Globi, honey-fried poppy seed balls
Soft balls of fresh cheese and spelt flour, fried until golden, still hot rolled in honey and sprinkled with poppy seeds. Crispy outside, melting inside, salty-sweet: the street treat of ancient Rome.
Soft balls of fresh cheese and spelt flour, fried until golden, still hot rolled in honey and sprinkled with poppy seeds. Crispy outside, melting inside, salty-sweet: the street treat of ancient Rome.
Do you want a sweet to nibble at the threshold of my festival? Mix the cheese with far flour, roll small balls between your palms, and throw them into hot fat until they dance and turn golden. Take them out, bathe them in honey while they steam, and dust them with poppy seeds. Eat them round and warm: round is the ball, round is the year that begins anew under my gaze.
- •Fresh cheese — one part (softness)
- •Far flour (spelt) — equal part (binder)
- •Fat (lard or oil) — for frying (frying)
- •Honey — as needed (glaze)
- •Poppy seeds — a pinch (decoration and crunch)
Globi, honey-fried poppy seed balls
Soft balls of fresh cheese and spelt flour, fried until golden, still hot rolled in honey and sprinkled with poppy seeds. Crispy outside, melting inside, salty-sweet: the street treat of ancient Rome.
Why this dish? Small balls of cheese and flour fried then rolled in honey, globi were a popular sweet nibbled in the streets and at festivals. During Janus's festivities, where honeyed good-luck foods are shared, these round golden bites are perfectly at home.
Do you want a sweet to nibble at the threshold of my festival? Mix the cheese with far flour, roll small balls between your palms, and throw them into hot fat until they dance and turn golden. Take them out, bathe them in honey while they steam, and dust them with poppy seeds. Eat them round and warm: round is the ball, round is the year that begins anew under my gaze.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh cheese — one part (softness)
- Far flour (spelt) — equal part (binder)
- Fat (lard or oil) — for frying (frying)
- Honey — as needed (glaze)
- Poppy seeds — a pinch (decoration and crunch)
Ingredients
- Well-drained ricotta — 150 g (softness)
- Spelt flour — 150 g (binder)
- Frying oil — 1 bath (frying)
- Honey — 100 g (glaze)
- Poppy seeds — 1 tbsp (decoration and crunch)
Method
- Mix ricotta and flour into a firm dough, shape into walnut-sized balls.
- Heat oil to 170°C and fry the balls in small batches until golden.
- Drain on a cloth.
- Warm the honey, roll the hot globi in it.
- Sprinkle with poppy seeds and serve immediately.
How it was made : Cato describes globi (De Agri Cultura, ch. 79): equal amounts of cheese and flour, shaped into balls, fried in hot fat, then coated in honey and poppy seeds. It was a common sweet, sold and shared at festivals.
The contemporary twist : Stack them in a small pyramid like a miniature croquembouche, with a thread of honey and a rain of poppy seeds: a 'Janus fritter' for a New Year buffet.
Sources : Cato the Elder, De Agri Cultura, ch. 79 (globi)
Janus · Charactorium
