World Flavors Cookbook

Hard-Boiled Eggs with Silphium Salt

Name: Hard-Boiled Eggs with Silphium Salt
Cook time: 12 min
Cuisine: Ancient World
Ingredients: eggs (quail or chicken), coarse salt, silphium (use asafoetida as substitute), olive oil, fresh oregano

Hard-boiled eggs served as a symposium appetizer, dipped in silphium-infused salt — mentioned by Athenaeus as a standard opening course at Greek dinner parties.

Cuisine: Ancient World

Ingredients

eggs (quail or chicken), coarse salt, silphium (use asafoetida as substitute), olive oil, fresh oregano

Instructions

Hard-boil eggs. Peel. Mix coarse salt with a tiny pinch of asafoetida (as silphium substitute) and dried oregano. Drizzle eggs with olive oil. Serve with the seasoned salt for dipping. These were the traditional opening bite of a Greek symposium, before meat and wine were served.