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Lenticula ex Sphondylis (Lentils and Parsnips)
Lenticula ex Sphondylis (Lentils and Parsnips) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic stew of lentils and mashed parsnips in a stock and wine sauce flavoured with spices and herbs. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Lentils and Parsnips (Lenticula ex Sphondylis).
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
30 minutes
Total Time:
50 minutes
Serves:
4
Rating: 
Tags : Spice RecipesVegetable RecipesBean RecipesAncient Roman Recipes
Original Recipe
Lenticula ex sphondylis [sive fondilos]: accipies caccabum mundum, adicies in mortarium piper, cuminum, semen coriandri, mentam, rutam, puleium, fricabis, suffundis acetum, adicies mel, liquamen et defritum, aceto temperabis, reexinanies in caccabo. sphondylos elixatos teres et mittis ut ferveant. cum bene ferbuerint, obligas. adicies in boletari oleum viridem.
Translation
Lentils and Parsnips: Take a clean saucepan [add the lentils and cook until tender]. In a mortar, put pepper, cumin, coriander seed, mint, rue and pennyroyal and pound. Pour over vinegar, add honey, liquamen and defritum, blend with the vinegar. Pour this into the saucepan then add mashed, boiled, parsnips and cook. When they have boiled thicken with starch. Serve in a mushroom dish [sprinkled with] best olive oil.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
150g puy
lentils, washed
650ml chicken stock or
vegetable stock
200g parsnips, peeled, chopped, boiled until tender, drained and mashed
1/2 tsp freshly-ground
black pepper
1/4 tsp
ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground
coriander seeds
1 tsp dried mint, crumbled
pinch of
rue (or
rosemary)
pinch of dried
pennyroyal (but substitute
lesser calamint to be safe) (if available)
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp liquamen
80ml
defritum
cornflour to thicken (wheat starch would originally have been used)
extra-virgin olive oil, to garnish
Method:
Combine the lentils and the stock in a pan. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 60 minutes, or until the lentils are tender (but not broken down). Drain the lentils and set aside (reserve the stock).
In the meantime, cook the parsnips in lightly-salted boiling water until tender. Drain, mash and set aside.
Pound the black pepper, cumin, coriander seeds, mint rue (or rosemary) and pennyroyal in a mortar. Moisten with honey and white wine vinegar then add the defritum. Pour into a pan and add 250ml of the reserved lentil cooking stock. Work in the mashed parsnips until smooth then stir in the reserved lentils then simmer, stirring frequently, until heated through. Work in enough of the cornflour, mixed to a slurry in water to thicken the sauce. Turn into a serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil and serve.
Find more recipes from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria along with information on Apicius and his cookbook, all part of this site's Ancient Roman recipes collection.
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