Aliter pisam siue fabam: despumatam subtrito lasare Parthico, liquamen et caroeno condies. oleum modice superfundis et inferes.
The John Edwards translation:
Peas or Beans
Prepare the boiled skimmed peas or beans with Parthian laser, stock, and boiled wine. Pour a little olive oil on top and serve.
The sauce is more interesting, in that even Apicius was trying to recreate what he regarded as historical ingredients. The original main flavouring was Laser: a kind of giant fennel. It was so popular with the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans that it was extinct on the southern shores of the Mediterranean by the first century AD, and had to be imported from the east, Parthia being the most famous source. It was mixed and ground together with pine nuts, which would absorb the flavour. The pine nuts were then used as the seasoning, while the expensive laser remained in the storage cask.
John Edwards suggests either fennel or ginger as a substitute for laser.
In this case I have used mainly fennel seed with a pinch of root ginger,
plus some ground pinenuts: recreating the late Roman fake rather than the
early Roman original. The rest of the sauce is boiled white wine (down
to about half the starting quantity) and vegetable stock.
Most recent revision 29th August 1999