The World That Was

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be taking a look at a medieval Byzantine honey cake - which itself is based on an earlier Greek iron-age cake, amphiphon. This is going to be a light, fluffy cake with a rich, honey flavour! 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 you see, consider supporting me over on Patreon! Ingredients 1 cup flour 3/4 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup walnuts salt orange rind 1 - Cream the Sugar and Butter To begin with, toss about 3/4 of a cup of room-temperature butter into a mixing bowl. Into this, place about 3/4 of a cup of sugar. Mix everything together using a wooden spoon, smearing the butter into the sugar along the side of the bowl. Do this until it takes on a rich, creamy texture. At this stage, beat three eggs into the mixture, taking care to mix them all thoroughly before progressing! 2 - Add Dry Ingredients Next, toss in about a cup's worth of ...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'm going to be making a simple pulse and leaf salad present in ancient Cretan - and possibly wider Hellenic - culture! It' still eaten today, in a modern dish called "palikaria" which is eaten in the Eastern Mediterranean around feast days. Although the modern version of this dish is associated with Christian religious festivals, its likely that it arose from pre-Christian practices! In any case, let's now take a look at the world that was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! If you like my recipes, consider checking out my Patreon! Ingredients 1/2 cup small broad beans 1/2 cup chickpeas 1/2 cup green lentils 1 tbsp salt 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 cup red wine vinegar parsley arugula sesame seeds Method 1 - Soak Pulses To begin with, we need to prepare our pulses. If you're using dried pulses, soak these overnight in some water. If you're using them canned, simply drain them. Next, we need to wash these in...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making a quick and easy sesame snack from the Cretan Iron Age! A treat so sweet that it's still popular today (with a few adaptations of course) - the koptoplakous as it's known in antiquity - or the Pasteli as it's known today! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 200g sesame seeds 200g honey sea salt (to taste) Method 1 - Toast the Sesame Seeds To begin with, we need to lightly brown and toast 200g of sesame seeds. Do this by tossing them into a hot pan, and letting them cook over a high heat for a couple of minutes. Don't let these sit still, keep them moving around the pan so they toast evenly! Do this for about 5 minutes, or until your seeds are nutty and fragrant. Take these off the heat, but keep them warm while you deal with the honey. 2 - Boil Honey Next, place a pot onto a high heat. Into this, scoop about 200g of honey an...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! This week, I'll be taking a look at a Byzantine baked cheesecake - that's quick, simple, and very tasty! It seems to be based on an earlier Greek recipe for a baked cheesecake, but was adapted to suit the tastes of Medieval Byzantine elite cuisine! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients 500g ricotta cheese (or myzithra, anthotyro cheese) 150g honey 3 eggs flour cinnamon butter (to grease baking tin) Method 1 - Whisk Ingredients To begin with, we need to place our cheese in a bowl. I used ricotta here, because it has a good texture and is widely available, but other soft Greek cheeses would work well - such as myzithra or anthotyro. Into this, pour 150g of honey, and whisk it well. Crack an egg one at a time into the bowl, whisking it until it's well combined before adding two more. Chicken eggs would have been used in this period, along with wildfowl and pi...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! This week, is the Elaphebolia - a Greek festival celebrated by Athens in the Iron age! So, I'm going to be making some Elaphoi cakes dedicated to Artemis Elaphebolos (Artemis the Deer-Slayer). They're recorded by Athenaeus as being honey-cakes shaped like stags - so that's what I' made here! Now let's take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients (makes about 6 Elaphoi) 2 cups flour 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup butter (melted) 1 egg sesame seeds (for decoration) Method 1 - Prepare Dough First, we need to make our dough. Do this by pouring in a half a cup of honey, and a half a cup of melted butter into the bowl and mix it well. When the mixture has cooled, crack an egg into this and combine it well. Pour in two cup's worth of flour into the butter and honey mix, a bit at a time, mixing it through as you go. I used wholemeal flour, which has a similar bran level to archaic flour - but s...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was This week, I'm making some archaic Greek tiganites - which were basically very rudimentary pancakes, fried in olive oil. They're still made today, but with ingredients that your average Athenian wouldn't have had access to. In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients (makes 4 large tiganites) 1 cup flour 1 cup water salt honey olive oil Method 1 - Prepare the Batter To begin with, we need to make the batter. It's recorded as being a very thin, liquid batter, so make this by pouring a cup of wholemeal wheat flour into a bowl, followed by a pinch of salt. Whisk this together, if you want. It doesn't really do much here. Then, pour in a cup of water on top of this, followed by a generous pour of olive oil. Ancient Greek cooks would have likely used seawater, instead of dry salt and fresh water. If you want to make these very sweet, you can add a generous sque...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! This week, I made a dish recorded by the Greek playwriter Aristophanes - a simple brown lentil and leek soup! This is an easy and very versatile recipe, and even has parallels with a modern Greek dish! In any case, let's take a look at The World That Was! Ingredients: 1 leek 1 onion 1 garlic clove 1 stick celery 1 carrot 1 parsnip 1 cup / 250g lentils (preferably brown lentils) 750ml water (or stock) 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar (preferably red wine vinegar) rosemary bay leaves olive oil salt pepper Method: 1 - Chop the Leek and Onion, and Prep the Pot First, pour some olive oil into a pot. Place this over a medium-high heat while you prepare your other ingredients! Slice your leek into rings, each one about as wide as your finger. Then, chop your onion in half, and then into thin little crescents. Toss your leek and onion into your pot when the olive oil starts to shimmer. Next, go crush a clove of garlic into it all. Add a little salt and pep...