Philosopher's Kitchen: Recipes from Ancient Greece and Rome for the Modern Cook

“It is the culinary legacy of the ancients that inspired this cookbook. . . Re-creating the cuisine of the ancient Greeks and Romans helps us connect in some small but wonderful way to their time, teachings, and lives.”
–from the Introduction of The Philosopher’s Kitchen

“Pleasure is the beginning and end of living happily,” said the Greek philosopher Epicurus two thousand years ago. Certainly the dazzlingly varied, subtly seasoned cuisine of ancient Greece and Rome measured up to the highest standards of eating pleasure. The Philosopher’s Kitchen offers seductive, modern interpretations of these dishes using a variety of sources, from writings by Plato, Aristotle, Homer, and Cicero to the oldest known surviving cookbook.

Here is a rich array of culinary delights, ab ovo usque ab malum, or “from eggs to fruit,” as the Romans said. Mussels in Cumin Sherry Sauce, Chestnut-Mint Puree, Chicken Breasts with Hazelnut Pesto, Lamb with Pomegranate-Glazed Onions, and Walnut Cake with Fig Jam are just a few of the delicious, healthy, and gorgeous recipes in this book that will delight and surprise the modern cook.

Francine Segan also allows us a glimpse into the ancient world by putting each recipe in its cultural context, taking us to Greek feasts and Roman banquets and revealing customs, expressions, and superstitions that are still very much a part of modern life. She shares tips on entertaining, even including sample invitations a host can use to summon friends to a Roman spread of his or her own.

Organized for easy, efficient use and replete with Tim Turner’s stunning photographs, The Philosopher’s Kitchen is a glorious buffet for the senses, providing literal food for thought.

Adult/High School - By combining modern ingredients and relatively simple but modern culinary techniques with snippets of ancient culinary history and passages from Greek and Roman thinkers, Segan offers both a wonderful curriculum adjunct and inspiration for extracurricular gustatory pleasure. The dishes range from appetizers to desserts, with soups, salads, fish, vegetables, meats, and breads along the way. A few dishes call for wine; none requires an ingredient difficult to find in a supermarket. The quotations from Hippocrates, Aristotle, Seneca the Younger, and the like are brief, but there are cogent passages describing the art and (health) science of the ancients' nutritional and social theories, as well as the frequent inclusion of the recipes' antecedents in the earliest (first century C.E.) cookbooks. While public library users can borrow this title from adult cookbook collections, high school libraries - especially in schools where ancient history or Latin is taught - would do well to include it. School theme clubs, theater departments, and debate teams may find useful nuggets here, too. - Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
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The ancient Greeks and Romans invented everything from decision by coin toss to the political filibuster. And, as food historian Segan shows in this clever cookbook, they invented many of our favorite dishes, too—or at least their predecessors. She wisely updates the ancient recipes so they appeal to modern palates (e.g., by replacing the sheets of dry, thin bread in an intriguing Free-Form Cherry Lasagna with pasta). However, she's kept to the spirit of history, so Vegetable and Bean Barley Soup doesn't contain tomatoes, as those were imported from the Americas after Columbus visited. Her food-related tidbits are just as appealing as the food itself: Pythagoras eschewed beans because they were associated with bureaucracy (hence the expression "bean counter"), and Hippocrates suggested getting drunk and engaging in sex to heal sore muscles. While in many books a final chapter with menus is almost a throwaway, Segan makes the most of hers by discussing the philosophy of entertaining in ancient times and offering sample invitations with appropriate quotes for a New Year's Eve Bacchanal, Plato's Birthday and other occasions. This attention to detail and user-friendly attitude are typical of this excellent book as a whole. Color, b&w photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.