Perhaps the most popular of all the Roman appetizers was the
egg. In fact, the ancient Latin saying
ab ovo usque ad malum literally means "from the egg to
the fruit," which translates loosely as "the beginning of the
meal to the end." In this recipe, the egg is adorned with
lovely pine nut sauce.
Ancient Roman Egg Recipe
For medium-boiled eggs: Pepper, lovage, and soaked pine nuts.
Pour on honey and vinegar; mix with
garum
- Apicius, reprinted from A Taste of Ancient Rome
Modern Egg Recipe
4 medium-boiled eggs
2 ounces pine nuts
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
Pinch each of pepper and lovage (or celery leaf)
Soak the pine nuts 3-4 hours beforehand in the vinegar.
Mix all the sauce ingredients thoroughly in a blender.
This exquisite sauce should be presented in a sauce boat
so that each person can serve himself or herself, since
the eggs cannot be sliced and placed on a dish in advance.