Late Roman Empire · Rome
Apicius's Sala Cattabia
From De Re Coquinaria · Apicius · 400
Verified from original source
A Roman salad of endive dressed with herbs, raisins and a piquant vinaigrette.
History
Sala Cattabia appears in Apicius's De re coquinaria, the late Roman cookery collection compiled around the 4th or 5th century CE. It was a complex salad-like dish combining vegetables (endive, lettuce, mint, coriander), cheese, pine nuts, and a dressing of vinegar, honey, and wine, reflecting Roman elite dining customs. Such elaborate cold dishes showcased ingredient variety and sophisticated flavour-balancing typical of upper-class Roman cuisine. The recipe demonstrates Roman fondness for sweet-savoury combinations and fresh herbs. Though not directly surviving in modern cookery, it influenced medieval European salad traditions and remains a reference point for understanding ancient Roman gastronomy.
Sources
- Apicius, De re coquinaria (4th-5th century CE, various modern editions including Flower & Rosenbaum 1958)
- Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food (1999, 2014)
- Andrew Dalby, Food in the Ancient World from A to Z (2003)
- Sally Grainger, Cooking Apicius: Roman Recipes for Today (2006)
- Patrick Faas, Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome (2003)
Serves
4
Prep
15m
Cook
0m
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients
- · 1 head chicory or endive, separated
- · 50 g raisins
- · 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- · 1 teaspoon celery seeds
- · 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- · 3 tablespoons olive oil
- · 2 tablespoons wine vinegar
- · 1 teaspoon honey
- · Salt
Method
- 1
Arrange chicory leaves on a serving platter.
- 2
Scatter raisins and mint over the leaves.
- 3
Whisk together oil, vinegar, honey, celery seeds, pepper and salt.
- 4
Drizzle dressing over salad.
- 5
Serve immediately.
