Saturnalia cookery: Aliter Dulcia (fruit pudding)
Aliter Dulcia • Fruit Pudding
- 1/2 lb. fresh, green angelica stalks, or 1 large fennel bulb, or 4 apples
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/2 cup honey
- ample ginger or cinnamon for sprinkling
To prepare angelica: Bring a large pot of water to a boil then cook the stems over a medium heat until tender (about 5 minutes). Drain, rinse in cold water, and drain again. Peel off the skin and long stringy parts on the outside of the stalks.
Alternatively: Try this recipe with a fennel bulb or apples.
Grate the main ingredient and spoon into a baking dish or loaf pan. Pour milk over it. When it is completely saturated, place in the oven at 350°F/170°C for an hour until baked but not dried out—it should be creamy, but not soupy.
Remove from the oven and pour honey over the pudding, poking it so the honey sinks in.
Sprinkle with ginger or cinnamon and serve.
Makes 2-3 servings
All right, fennel. It’s you against me now. (I’ve named it Wilson.)
The grated fennel for this dulcia (dessert) did me in. I had to call in a kitchen servant. I call him Cuisinart.
The fennel I’ve grown in my garden has been much more tasty & aromatic than store-bought. But I soldier on.
The dessert recipes tend to take longer to prepare than the main dishes. No wonder ancient Romans usually just picked them up at the local pub.
This dessert was mild in flavour but delicious, and I enjoyed the texture. I found myself craving more the next day, but the leftovers had mysteriously disappeared from the refrigerator. I’d definitely make it again, and will try it with apples. Someday I’ll try it with angelica too, which is what might have been intended in the original recipe, but fennel is a plausible ancient substitute, and ancient cooks would have had many variations on recipes depending on available ingredients.
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