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Malvas (Mallow Leaves)

Malvas (Mallow Leaves) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic dish of mallow (jute) leaves cooked in wine sauce with spices and boiled wine. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Mallow Leaves (Malvas).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Wild FoodAncient Roman Recipes


Original Recipe


Malvas (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria) III, vii


Malvas minores +degrano+ ex liquamine, oleo, aceto. malvas maiores in oenogaro, piper, liquamine, caroeno vel passo.

Translation



Serve smaller mallows with liquamen, olive oil and vinegar. Larger mallow [leaves] are cooked in wine sauce, pepper, liquamen, and caroenum or passum

Modern Redaction

In effect, this recipe is an ancient Roman version of that classic Egyptian soup known as melokhia.

The malvas or mallow here could either be North African jute mallow (melokhia) or common European mallow (see images). Indeed, both can be cooked in the same manner and are essentially interchangeable in the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 kg fresh Common Mallow (or melokhia leaves if you have access)
500ml white wine
500ml water
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
2 tbsp fish sauce
100ml caroenum or passum

Method:

Wash the mallow or melokhia leaves, remove the stems then chop them very finely. Add the white wine and water to a large pan along with the fish sauce and black pepper and bring to a boil. Add the chopped leaves and simmer for 10 minutes.

Now add the caroenum or passum. Cover the pan and simmer for 5 minutes with occasional stirring. Adjust the seasonings and serve spooned into soup bowls.
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.