The ancient Romans didn’t eat pasta—or tomatoes. Olives, figs, goat cheese, wine, eggs, pork, fish, and bread were common. But for a fancy banquet, a Roman host chose foods that would demonstrate his wealth and power. The Romans delighted in dining on exotic foods from the farthest reaches of their empire, which extended from northern Africa to Britain. The more sumptuous and rare the food, the better.

The Romans loved expensive spices from faraway China and India and were especially fond of pepper. They did not believe in moderation, preferring to mix so many flavors you couldn’t be sure what you were eating (whether this was to show off the host’s wealth or to disguise the taste of less-than-fresh food in the days before refrigerators is unclear). One of the most important flavorings was garum or liquamen, a salty sauce made of fermented fish. Modern cookbook authors have compared garum to anchovy paste and soy sauce. You might try adding those to a dish, if you feel courageous. But we recommend:

Dates with Almonds and Honey

What You'll Need

• a large dish
• a microwave safe container like a measuring cup
• 24 pitted dried dates
• 24 blanched almonds
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup honey

What To Do

1. Place an almond inside each date.
2. Roll the stuffed dates in the salt, and arrange on a large dish.
3. Place the honey in a microwave-safe container and microwave on high for 2 minutes.
4. Pour warm honey over the dates. Cool slightly, then serve.

Variations:

• Roll the almonds in cinnamon before stuffing them in the dates. (This makes the nuts look more like the date pits. The Romans loved to disguise their food.)
• Use ground pepper instead of almonds to stuff the dates. (Roman cooks tried to combine sweet, salty, sour, and bitter or spicy flavors in every meal and sometimes even all in one dish.)