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Mixtura cum Caseo (Soft Cheese and Herb Purée)

Mixtura cum Caseo (Soft Cheese and Herb Purée) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a purée of cheese and herbs with white wine vinegar and an olive oil garnish. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Soft Cheese and Herb Purée (Mixtura cum Caseo).

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

10 minutes

Total Time:

20 minutes

Serves:

6

Rating:

Tags : Vegetarian RecipesHerb RecipesCheese RecipesAncient Roman Recipes

I've seen many recipe redactions from Columella's Re Rustica (On Agriculture) but previously I was unable to track down the original Latin text. Finally I have a copy of Book XII of Re Rustica and I can begin publishing these recipes.

Original Recipe

Columella, Re Rustica, XII-lvii
Addito in mortarium satureiam, mentam, rutam, coriandrum, apium, porrum sectivum, aut si non erit viridem cepam, folia latucae, folia erucae, thymum viride, vel nepetam, tum etiam viride puleium, et caseum recentem et salsum: ea omnia partier conterito, acetique piperati exiguum, permisceto. Hanc mixturam cum in catillo composurris, oleum superfundito.

English Translation

Put savory in the mortar with mint, rue, coriander, parsley, sliced leek, or, if it is not available, onion, lettuce and rocket leaves, green thyme, or catmint. Also pennyroyal and salted fresh cheese. This is all crushed together. Stir in a little peppered vinegar. Put this mixture on a plate and pour oil over it.

Columella, Re Rustica, XII-lvii

Modern Redaction

In modern terms, this is a herb and cheese dip and it works well in those terms. Serve as a starter accompanied by flatbreads for dipping.

Ingredients:

2 young leeks
200g feta cheese
2 or 3 mint leaves
1 small lettuce
A handful of rocket (arugula) leaves
A handful of fresh coriander leaves
A handful of fresh parsley
A sprig each of rue and pennyroyal
1 tbsp young thyme, chopped
½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Method:

Finely slice the leeks, place in a steamer basket and steam until tender (about 5 minutes).

Once they are cooked, place in a food-processor.

Clean the lettuce and add to the leek, along with the herbs, cheese, pepper and vinegar.

Process in the processor until you obtain a smooth, uniform, paste.

Taste and add more vinegar if desired (note that the original recipe does not call for salt, as the saltiness of the cheese was assumed sufficient).

Transfer the purée in a serving bowl and garnish with a swirl of extra-virgin olive oil.

Serve accompanied by warm flatbreads for dipping.