Ocelots' Nipples and Scalded Flamingo

Assembling an Ancient Roman Pantry for the Modern Chef

A ready-made Roman-style spice blend from my good friends at Montreal’s Épices de cru.

This is about to get nerdy. (But in the best way: food-history nerdy.)

Last winter, I decided to try my hand at replicating recipes from ancient Rome. I’d read that it was nothing like contemporary Italian cooking. Spices were brought in from the farthest reaches of th…