Ancient Roman Pizza
Ancient Roman Pizza is a reconstructed traditional Ancient Roman recipe (based on a freeze from Pompeii) for an offerings made to guests of a leavened bread plate topped with cheese and herb moretum and mixed fruit. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Ancient Roman Pizza.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
20 minutes
Total Time:
40 minutes
Serves:
2
Rating: 
Tags : Vegetarian RecipesHerb RecipesBread RecipesCheese RecipesAncient Roman Recipes
Original Recipe
There is no recipe text in this case, but we do have an image (main image, left) and a culinary detective story...
It's not often that a potentially new ancient Roman dish or recipe crops up. But, during excavations in Pompeii during 2023 a new fresco was uncovered. This revealed a dish that appeared, at least at a cursory glance, to depict a 'pizza' or at the very least a flatbread with topping. Of course, true pizzas (with tomatoes) could not occur before the Colombian exchange. Indeed, modern pizzas are a relatively modern (late 1800s) invention. The Romans absolutely did not have tomatoes, nor did they have mozzarella. It should also be noted that often the bread bases of dishes were primarily trenchers
mensa that were intended to hold an offering of fruit. So was that what was depicted here, an offering of fruit to honoured guests? The presentation on a silver platter would suggest that this thinking might be going in the right direction. There is a hint of cheese in the image and this might suggest moretum, a pounded pesto- or pate-like dish described by the pesudo-Vrigil and in several versions by Columella in the
De Re Agricultura.
I already had a likely base/trencher in the Leavened Artolaganon recipe made with stone ground einkorn wheat Triticum monococcum. Columella's moretum would be one topping, explaining the white bits in the fresco image. The red bits, on close inspection look like pomegranate seeds and the black bits could be pounded figs. In the foreground of the original image is a pile of what looks like walnut meats. So, the basic idea and ingredients are all there. Time to prepare the dish.
Modern Redaction
Method:
Prepare the leavened artolaganon bread according to the recipe, but on the second day, after allowing it to rise, knock back and knead then take the whole dough, shape into a fat cake, press down on the centre to make a raised edge. As the idea here is to prepare a trencher, pre-heat your oven as high as it will go (preferably use a pizza oven) then allow the bread to rest and rise for 20 minutes. Pop in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes, until golden and aromatic (the einkorn wheat will give a lovely aroma).
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly (you still want to serve warm). Prepare two batches of moretum, one greener and herbier and the other stiffer with more cheese that you can shape into balls. Pound one of the figs to flatten. Scoop the pomegranate seeds from the fruit.
Once the bread has cooled slightly spread the herbier moretum over the base. Drape the pounded fig over the crust. Now decorate as you will with the white moretum balls, whole figs and pomegranate seeds. Serve with the bread still warm.
So, this is not a pizza, but a part of a xenia the hospitable offerings made to guests as they arrive at your house, essentially a Greek tradition (as the name suggests) that was adopted by the Romans.
This is not pizza in the modern sense (which is actually a late 19th century invention), but neither is it a thousand miles distant from pizza — call it a pizza ancestor.
