Apicius 105

 

Aliter holus molle ex foliis lactucarum cum cepis

Coques ex aqua nitrata, expressa concides minutatim. In mortario teres piper, ligusticum, apii semen, mentam siccam, cepam, liquamenº, oleum et uinum.

 
 

 

Another recipe for cooked lettuce and onions

Cook them in cooking soda, drain and mince. In a mortar grind pepper, lovage-seed, celery-seed, dried mint, onions, add garumº, oil and wine.

 
 

 

Notes

According to a note in the margin of an ancient manuscript, this is meant to be a dish that doesn't need chewing, but can almost be drunk. Like our soup, maybe. it may very well belikend to Portuguese 'caldo verde', except for the potatoes. A first experiment brought to my mind the way my mother used to prepare endives, but somewhat more savory.
Boil the lettuce in a little water. I would suggest to leave out the 'nitrate', because it is just meant to keep the vegetables a bright green, but is not wholesome at all.
While it is cooking, prepare the following sauce in a mortar: pepper, lovage-seed, celery-seed, spring onions, garumº, oil and a little wine. Drain the cooked lettuce and chop it into a kind of purée. Mix in the sauce and serve.