Leeks with Fava Beans - a Roman Empire recipe

Sometimes parts of the universe come together in surprising ways.  Or, if you remember the 1970s at all, perhaps a bunch of biorhythms all aligned!

I have wanted a particular cookbook ever since I saw it at a culinary symposium.  It has translations of the Roman Empire recipes of Apicius along with modern redactions by the author.

ISBN 0-226-29030-1

So when I was wandering through a favorite used bookstore one day and saw it, I knew it would be coming home with me.

A few days later my friend, RK, gave me a box of ramps (wild leeks) from his home in West Virginia.

This is a small portion of what he shared with me.

And then another friend, MD, offered me some fresh fava beans from his garden.

The picture doesn't show it, but these pods are huge!

Well, when the universe sends such a clear message, I cannot ignore it.  On page 151, I found a recipe that uses both.

Leeks with Fava Beans  (Apicius 96)

Aliter porros:  [Si] in aquam elixati erunt, fabae nondum conditae plurimum admisce conditurae in qua eos manducaturus es.

Another recipe for leeks:  [If] they have been boiled in water, add a large quantity of unseasoned fava beans to the condiment in which you will eat them.

Author's redaction:

Boil the leeks in water, drain, and place in a serving bowl.  Season them with the sauce described in the previous recipe, and add cooked or raw fava beans.  You can also add fresh minced aromatic herbs if you wish.

The "sauce described in the previous recipe" is from Boiled Leek Salad, Apicius 93. 

Boil the leeks, slice them into rounds, and cover with a sauce made of olive oil, garum, and wine.  The quantities of the ingredients may vary according to taste; if you like the strong, salty flavor of garum, feel free to use it generously.  I find red wine is more successful here than white.

Homemade liquamen!

Garum is fish sauce, also often called liquamen.  I happen to have a great quantity of it from my previous experiments in making it.  Click here to see a post on it.

My Redaction

320 grams (11 ounces) of shelled fava beans

150 grams (5 1/2 ounces) of ramps, washed and trimmed of their roots

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup red wine (I chose pinot noir)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoon liquamen

Add the beans to boiling water, bring the water back to a boil and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Slice the ramps into pieces, add to salted, boiling water, and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.  Drain and add to the beans.

Mix the dressing, beating well to disburse the oil.  Pour over the ramps and fava beans -- put in what you think is right as you might not use all of it.  Toss well and serve.

This was about four servings.

My Notes

It was fun to shell the fava beans.  The pods' inner lining is white and fluffy, and it seemed like I was taking the beans out from their cozy little nest.  I used about half of the pods you see in the picture to get these beans.

I boiled them in plain water.

I really like this picture.

The ramps cleaned up well and were sliced into big bite-sized pieces.

After they were boiled in salted water, they were drained and mixed with the fava beans.

Then I whisked the sauce ingredients together, poured them over the veggies, mixed them well, and served them.

The Verdict

I served them as part of a simple yet tasty dinner.  The protein portion was pork that I had cured and smoked.  This was sliced paper thin (hooray for my new electric knife sharpener!) and dressed with a drizzle of lemon juice and some capers.

I also set out some homemade oatmeal bread, recipe courtesy of my friend GW.  I served the meal with the same pinot noir that I used in the dressing.

The fava beans and ramps combination was good.  I won't say "exceptional" or "outstanding" because I think I could have improved on my process.  

First, I tasted one bean for doneness before draining them.  The could have cooked a minute or two longer to get the bigger beans more tender.  Some were chewy and I didn't like that.  This convinced me that I would not use raw beans in this dish.  I cooked them for 3 minutes, which is why I put 3 to 4 minutes in my redaction.

Second, the dressing did not stick to the veggies.  Maybe I'm spoiled with today's availability of thickened sauces but I did wish to taste more of the dressing with a bite of the veggies.  I suspect I should have had the dressing ready to go when the veggies were all still hot.  I've noticed that some veggies absorb the flavors better when that happens.  I don't know for sure, but I would do that when making it again.

Third, both my guest taster and I thought it needed more salt.  Instead of making the dish saltier by using more fish sauce, we sprinkled a little salt over what was on our plates.  That worked out well.

Fourth, maybe the ramps would have had more flavor if they were only cooked 2 minutes.  They were good, and they weren't as potent as they are when raw, but I would have liked more of their rampy flavor.

The combination of hearty bread, cured meat, and ramps/fava beans was a good one.  It made for a solid and flavorful dinner, and we both enjoyed it very much.  

I thought the amount of liquamen in the dressing was just right.  It shifted the wine flavor to something different (liquamen adds salt and a good dose of umami).  The important part was that it didn't taste or smell fishy, a preference of my guest taster.  The olive oil added a good mouthfeel, too.

If I make this again (and I still have ramps and favas left over!), I would try it with some fresh herbs.  I guess that mint would be a good addition, and maybe some parsley or basil.  My explorations in historical cooking have taught me to really mix it up when using fresh herbs.  Don't be tied down to "traditional" uses or combinations!  Many go well together in surprising ways.

Success!