Aliter Dulcia • Fruit Pudding
- 1/2 lb. fresh, green angelica stalks, or 1 large fennel bulb, or 4 apples
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/2 cup honey
- ample ginger or cinnamon for sprinkling
To prepare angelica: Bring a large pot of water to a boil then cook the stems over a medium heat until tender (about 5 minutes). Drain, rinse in cold water, and drain again. Peel off the skin and long stringy parts on the outside of the stalks.
Alternatively: Try this recipe with a fennel bulb or apples.
Grate the main ingredient. Use a food processor if you have one—just consider it having a servant in your ancient kitchen. (I invested in a little 4-cup one just for Roman cooking, and it hasn’t let me down.) Spoon into a baking dish or loaf pan. Pour milk over it. When it is completely saturated, place in the oven at 350°F/170°C for an hour until baked but not dried out—it should be creamy, but not soupy.
Remove from the oven and pour honey over the pudding, poking it so the honey sinks in.
Sprinkle with ginger or cinnamon and serve.
Makes 2-3 servings
This dessert was mild in flavour but delicious (my garden-grown fennel has a stronger flavour than this bulb from the store). I enjoyed the texture and I found myself craving more the next day. The dessert recipes tend to take longer to prepare for a smaller quantity than the main dishes—no wonder ancient Romans usually just picked them up at the local pub—but I’d make this again, and will try it with apples. Someday I’ll try it with angelica too, which is what might have been intended in the original recipe, but fennel is a plausible ancient substitute. Ancient cooks would have had many variations on recipes depending on available ingredients!