More from Apicius: Chicken w/Caraway, Beans w/Cumin

More from Apicius: Chicken w/Caraway, Beans w/Cumin

Picking back through Apicius, I came upon two dishes that I was inspired to prepare: a chicken with caraway and beans with cumin.

Chicken with caraway was one of those foods I knew I would like the moment I saw it (I had the same feeling with couscous and catsup).

I don’t believe I’ve ever had this flavor combo before, but it was excellent. The aromatic, sweet pungency of the caraway, the bland though meaty platform of the bird, just fine (I didn’t have “laser,” about which there is some uncertainty, though some interpret it to be asafetida – A, you want to weight in on this? – I substituted a little fennel seed).



I also liked the beans; here’s the complete recipe from my Vehling translation:

“Green beans are cooked in broth, with oil, green coriander, cumin and chopped leeks, and served”



I dug it, though I could not wish away the sense that this is how beans might have been done in Tijuana.

Apicius' recipes do not come with measurements; you kind of put in the amount that seems right to you. I like a lot of green coriander, so I put in a lot of that.

Hammond

Looks good. However, I can't help but think that the green beans referred to in Apicius must have been something else (green lentils, peas, or maybe young fava beans?), because the haricot bean, or common bean (which includes the string bean, as well as pintos, kidney beans, etc.), is indigenous to the New World and would not have been available to him.

I do like the look of the green beans with leaks, however. And I think it's great fun anyone is cooking from Apicius.

Cynthia wrote:Looks good. However, I can't help but think that the green beans referred to in Apicius must have been something else (green lentils, peas, or maybe young fava beans?), because the haricot bean, or common bean (which includes the string bean, as well as pintos, kidney beans, etc.), is indigenous to the New World and would not have been available to him.

I do like the look of the green beans with leaks, however. And I think it's great fun anyone is cooking from Apicius.

Yes, you're probably right. My approach with these old recipes is that I use what I have on hand (no asafetida, use fennel; no ostrich, use chicken; no dormouse, use...well, I'm not sure what to use in that case, but you get the idea).

My efforts with Apicius are more approximations than reiterations, and the very looseness of the recipes invites improvisation, which I like.