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Aliter Bulbos (Bulbs, Another Way)
Aliter Bulbos (Bulbs, Another Way) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a classic accompaniment of pounded onions that are fried to soften and mixed with a herb and spice honey sauce with liquamen. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Bulbs, Another Way (Aliter Bulbos).
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
20 minutes
Total Time:
40 minutes
Serves:
4
Rating: 
Tags : Sauce RecipesVegetarian RecipesSpice RecipesHerb RecipesVegetable RecipesAncient Roman Recipes
Original Recipe
Aliter: bulbos tundis atque ex aqua coques, deinde oleo frigis. ius sic facies: thymum, puleium, piper, origanum, mel, acetum modice et, si placet, et modice liquamen. piper aspargis et inferes.
Translation
Another Way: Pound the bulbs and boil in water. Then fry in olive oil. Make the sauce [from the following ingredients] thyme, pennyroyal, pepper, oregano, honey, a little vinegar and, if you like, a little liquamen. Sprinkle with pepper and serve.
Modern Redaction
In Apicius, as is common in Roman cookery the term 'bulbos' really does refer to bulbs and these could be the bulbs of tulip, narcissus, and daffodil. These are the 'bulbs' that seem to be referred to by Apicius. . Columella and Pliny the Elder reported that the buds or shoots of reeds were sometime called “bulbs" and sometimes “eyes." Platina included the squill (scilla) and sea onion in the term. Apart from the onion, the other bulbs in these lists contain contain toxic glycosides and
CAN BE LETHAL. Only ever use onions in these recipes, DO NOT try the other bulb types. To keep with the 'bulbos' description use small or pickling onions.
Ingredients:
200g baby onions or shallots, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
For the Sauce:
1 tsp thyme, very finely chopped
1/2 tsp
pennyroyal (but substitute
lesser calamint to be safe) (or mint), finely chopped
1/2 tsp freshly-ground
black pepper
1/2 tsp dried
oregano, crumbled
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp liquamen (fish sauce)
60ml strong
vegetable stock
Method:
Chop the shallots or onions very finely then pound to a paste. Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the onions and fry for about 5 minutes, or until softened but not coloured. Take off the heat and set aside.
Combine the vegetable stock, liquamen, vinegar and honey in a pan. Add the thyme, pennyroyal, black pepper and oregano then bring to a simmer. Add the fried onions and stir to combine. Simmer until thickened and serve hot as a sauce or an accompaniment.
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.
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