{"id":4401,"date":"2016-02-29T08:55:57","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T07:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/?p=4401"},"modified":"2020-10-21T16:34:16","modified_gmt":"2020-10-21T14:34:16","slug":"roman-chestnuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/roman-chestnuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Roman chestnuts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Straight to the recipe<\/small><\/a><\/p>\n

High in carbohydrates, low-fat, gluten free<\/h2>\n

\"Hundred<\/p>\n

Edible\u00a0chestnuts<\/span>\u00a0were probably introduced in the Netherlands by the\u00a0Romans<\/span>. Dutch summers do not always yield ripe chestnuts, but usually enough chestnuts can be gathered under a tame chestnut tree for a nice meal. The picture on the right shows two ancient tame chestnut trees in the beautiful\u00a0\u00a0Beeldentuin De Zanderij<\/a>\u00a0in ‘s-Graveland, 20 kilometers from Amsterdam. At the time I’m writing this, they are about one hundred and fifty years old.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0recipe<\/span>\u00a0on this page has been published on other websites and in several printed books with Roman recipes. Most of these recipes mainly contain lentils, with a small amount of chestnuts. The source of the recipe is a fourth-century recipe collection that is known as\u00a0Apicius<\/em>\u00a0(who, by the way, is NOT the author!). The recipe can be found in Book V (‘ospreon’, dishes which are rich in carbohydrates), in a chapter with all kinds of\u00a0Lenticula<\/em>. Indeed, lenticula means\u00a0lentils<\/em>, but also\u00a0lens<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0lenticular<\/em>. Pans or dishes with a round bottom could also be called\u00a0lenticula<\/em>. And that is what, in my opinion, is meant here as there is only one recipe in this chapter that actually mentions lentils as an ingredient.<\/p>\n

In the same Book V, Ospreon, are sections on pottages (nourishing soups) containing ripe green peas, fava beans, conchicla (shell-shaped dishes), fenugreek, barley and chick peas. With the exception of the section\u00a0lenticula<\/em>\u00a0 all recipes mention their main ingredient. In a comment on the translation of the recipe for chestnut puree Grocock and Grainger also mention that they suspect that this particular dish probably did not contain lentils at all. Chestnuts were the main ingredient.<\/p>\n

The nutritional value of edible chestnuts differs from that of other nuts. Chestnuts contain less fat and proteins, but more carbohydrates. They also contain folic acid. Unfortunately, I cannot provide exact numbers, because no two sources give the same numbers and percentages.<\/p>\n

Throughout the centuries wild edible chestnuts have been an important source of calories in poor regions of Southern Europe. Large, cultivated edible chestnuts were luxurious food. Whether eaten with Brussels sprouts, with roasted turkey, or just ‘by an open fire’, chestnuts were a treat and not a necessity. I also published eighteenth-century recipes for Kale with chestnuts<\/a> and Chestnut pie.<\/p>\n

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The original recipe<\/h2>\n

The recipe can be found on pp. 208\/209 in the edition and translation by Grocock and Grainger (see bibliography<\/a>). I have used their translation, but changed the name of the recipe from ‘Lentils with chestnuts’ to ‘A dish [in the form of a lentil] with chestnuts’.<\/p>\n

lenticulam de castaneis: accipies in caccabum nouum, et castaneas purgatas diligenter mittis. adicies aquam et nitrum modice, facies ut coquatur. cum coquitur, mittis in mortario piper cuminum semen coriandri mentam rutam laseris radicem puleium, fricabis. suffundis acetum mel liquamen, aceto temperabis, et super castaneas coctas refundis. adicies oleum, facies ut ferueat. cum bene ferbuerit, tutnclabis ut in mortario teres. gustas, si quid deest, addes. cum in boletar miseris, addes oleum uiridem.<\/em><\/div>
A dish [in the form of a lentil] with chestnuts: take e new pan and put in carefully peeled chestnuts. Add water and a little soda, put it to cook. When it is cooking, put in a mortar pepper, cumin, coriander seed, mint, rue, laser root, pennyroyal, and pound them. Pour on vinegar, honey, liquamen, flavour with vinegar and pour it over the cooked chestnuts. Add oil, bring it to heat. When it is simmering well, pound it with a stick as you pound in a mortar. Taste it; if there is anything lacking, add it. When you have put it in the serving dish, add green oil.<\/div>
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 <\/p>\n

<\/a>Modern adaptation of the recipe<\/h2>\n

This is definitely a very tasty dish. Vinegar and mint make it refreshing, while the fish sauce provides a subtle salty taste.\u00a0
\nRue<\/strong>\u00a0has a noticeable, slightly bitter taste. Replacing it by another herb is not really an option. If you can not find any fresh rue, just leave it out because dried rue is not nearly as fragrant. However, it is possible to freeze fresh rue, so frozen rue could be used in the recipe as well.
\nSilphium root<\/strong>\u00a0is part of a plant that became extinct during the first century AD. By the time the manuscript of De re coquinaria was originally written (fourth century AD), it had been unavailable for three centuries. Asefoetida and garlic were used instead.
\nFilling\u00a0side dish<\/span>\u00a0(substitute for bread)\u00a0for 4 personsn<\/span>;\u00a0preparation in advance<\/em>\u00a015 minutes\u00a0+ optionally cooking and peeling of chestnuts<\/span><\/span><\/span>;\u00a0preparation<\/em>\u00a010 minutes<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"Roman400 gr cooked and peeled\u00a0chestnuts<\/span>
\n1 tsp\u00a0black pepper<\/span>
\n1 tsp\u00a0coriander seed<\/span>
\n\u00bd\u00a0tsp\u00a0cumin seed<\/span>
\n3 Tbsp\u00a0mint<\/span>
\n\u00bd Tbsp\u00a0rue<\/a>
\n1\u00a0garlic clove<\/span>\u00a0or a pinch\u00a0asafoetida<\/a>
\n1 Tbsp\u00a0garum<\/a>\u00a0or Asian fish sauce
\n2 Tbsp honey
\n3 Tbsp wine vinegar
\nsome Tbsp hot water
\nTo finish it<\/em>
\n3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil<\/p>\n

Preparation in advance<\/h3>\n

Prepare the chestnuts as described here<\/a>, or heat precooked chestnuts. Pur\u00e9e the chestnuts while still warm, in the same manner as one would make potato mash.
\nGrind the spices, chop the herbs.<\/p>\n

Preparation<\/h3>\n

Temper spices and herbs with garlic,\u00a0garum<\/em>\u00a0or fish sauce, and vinegar. Add this to the mashed chestnuts with enough hot water to make a creamy pur\u00e9e. You’ll need about three tablespoons of water.
\nReheat the pur\u00e9e just before serving, either on a slow burning pit or in the microwave or oven. Stir in the olive oil just before serving.<\/p>\n

To serve<\/h3>\n

This chestnut pur\u00e9e is served as a side dish during a Roman meal. Its nutritional value is about the same as bread or any other dish that consists mainly of carbohydrates.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h2>\n

All descriptions of ingredients<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Nitron<\/h4>\n

There is a difference between\u00a0natron<\/em>\u00a0(sodium carbonate, E-number 500(i)) and\u00a0nitron<\/em>\u00a0(saltpeter or potassium nitrate), but in Antiquity that difference was not clearly defined. Let’s just assume that it was sodium carbonate that was used to prevent the skins of legumes becoming hard and to keep boiled cabbage green. The E-number 500 (ii) is\u00a0sodium bi<\/em>carbonate, also known as baking soda.
\nThe chestnuts have already been peeled in the original recipe. It could be that nitron is mentioned erroneously, and that originally unpeeled chestnuts were used. The nitron would then have been added to the boiling liquid because this makes chestnuts easier to peel.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Chestnuts<\/h4>\n

\"SweetThese had the same role as groats and potatoes: carbohydrates. In some regions of France sweet chestnuts (Castanea sativa<\/em>) were common fare, like in the Ard\u00e8che and the C\u00e9vennes. Chestnut meal was also used, to make bread or wafers.
\nIn the Netherlands the climate is too cold to be able to harvest the fruit from sweet chestnuts on a regular basis. Here, the horse chestnut\u00a0 (Aesculus hippocastanum L.<\/em>) abounds, but the fruit from these trees is too bitter for consumption. Sweet chestnuts are recognizable by their prickly husks (see picture on the left), the husks of the horse chestnut are smooth with little points.<\/p>\n

\"Bloeiende<\/a>Rue<\/h4>\n

A little shrub (Ruta graveolens<\/em>), indigenous to Southern Europe. The odiferous plant has a strong, bitter taste. The ancient Greeks and Romans loved rue, and it is still used in the Italian drink\u00a0Grappa Ruta<\/em>. In modern cuisine rue has mostly fallen into disuse, which is a pity. A few rue leaves in a meat broth add a pleasant flavour. However, it is thought to be an anaphrodisiac (quenches lust), and pregnant women must be careful not to use too much of it, because it could also be abortive. But a leaf or two won’t do any harm.
\nRue plants can be found at garden centers. It is quite decorative, a semi-perennial with small yellow flowers that can be used to decorate any dish.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Bibliography<\/h2>\n

The editions below were used by me. Links refer to available editions.<\/p>\n