Learning Classics is a bit like putting on a magic pair of 3-D glasses. Once you start delving into the language and the culture, you'll start to see it all around you. This blog is a record of the club's journey through the worlds and language of ancient Rome and Greece... and through modern times, too, searching for the influence of classics all around us. You'll also be able to find vocab, home tasks, links and generally enlightening info here, too.

Recipes from Apicius

Here are the recipes we cooked for our Great Roman Bake Off...

Lettuce Patina (bit like a frittata/spanish omlette)

500g lettuce
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp caroenum
1 tbsp fish sauce
black pepper
5 eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 150C. Trim the lettuce so you have mainly the base, then dice into very fine pieces. Put in a saucepan and add the oil, caroenum, fish sauce and pepper. Bring to heat and cook gently for 5 minutes. Pour the braised lettuce into a greased dish and stir in the egg, mixing all the time so that the egg doesn't cook straight away. Put in the oven until set. Allow to cool then cut into wedges.



Mushroom Patina (bit like a frittata/spanish omlette)

250g mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp caroenum
1 tbsp fish sauce
black pepper
5 eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 150C. Dice the mushrooms into fine pieces. Put in a saucepan and add the oil, caroenum, fish sauce and pepper. Bring to heat and cook gently for 5 minutes. Pour the braised mushroom into a sieve to drain away the excess liquid, then put into a greased dish and stir in the egg, mixing all the time so that the egg doesn't cook straight away. Put in the oven until set. Allow to cool then cut into wedges.


Hypotrimma – herby dip

½ tsp lovage seeds
black pepper
3 tsp chopped mint
50g raisins
50g pine kernels
50g cream cheese
1 tbsp date syrup
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp defrutum

In a mortar, mix the lovage with the pepper and mint. Add the raisins and pound to a fine paste, add the pine kernels and pound, then add the cheese, date syrup and honey, and blend. Gradually mix in the vinegar, oil and defrutum. Put the paste into a serving bowl and serve with pieces of bread for dipping.


Melon with mint

1 melon
pinch of black pepper
3 tsp chopped mint
2 dessertspoons runny honey
2 dessertspoons vinegar

Cut the melon into wedges, remove the rind and then dice into small (5-10mm) pieces. Put in a shallow dish. Combine the mint, honey and vinegar and whisk. Pour over the melon and leave for 15 minutes to marinate.


Ham with figs in pastry

300g pastry
4 figs
1 tbsp honey
200-300g pieces of ham/gammon
black pepper

Set the oven to 180C. Cut the pastry sheet in half so that you have two even rectangles. Place one on a greased baking sheet. Scatter the ham over the pastry, making sure to leave the edges. Cut the figs into 1/2cm thick slices and place on top of the ham. Season with black pepper and a drizzle of honey. Take the other sheet of pastry and cut a series of lines into the centre. Place on top of the other piece of pastry and press the edges together to seal. Bake until golden brown about 20 mins.


Almond and semolina pudding

25g peeled almonds
250ml milk
2 heaped tbsp semolina
25g pine kernels
50g raisins
2 tbsp honey
black pepper

Put the milk into a pan and bring to a gentle heat. Sprinkle the semolina over the milk and stir continuously until the mixture thickens. Add the pine kernels and raisins and continue to cook gently while stirring. Add the honey. Pour into a serving dish and sprinkle a little black pepper on top.


Cooked apricots

6 firm apricots
200ml  white grape juice
few leaves of mint
pepper
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp cornstarch

Wash, cut and stone apricots. Put them with a little cold water in a pan.
Put the pepper in the pan.Add the honey, grape juice and vinegar. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes on a low heat. Add cornstarch to thicken the sauce, sprinkle with pepper and serve.