The World That Was

 Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making another Sumerian Stew - this time, a lamb and beet stew called tuh’u (pronounced “tuh-i”). This is a luxury dish, given that meat was a rarity in the cuisine of ancient Mesopotamia - as well as in antiquity in general!  The original recipe comes from one of the cuneiform tablets in the Yale Cuneiform collection - and a translation can be seen below, courtesy of Klaus Wagensonner. As usual, you can follow along with this recipe using my video above! In any case, let’s take a look at The World That Was! Ingredients: 250g lamb meat (any cut of meat will do) 1 tbsp olive oil (or melted butter) 240ml or 1 cup beer (wheat or barley beer would be best) 120ml or 1/2 cup water 1 onion, chopped 1 cup rocket leaves, chopped (also known as arugula) 1 cup minced cilantro or parsely 1 shallot, chopped 400g beetroot, skinned and diced 1 leek, chopped 2 cloves of garlic 1 tsp cumin Method: 1 - Prepare the Pot Much like other Sume...

 Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making another Mesopotamian dish. This time, an ancient Elamite recipe, preserved in the Yale Cuneiform collection. This is actually recorded in Sumerian cuneiform, describing a "foreign dish". It is fairly similar to my pašrūtum stew from a few weeks ago, but has some regional variations, which is indicative of a cross-cultural exchange of cuisine in the Bronze Age. You can follow along with my YouTube video, above! In any case, let's take a look at the World That Was. Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 250g leeks, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 shallot, minced 1/2 cup dill, minced 1 cup water 1/2 cup sour milk 1 tablespoon cumin Directions: 1 - Chop your Leeks Start by heating some olive oil in a pot. Pour your oil into a pot and put it onto medium-high heat. While this is heating up, go chop your leeks.Chop your leek into bite-sized rings, about the width of one of your fingers. Try and make these all the same s...

 Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be recreating a sweet treat recorded on some cuneiform tablets excavated from the site of the palace complex at Ur in modern-day Iraq. This is one of the few recipes from Sumerian cuisine where we have some measures for the ingredients! In this case, the sila is quoted, but a single sila is believed to be about 3 cup's worth of an ingredient, and the original palace cakes seem to have been made using several sila of flour alone! These cakes were possibly eaten by the rich and elite in Sumerian society, or perhaps used for large-scale gatherings. But today, I'll be scaling back the ingredients to suit a modern kitchen (and budget). So now, let's take a look at The World That Was! Ingredients 2 cups dates, roughly chopped 1/2 cup raisins/sultanas 180g / 1+1/2  cups flour (wheat, wholegrain, or barley) 500ml / 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup cottage cheese 1 cup butter (room temperature) 2 eggs (room temperature) Directions: 1 - C...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be recreating a staple from ancient Akkadian cuisine - the simple "sasqu" dish! This is recorded on the same tablets recovered from Syria - specifically the temple at Mari - and discusses barley flour being used for a celebratory variant of a breakfast dish! This recipe is suitable for breakfasts, and I'll be showing you how to recreate this yourselves! In any case, let's take a look at The World That Was! Ingredients: 450ml / 2 cups Milk (cow, goat, sheep, or oat) or water 260g / 2 cups Barley Flour 1 cup dates (optional) 1/2 cup pistachios (optional) Directions: 1 - Make the Date Syrup To sweeten the mix, you’ll need to first make a basic syrup using chopped dates and water! Start by roughly chopping them to make sure they’re pitted, and then put these dates into a pot of water over medium-high heat. Bring this to a rolling boil, and then turn it down to a simmer. Leave this to reduce for about 10 minutes, whi...