The World That Was

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! As the autumn comes to a close, and the cold of winter sets in, I figured it'd be a great time to make a simple savoury treat from medieval Georgian cuisine - stuffed apples! Though savoury stuffed apples are commonly found in the Caucasus region, this isn't exclusive to Georgia! Armenia, and parts of north-western Iran, western Turkey, and Azerbaijan also have regional variants of this dish! In any case, let's now take a look at the world that was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! If you like what I make, consider supporting me on Patreon! Ingredients (for 4 servings) 4 large tart cooking apples honey ground cinnamon ground nutmeg water 1 cup rice butter Method 1 - Prepare Apples To begin with, we need to prepare our apples. Do this by slicing the top off of about 4 large apples, before carving out the middle - leave about a finger's width of a wall. Drizzle some honey in here, and sprinkle a little ground cinnamon ins...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! This week, I'll be taking a quick look at a dish from the Hittites - a stew known from Assyrian sources as "a broth of pulses". Since this is a very vague description (even by bronze age source standards), I'll be basing my version off of with what we know about Hittite eating habits! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients 1 onion, minced ½ cup broad beans (also known as broad beans or butter beans) ½ cup chickpeas, soaked overnight ½ cup lentils ½ cup yellow split peas ½ cup bulgur wheat ½ cup pearl barley 2 tbsp butter 1 tbsp cumin cumin fresh Rosemary or Thyme 4 cups water or stock Method 1 - Chop and Cook Onion To begin with, toss two tablespoons of butter into a large pot, before placing it over a medium heat. While this is melting, finely mince an onion, before tossing this into the butter when it's melted. Let this cook away for a couple of...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! This week, I made another dish from Urartian society - a warm yoghurt and barley soup. Although it's mostly referred to as Greek Yoghurt - at least in Ireland anyway - stained yoghurt was common to the societies of the Bronze Age Near East, not just Greece! In any case, let's take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 1 cup barley 1 onion, diced 1/4 cup mint, chopped 1/4 cup parsley, chopped butter 3 scallions 2 cups Greek yoghurt / strained yoghurt 2 eggs salt pepper 4 cups / 1L water Method 1 - Boil Barley To begin with, we need to cook our barley. Pour about 4 cups or about a litre of water into a pot, along with your cup of barley. Place this onto a medium-high heat, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove it from the heat, but keep it warm. 2 - Prepare the Mint and Onion While your barley is cooking, go chop your fresh mint by picking leaves off the sprigs, and rolling them into a...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was Today, we'll be taking a look at a recipe from the kingdom of Colchis! A sweet apple-based treat, that’s much like a cake or cookie! Colchis roughly covers the same area as modern-day western Georgia, but it's origins date back to the middle 13th century BC - around the same time as the Middle Assyrian Empire! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 2 cups plain flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 3 apples (either cooking or eating apples) 1/4 cup cream 1 cup cream cheese 1 cup greek yoghurt 1/2 cup walnuts Method 1 - Prepare Applesauce To begin with, we need to make a basic applesauce! Start by peeling a few small apples, before chopping and coring them. Then, dice each of these chunks into small pieces. Toss the remaining apples into a small pot with some water - enough to just about cover them. Pour a few tablespoons of honey into the pot too. Then place this over ...

Hello and welcome to The World That Was!  Today, I’m making a recipe from the Caucasus! A date filled-pastry from the Bronze Age Urartu kingdom, a population from the area of modern-day Armenia! This recipe is very similar to the Mersu from Mesopotamian culinary tradition, and could have been a transmission of recipes through the various empires that arose in this region. In any case, let's take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 2 cups plain flour 1/4 cup water 1 cup cream cheese 1/4 cup butter 2 cups dates 1/4 cup walnuts/hazelnuts Method 1 - Make the Dough Into a large bowl, add two cups of flour. Into this, pour your water and cream cheese. Beat this together into a dough. I'm using cream cheese here, but it's unlikely to have been used in ancient Urartu society, but any soft cheese would work. Cream cheese produces the best results! When your dough is smooth, and no longer really sticking to the sides of your bowl, turn ...