Puls
The porridge that fed an empire — cracked emmer wheat coaxed in salted water until it surrenders into a thick, nutty pottage, glossed with oil and crowned with sharp cheese and herbs. This is the legionary's bowl, older than bread in the Roman kitchen and the bedrock of the Mediterranean table.
Ingredients
For 4 servings · tick what is ready
Use the scaled ingredient list. Steps and temperatures stay unchanged; use a larger pan or dish if needed. Seasonings to taste stay to taste.
How to make it
Rinse the emmer in cold water until it runs clear, then cover it generously with part of the water and leave it overnight, 8 hours or more. Whole emmer is a tough, hulled grain; the long soak rehydrates the bran and lets the kernels swell so they will cook down sweet and tender rather than staying chalky at the core. Reserve the rest of the water for the cook.
Put the drained emmer in a heavy pot with the reserved water and the salt. Bring to a boil, then drop to the barest simmer and cook uncovered, stirring often as it thickens, 45 minutes to over an hour depending on the grain. As the kernels burst they release starch and the pot turns from soupy to a thick, spoon-coating pottage. Add hot water as needed; you want the grains broken and creamy, not dry. Salting now seasons from within as the starch absorbs the liquid.
Off the heat, beat in the olive oil and most of the grated cheese until the puls turns glossy and rich; the residual heat melts the cheese into the starch for savory depth. Stir through the chopped lovage and a heavy grind of pepper. Taste and correct the salt. Spoon into bowls, scatter the remaining cheese over the top, and finish with a thread of olive oil — or, for the full Roman effect, a few drops of garum.
About this recipe
By ForkRecipe Kitchen · Source: ForkRecipe / FoodML and contributors. Recipe content available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Serving count is an estimate; check quantities in the source recipe.