Roman Era: Nut Tart

Image Sources:

Figure 1: The Hairpin July 23, 2014. “A Nut Tart With the Romans.” The Hairpin, 1 Aug. 2017, www.thehairpin.com/2014/07/a-nut-tart-with-the-romans/.

Figure 2: “Update to Notes on Toseftot Berachot 4:8 and 5:5 - Roman Symposium - Mosaic of a Symposium with Asarotos Oikos.” Tosefta Online, 15 Dec. 2016, www.toseftaonline.org/update-to-notes-on-toseftot-berachot-48-and-55-roman-symposium-mosaic-of-a-symposium-with-asarotos-oikos/.

Ingredients:

FEEDS 10

❖ 42.5 oz crushed nuts—almonds, walnuts or pistachios

❖ 21 oz pine nuts

❖ 11 oz honey

❖ 1 ¼ cups dessert wine

❖ 12 eggs

❖ 1 ¼ cups full-fat sheep's milk

❖ 3 teaspoon salt

❖ A dash of pepper

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 475°F

2. Chop up nuts

3. Place nuts in an oven safe dish and roast until it has slightly browned

4. Reduce oven temp to 400°F

5. In a separate pan, mix together honey and wine until the wine has evaporated

6. Add nuts and pine nuts to the honey mixture and let cool

7. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with milk, salt, and pepper

8. Combine the honey-nut mixture with the egg mixture

9. Prepare a 18’x9’ oven dish by spreading oil along the bottom

10. Pour in the mixed ingredients

11. Seal off the oven dish with foil, and place in a water bath

12. Bake for 25 Minutes until firm, let cool in the fridge

13. Pour warm honey over the tart to serve

14. Enjoy!

Paragraphs:

This recipe of the nut tart came from the Roman Era. This tart was mainly baked for the Elites of the Roman Era. This is because it needs a numerous amount of ingredients, such as the dessert wine, involved in the recipe. Dessert wine was a delicacy, and it was a staple for the upper class along with eggs. The rich and nobles were able to afford such extravagant ingredients and have them imported, which is why they would eat this. The nut tart was often eaten on the terms of a dessert back throughout the Roman Era. In Roman times, varieties of nuts such as pine nuts and almonds were very common along with honey and sheeps milk. These common items were also used with other recipes such as Lentils, Hard Boiled eggs, and Wild Boar.

The writer of “Around the Roman Table,” Patrick Faas, is a food historian and chef, he’s written columns on ancient food recipes for the national Dutch newspaper. Faas has constructed three recipe books in the last ten years. The source that provided the recipe can also be considered reliable because it does not contain any anachronisms. All of the ingredients would be found in that time period, and no modern day substitutions are included. Lastly, the source can be considered reliable because it is from a university/ educational institute. There were also many other common recipes used in these sources from the Roman Era on this manuscript.

Recipe Sources:

Faas, Patrick. “Around the Roman Table.” Eight Ancient Roman Recipes from Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome, Press.uchicago, www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/233472.html.

The Hairpin July 23, 2014. “A Nut Tart With the Romans.” The Hairpin, 1 Aug. 2017, www.thehairpin.com/2014/07/a-nut-tart-with-the-romans/.

“Patrick Faas.” Pan Macmillan, amp.panmacmillan.com/authors/patrick-faas/138b6ca7-b5e9-4337-71cb-08d5dd189d20.

Shandae C, Rebecca F, Elizabeth L, Chelsea R