Collumella's Moretum
Collumella's Moretum is a traditional Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman recipe for a starter of ssalty cheese pounded with herbs, vinegar and pepper served in a bowl topped with olive oil. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Collumella's Moretum.
prep time
15 minutes
cook time
20 minutes
Total Time:
35 minutes
Serves:
4
Rating: 
Tags : Vegetarian RecipesHerb RecipesCheese RecipesAncient Roman Recipes
Original Recipe
From Columella's
De Re Agricultura XII.LIX
LIX. QUEMADMODUM MORETUM FACIAS.
Addito in mortarium satureiam, mentam, rutam, coriandrum, apium, porrum sectivum aut, si id non erit, viridem cepam, folia lactucae, folia erucae, thymum viride, [vel] nepetam, tum etiam viride puleium et caseum recent
et salsum. Ea omnia pariter conterito acetique piperati exiguum permisceto; hanc mixturam cum in catillo composueris, oleum superfundito.
ALITER.
Caseum Gallicum vel cuiuscumque notae volueris minutatim concidito et conterito nucleosque pineos, si eorum copia fuerit, si minus, nuces avellanas torrefactas, adempta cute, vel amygdalas eaque, quae supra condimenta [satureiam, mentam, rutam, coriandrum, apium, porrum sectivum aut, si id non erit, viridem cepam, folia lactucae, folia erucae, thymum viride, vel nepetam, tum etiam viride puleium] pariter misceto acetique piperati exiguum adicito et permisceto compositumque oleo superfundito.
Aliter.
Si condimenta viridia non erunt, puleium aridum vel thymum vel origanum vel aridam satureiam cum caseo conterito acetumque piperatum et oleum adicito. Possunt tamen haec arida, si reliquorum non sit potestas, etiam singula caseo misceri.
Translation
LIX.How to prepare moretum.
Add to the mortar savory, mint, rue, coriander leaves, celery, leek or, if you do not have it, the green part of the onion, lettuce, rocket leaves, fresh thyme or lesser calamint, and even fresh pennyroyal and fresh, salty, cheese. All these things must be pounded together and mixed with a little vinegar and pepper; when you put this mixture in a [serving] bowl, cover it with oil.
Cut Gallic cheese or another cheese finely and pound it with pine nuts, if you have enough; otherwise, add roasted and peeled hazelnuts or almonds to the herbs mentioned above and mix with a little peppery vinegar, pouring over oil.
Another recipe. If you do not have fresh herbs, pound with the cheese dry pennyroyal, thyme, oregano, or savory, and add peppery vinegar and oil. You can use just one herb if you do not have the others.
Modern Redaction
These are only two of the recipes for Moretum from Columella's De Re Rustica and in others he recommends using a fresh and salty cheese, which makes sense here too, as no additional salt is added in this version. I used fresh herbs here, but you could use all dried or a mix. The exact herbs will depend on what's in season. I decided to use pine nuts and hazelnuts in my Moretum, just because that's what I had to hand.
Ingredients:
For Dry Herbs:
1/2 tsp pennyroyal
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp savory
For Fresh Herbs:
1 tsp pennyroyal
1 tbsp thyme leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp savory
1 tbsp coriander leaves
1 tbsp celery leaves (or use alexanders leaves)
200g firm cheese (eg a hard goat's cheese or caciotta)
20g pine nuts
10g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
white wine vinegar
freshly-ground white pepper
extra virgin olive oil
Method:
Cut the cheese into fairly small cubes then combine in a mortar with the pine nuts and hazelnuts. Pound lightly then add the finely chopped herbs and pound together. Season with ground white pepper then moisten with a little vinegar. Pound again to give a coarse paste.
Turn into a serving bowl, pour over extra-virgin olive oil and serve accompanied by flatbreads for dipping.
