Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.
Rapas (Turnips)
Rapas (Turnips) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic dish of cooked turnips served in a spiced sauce of honey, vinegar, stock, defritum and olive oil. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Turnips (Rapas).
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
20 minutes
Total Time:
40 minutes
Serves:
4
Rating: 
Tags : Vegetarian RecipesSpice RecipesVegetable RecipesAncient Roman Recipes
Original Recipe
Rapas sive napos elixatos exprimes, deinde teres cuminum plurimum, rutam minus, laser Parthicum, mel, acetum, liquamen, defritum et oleum modice. fervere facies et inferes.
Translation
Squeeze out the water from cooked turnips. [Place in a pan] then grind a generous quantity of cumin, less of rue, [add] Parthian laser, honey, vinegar, stock, defritum, and a little olive oil. Heat and serve.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
500g turnips, peeled and cubed
For the Sauce:
1/2 tsp
ground cumin
1/8 tsp
rue (or rosemary)
pinch of
asafoetida
1 tsp honey
2 tsp olive oil
80ml
defritum
250ml turnip stock (about)
2 tbsp fish sauce
cornflour to thicken (wheat starch would have been used in Roman times)
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Add the turnips to a pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook until almost tender then drain (reserve the turnip stock).
Combine the cumin, rue (or rosemary), asafoetida, honey, olive oil, defritum and fish stock in a pan. Add the turnips then pour over enough of the reserved turnip stock to just cover. Bring to a simmer and continue cooking until the turnips are tender. Remove a little of the stock and whisk in the cornflour. Return to the pan then cook until the sauce thickens. Turn into a serving bowl, garnish with black pepper 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.
%20Recipe)