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Cum faba (Broad Beans in a Coriander Sauce)

Cum faba (Broad Beans in a Coriander Sauce) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for steamed green beans served in a sauce or coriander and cumin. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Cum faba.

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

40 minutes

Total Time:

55 minutes

Serves:

2-3

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Vegetarian RecipesHerb RecipesBean RecipesAncient Roman Recipes


Original Recipe


Cum faba (from Apicius' De Re Coquinaria)

Cum faba: coques. teres piper, ligusticum cuminum coriandrum viridem, suffundis liquamen, vinum et liquamen in ea temperabis, mittis in caccabum, adicies oleum. lento igni ferveat et inferes.

Translation


Cook the beans; meanwhile crush pepper, lovage, cumin, green coriander, moistened with liquamen and wine, and add more broth to taste, put into the saucepan with the beans adding oil; heat on a low fire and serve.

Ingredients:

300g green beans (or fine beans)
bean stock
large bunch of coriander
25g butter
20–25 vine leaves
large pinch of cumin seeds
large bunch of chives, chopped
2 tsp liquamen
Twist of black pepper

Method:

Steam the green beans for 10 minutes until tender, reserve the steaming liquid. Take 150ml of the bean stock and add coriander, cumin and liquamen. Bring this to the boil and simmer over a low heat for about 25 minutes to reduce. Add the beans and cook for a further five minutes.

Pour beans and their sauce into a bowl. Add the butter cut into small cubes and garnish with the chives and pepper.
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.