History

To understand the tradition for the commemoration of St. Gregory the Great, we need to first step back a couple of centuries prior to the life of Marcus Parcius Cato, or Cato for short. Cato was a Roman senator who lived into the third century and wrote what today is one of the oldest cookbooks around. His book provides a great look into what typical ancient Roman life and cuisine was like, which is why we recommend one of his recipes for today’s saint, St. Gregory the Great. Both Cato and Gregory certainly made their mark on Roman culture, a society which modern men and women still look back upon and try to learn more about. For Cato, it was through cuisine. For Gregory, it was through his preaching, charity, and efforts to maintain unity in Rome.

As we discussed in our longer post about Gregory the Great, this saint worked tirelessly on behalf of the church but also sought to restore the fragmented political scene in Rome at the time. The Pope called him out of the monastery to serve as deacon and before too long Gregory was ordained Pope. In this role he not only strove to foster religious harmony but also struck political truces with the Lombards who were threatening Roman peace. This and several other diplomatic actions have led commentators to remark that Gregory was truly a leader of and for the people, establishling himself in “pursuit of his pastoral concerns, as a virtually independent ruler in central Italy and the principal benefactor of the common folk of Italy.” As a faithful Pope and leader of Rome, we suggest that St. Gregory deserves to be commemorated with a authentic, ancient Roman recipe and one that you’ll certainly love to consume!

St. Gregory Globi

The recipes you’ll find in Cato’s book range from savory breads to scrumptious sweets. In this roundup is Globi which, as you might be able to guess, as indicated in the original Latin as a kind of round treat. Globi are made of a few simple ingredients that most people (even in modern days) have on hand or the ability to quickly make! They call for ricotta, flour, egg, honey, and poppy seeds. The poppy seeds are an optional part, as the fried cheese balls could be simply covered in honey. However to get the full effect, we encourage you to try sprinkling on a few poppy seeds if you have them available.

Ingredients

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 egg

¾ cup all-purpose flour

oil for frying

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Instructions

Combine the ricotta (drained), egg, and flour until a dough forms. Cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Near the end of the 30 minutes, begin heating the frying oil in a pan 1″ deep over medium high heat to about 365 degrees.
Form the dough into 1″ balls and test the oil by dropping one ball in. It should start to brown in about 1-2 minutes. After removing it and letting it cool, the globi should be cooked through and golden on the outside.
Cook the rest of the globi, being sure not to crowd the pan. Remove the balls and place them on a paper towel to cool.
Drizzle with honey and sprinkle on the poppy seeds to finish.

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