The World That Was

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making a simple barley porridge, as recorded by Ibn Sina (Avicenna) in the 11th century! This dish shares a lot of similarities to my Sumerian Sasqu recipe from a few months ago, suggesting that it may have been a regional dish in antiquity that has been preserved through the centuries to modernity. Ingredients (for about 3 portions) 6 tbsp barley 1l milk honey sliced almonds (garnish) cardamom seeds Method 1 - Simmer Milk and Soak Barley To begin with, we need to prepare our barley. Soak about 5 or 6 tablespoons of barley grains in a bowl of water overnight, to help break them down in the cooking process. So if you want to make this today, you should've started this yesterday. Or at least 4 hours beforehand. Drain these before using them! Then, pour about a litre of milk into a saucepan, and set it over a medium high heat. Though the original recipe uses undescribed milk, I'm using whole-fat cow milk. But sheep and go...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! This week, I'm going to be making a simple party dish - recorded by a Syrian writer in the 13th century! Though the dish is described very literally as "gourd dish", it is, in fact, a delightfully savoury and crunchy snack that can be served at parties alongside a simple yet nutty dipping sauce! Thanks again to Charles Perry for the translation of the original Arabic! 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 (serves 4) 1 - 2 courgettes / zucchinis (or 1 bottle gourd / calabash) 1/2 cup walnuts (finely ground) 1/2 cup tahini paste bunch of finely chopped mint 1 tbsp ground coriander 1 tbsp ground cumin lemon juice (to taste) honey (to taste) olive oil / sesame oil (for frying) Method 1 - Prepare Ingredients To begin making this dish, we need to grind up about a half a cup of walnuts into a fine powder...

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! This week, I'll be taking a look at another medieval Syrian dish - this time, a simple pistachio sauce chicken bake! It's a sweet and savoury take on a staple of near eastern cuisine at the time - fitting for most people in the medieval period to be able to make! As with a few other recipes like this, many thanks to Charles Perry's translations from the original Arabic textbooks! 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, please consider supporting me over on Patreon! Ingredients 250g chicken (any cut) 300g pistachios salt pepper ground cumin ground coriander honey Method 1 - Season Chicken and Bake To begin with, we need to prepare our chicken. Do this by cutting your cuts of meat with a knife, before seasoning your cuts with equal amounts of salt, pepper, ground cumin, and ground coriander. The original recipe doesn't make note of any spices...

 Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be taking a look at medieval Ottoman cuisine - specifically the food seen in ottoman courts! The recipe in question is cılbır, or poached eggs with herbal yoghurt. This is a simple yet tasty recipe that is still eaten today in Turkey! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Consider checking out my Patreon if you like these recipes! Ingredients (for 3 portions) 3 eggs 150g greek yoghurt freshly chopped parsley (or dill, or cilantro) 2 cloves garlic ground coriander Method 1 - Make the Yoghurt To begin with, we need to make a simple yoghurt for the eggs to sit on. Start this by finely chopping some fresh parsley - dill or cilantro would have also been used! Toss this into your yoghurt, along with a clove or two of crushed garlic. Mix all of this together, until it's very well combined. Leave it to sit aside while you poach your eggs. 2 - Poach the eggs Place a p...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be taking a look at another recipe from 13th century Syria - and the anonymously written Scents and Flavours Arabic cookbook - the creamy chicken Jurjaniyyah! The name Jurjaniyyah is derived from an Iranian region - Gorgan - which suggests that this was an imported culinary style, rather than a local recipe! Either way, it's a fairly simple and tasty dish! In any case, lets now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients (Serves 4) 500g yoghurt 1/2 tablespoon flour dissolved in 1 tablespoon water 1/2 tablespoon honey 2 tablespoons mustard seeds ground cumin 250g chicken thighs (or cut of your choice) Method 1 - Bake the Chicken To begin with, we need to cook our chicken. To do this, season a few thighs of chicken with salt, pepper, and freshly-ground cumin. I'm cooking the meat separately to the sauce, which is unusual for meat-based recipes in this time period - but this is s...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! It's been a whole year since I started this channel, and seeing it grow to the size it is today is amazing - I never figured it'd get this popular! So to celebrate, I decided to take a look at some roast duck - based on some Sumerian cuneiform fragments. In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients 2kg duck ground cumin ground coriander salt pepper 1 leek, chopped 1 onion, minced 2 cloves garlic 750ml water (or stock) butter Method 1 - Prepare the Duck To begin making this roast duck, we need to prepare our duck. I'm using a whole bird here, but you could just as easily cook this in pieces - it's up to you! Start by scoring the breast with a knife a few times, to increase the seasoning surface area. The original fragment claims to be dealing with an unnamed bird, so I opted for duck - as wildfowl would have been a staple for Mesopotamia. But chicken or squab ...

 Hello and welcome to the World That Was!  Today, I'll be going back to the Hellenistic Period, to the Hasmonean dynasty of Judea. The recipe in question is a simple honeyed-hens, recorded by Seleucid accounts of a feast held by one of the ruling elite. Though the original recipe refers to it plainly as chicken with honey, I'm going to be recreating it today based on our knowledge of contemporary dining habits! In any case, let's now take a look at the World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 4 chicken thighs salt (to taste) pepper (to taste) ground cumin ground coriander 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp honey 2-4 cloves garlic Method 1 - Prepare the Chicken To begin with we need to season our chicken. Do this by sprinkling some salt, some freshly ground black pepper, some ground coriander, and some ground cumin on top of your chicken, before rubbing it in with your hands. I used some skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, but really ...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! This week, I'm recreating some Akkadian bread, as seen in some cuneiform inscriptions, as well as visual representations in carved panels in Akkadian palaces. The original bread has a striking similarity to modern Iraqi samoon - from it's shape to it's description in Akkadian! In any case, let's now take a look at the world that was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients 1 cup wholemeal flour 2 cups plain flour salt water active dry yeast (or 1/3 cup sourdough starter) milk sesame seeds Method 1 - Preparing the Dough and letting it Rest To begin with, we need to make a starter. The easiest way to do this today is to use some dry active yeast, opening a sachet, and placing it in a bowl with a bit of warm water. But if you have some sourdough starter, you can use 1/3rd of a cup of that instead! But keep in mind that the sourdough starter will affect how hydrated your dough is later on. Pour in 1 cup of wholemeal fl...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making a medieval drink from 13th century Egypt - and is still drunk today! A simple, refreshing drink called subiyah/ It was originally made to drink during Ramadan - a holy month of fasting in the Islamic calendar - but this is able to be enjoyed around the year! It's simple to make, and has a very nice crispness to it! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 3-4 slices of sourdough bread (crusts removed) 3-4 cups water 1 tsp cardamom pods fresh mint fresh parsley Method 1 - Soak and Strain Bread To begin with, de-crust three slices of sourdough bread and tear the bread into small chunks, before placing them in a bowl. The original recipe requires "bread" and gives no elaboration - so I went for sourdough because it has a more distinct taste than a regular slice of white bread. In any case, pour in three cups of water into your bowl to ...

 Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making an Egyptian dish that dates to the pre-Dynastic period (the bronze age) - a simple herb and egg omelette that's still eaten today: "eggah" (in modern Egyptian Arabic). The first records of this dish come from early Arab writers, discussing a much older dish! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above!  Ingredients 6 eggs 1 onion fresh parsley or cilantro ground cumin ground coriander salt pepper olive oil Method 1 - Chop and cook onion To begin with, chop a single onion in half, and peel off it's outer skin. Then slice and dice the onion into small pieces, making sure they're all the same size. Then, pour some olive oil into a pot, and place it over a medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, toss your onion into it and let it sauté away while you mince your parsley. Or coriander, if it doesn't taste like soap to you. When your o...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was This week, I'm recreating some Akkadian Kukku - or "butter-cakes" - which would have been offered to deities, much like the qullupu I made a while ago, which were used in the worship of Inanna! However this dish seems to have been eaten by Akkadian rulers, rather than offered to deities. In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients 1 cup flour 1/2 cup hazelnuts 1/2 cup walnuts 1/3 cup honey 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup raisins (or sultanas) 1 egg dates (for decoration) Method 1 - Grind the Nuts To begin with, we need to crush our hazelnuts and walnuts in a mortar and pestle until they take on a sandy consistency. I left a few chunks in my batch - as you can see here - but I cannot recommend you do this, as it makes it rather difficult to take out of your baking tin later on! So, do as I say, not as I do in this case. In any case, hazelnuts and walnuts would have been ...

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'm taking a look at another medieval Syrian recipe from the Kitab al-Wuslah - this time, a simple spiced lamb kofta (meatball) in a herbal garlic sauce. Lamb was a staple meat for the Near and Middle East in the Medieval period - but beef and chicken could also be used here! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients (makes 12 koftas) 500g lamb (minced) parsley or coriander leaves (minced) ground coriander ground cumin ground cloves salt pepper head of garlic olive oil water Method 1 - Prepare the Ingredients To begin with, go chop a whole head of coriander - or parsley, if coriander. Do this by rolling it into a tight ball, and chopping it. Put this in a bowl for later. Place your lamb meat into a bowl. On top of this, put 1/3 of your chopped herbs on top of the lamb, keeping the rest in your bowl for later. Then pour in your ground coriander, for a bit of ...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! I hope you all had a great New Year, and are keeping safe and well in these trying times. Today, I'll be making some chicken in a blackberry sauce - as recorded in the “Kitab al-Wuslah ila l-Habib” - a collection of Syrian recipes from the 13th century AD! It's a fairly simple tarty sauce that can be made inside a half an hour, and is a delightful addition to any dish! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 250g blackberries - washed 1 tbsp honey 1 tbsp fresh mint (minced) 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp cloves Salt (to taste) Pepper (to taste) 500g chicken (but the cut of meat is up to you) Method 1 - Cook the chicken To begin with, we need to cook our chicken. This recipe claims that the sauce is to be added to the chicken when the meat is finished cooking, so they'll need to be prepared separately. Make a couple of cuts into the chicken, to increase the surfa...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making another Hittite dish called "fried bread with apples". One of the universal staples of humanity is fried dough, and this is how I'll be interpreting the dish here - as lumps of fried batter with chunks of apple! Since we don't know how fried bread with apple actually was, this is taking a lot of notes from later Greek “tageientes”, and modern apple fritters. In any case, let's take a look at the world that was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 3 small apples 1 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup apple cider (or apple juice) honey butter (for frying) oil (for frying) Method: 1 - Chop the Apples To begin with, peel your apples and cut out their cores. When this is done, chop your apples into chunks, and transfer them into a small bowl. Apples in antiquity were probably not as sweet as apples today, but any apple would work for this. I'm using some sweet eating apples - instead ...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was Today, I'll be making a recipe based on fragmentary records of Hittite banquets. The Hittites were a population (and empire) located in Turkey, Syria, and Northern Mesopotamia, around the 14th millennium BC! This is a savoury applesauce, in contrast to sweet applesauce that is common today. As the recipe is based on only a few fragmentary ingredients, we'll have to take a few educated guesses. Let's take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube recipe above! Ingredients: 1 onion (finely sliced) 3 apples (peeled, cored, and chopped) 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon marjoram/oregano (or za'atar, if you have it) 120ml / 1/2 cup water  Method 1 - Prepare the Apples To begin making this applesauce, we need to start with apples. I'd recommend using some green cooking apples - like Granny Smith, or Bramley - but any apple that isn't overly sweet or too bitter would work fine. Peel the skin from about three of the...

Hello and welcome to The World That Was!  Today, we'll be making a lentil and parsnip soup. Lentils and root vegetables - like carrots and parsnips - are some of the oldest ingredients in the kitchens of the past, and would have formed a staple for the diets of people in the Levant! This is a recipe that is not explicitly recorded, but is based on Hellenistic-period accounts of food people ate, such as "a broth of legumes and tubers" In any case, let's take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil 2 carrots (chopped) 2 parsnips (chopped) 1 onion (chopped/diced) 1 clove garlic (crushed) 750ml / 3 cups water (or stock) 1/2 cup parsley/cilantro (minced) 3 sprigs fresh thyme cumin ground coriander Method 1 - Prepare your Pot To begin with, pour some olive oil into a pot. Olives would have been cultivated along the Mediterranean coast of the Levant in antiquity, thanks to the climate, but not much further inland....

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, we'll be taking a step West of Mesopotamia - over to the Levant! I'll be making some ashishim - a savoury lentil dish eaten by the populations present in Israel and Judah in antiquity. There’s no explicit source for this, other than passing references and the word ashishim , so I’ll be attempting to reconstruct what these dishes may have been like! Follow along with my YouTube recipe above, and let's take a look at The World That Was! Ingredients 2 cups red split lentils 1 cup flour 2 eggs 1 cup sesame seeds olive oil for frying honey (optional) Method 1 - Prepare the Lentils To begin with, we need to rinse our red split lentils until the water runs clear. When it's clear, go toss them into a pot. Pour about four cups of water (or chicken stock) into this, so the lentils are covered by water. Place this onto medium-high heat and let them cook them for about 15-20 minutes. Stir this periodically, so nothing gets stuck on th...