1. Me neither. I didn't make or participate in the making of food - I just share the recipes I got. Here we have an abundant choice of white cheeses that are salty, so I guess I wouldn't put any salt if I were to make the bread, which I may say I am intrigued to try. I tested many of the food served there and I can't describe how insanely delicious everything was.

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  2. Hi Maya, these appetizers sound great for holiday entertaining. I love the olive spread! Thanks for sharing this at C&C with J&J. Enjoy the week.
    Julie xo

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  3. Everything looks amazing! :)

    I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

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  4. Although I usually cook stews with bay leaves this is my first time hearing of a recipe that uses them for baking bread. How interesting! I definitely need to try those. Thanks for sharing the recipes and the links about Ancient Rome food!

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    1. That was my first too! Sounds enciting, doesn't it :)

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  5. Such interesting recipes, Maya, and unfamiliar to me, except for the olive spread. I'd love to give them a try. I've just made some artichoke spread that I think could go very nicely with the bread.
    Amalia
    xo

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  6. Such inspiring recipes, after Christmas i may come back to this post and try. did you ever bake my cardamon crescent cookies last Christmas? I'll be posting more again this Christmas too

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    1. No, I haven't, but I might give them a try. Will have to check out that post.

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  7. All these recipes look delicious. As they once said "when in Rome do as the Romans do". The libum bread sounds so very appetising.

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    1. I eam eager to try it Kim. Just today I tried a carrot and pea spread my cousin made, so the list of spreads to try is getting bigger by the hour :)

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