The Romans ate three or four times a day: lunch (ientaculum), midday meal (praendium), afternoon snack (merenda) and evening meal (cena). The main meal was the evening meal, attended by all the family at the end of the working day. Originally, the meal was taken in the atrium, but later on a room specially designed for dining (cenaculum) was used. When the custom of eating in a reclining position on divans became established, dinner was taken in the triclinium. We know some of the menus through the literature of the period. In one of his Satires, Horace presents Ofelius, an honest peasant, explaining how on working days he eats vegetables and pigs' trotters, but when he has guests he serves more choice and select food.

The most common food in Roman times

Green vegetables:

- Asparagus

- Artichokes (not the artichoke we know today, this was the name given to all types of cardoons).

- Lettuce (one of the most commonly eaten vegetables, together with endives, chicory, leek leaves and watercress).

- Spinach (this was the name given to soups and vegetable purees with cabbage, lettuce, radish, leek, celery or mustard - the last two coming from Hispania).

Pulses:

- Broad beans (poor people's food, usually eaten as a puree).

- Peas

- Beans (not the kind we know today which are imported from America).

- Chick peas

- Lentils

- Vetches

- Flax seeds (used in the preparation of the polenta, a dish known on the Iberian Peninsula), and in celery (used to season cakes and bread).

Truffles and mushrooms:

Various species, some of which were highly prized.

Roots and bulbs:

- Turnip

- Radish

- Carrot

- Onion

- Centaury (with a carrot-like taste).

- Dragonera (from the Balearic Islands).

Fruits:

- Figs

- Apples

- Pears

- Quinces

- Grapes

- Dates

- Cherries

- Plums

- Olives

- Nuts (hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts, almonds, pine nuts and medicinal pistachios).

Fish and seafood

- Mackerel

- Tuna

- John Dory

- Moray

- Sturgeon

- Cetaceans (sharks and whales)

- Salpa (from Eivissa)

- Also sea eels, gilthead, anchovies, sole, sea bass, sardines, anglerfish, blue whiting and red mullet.

- Crustaceans and molluscs (prawns, Dublin Bay prawns, mantis shrimp, crabs, lobsters, sea urchins, clams and oysters - we know from Oribasus that the oysters of Tarraco were highly appreciated and that they were bred in oyster farms).

- Cephalopods (squid, octopus, cuttlefish).

Fresh water fish:

- Carp

- Trout

- Salmon

- Gudgeon

Meat:

- Pork

- Beef and veal

- Mutton and lamb

- Kid goat

Big game:

- Wild boar

- Deer

- Wild goat

- Gazelle

Small game:

- Hare

- Rabbit

- Fowl and small birds

Poultry:

- Cocks, hens, chickens and capons

- Goose (especially goose liver)

- Ducks

- Pigeons

- Guinea fowl, turkeys and pheasants (highly valued)

Eggs and dairy products:

- Eggs (fried, hard-boiled, poached, stuffed, etc.)

- Milk (mainly from sheep, but also goat's and cow's milk)

- Cheese (the most popular from cow's milk and also from goat's milk)

Drinks:

- Water

- Wine (mixed with water and many other things)

- Beer

- Mead

Seasonings:

- Oil

- Animal fats (lard)

- Salt

- Honey

- Vinegar

- Garum

- Spices (onion, mint, cumin, fennel, celery, mustard, lentiscus, saffron, dill, juniper, centaury).

- Other spices (although no reference is made to them in the writings of the time, the following grow wild on the Iberian Peninsula and were most likely used during the Roman period: garlic, capers, coriander, rue, pepper, reed, oregano, thyme, mint, ajedrea and parsley).

A Roman Menu (according to recipes from De re coquinaria by Apicius):

Vegetable puree. Cook celery in water with sodium carbonate, drain and cut into small pieces. Grind pepper, privet, oregano and onion in a mortar and macerate in wine, garum and oil. Bring to the boil in a pot and mix with the celery.

Pigs' trotters. Cook the pig's trotter in water with lots of figs and three laurel leaves. Once cooked, remove the skin, cut small squares and fill them with honey. Cover with flour and oil to make a protective layer. Place in oven and when well-cooked, remove and serve.

Fruit. Plate of peaches. Clean some hard peaches, cut into pieces, cook in water and place on a tray. Sprinkle on some drops of oil and serve with cumin sauce.

Sweets. Remove the stones from some dates, stuff with walnuts and pine nuts or ground pepper. Cover in salt, fry with boiled honey and serve.