The World That Was

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Io Saturnalia! The Roman celebration of the end of the year, Saturnalia, is next week! So celebrate another end of another year, I'm making a simple baked treat to serve for any saturnalia celebrations you have planned - a quick and easy Dulcia Piperata (as recorded by Apicius) In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Check out my Patreon for more! Ingredients 1 cup / 150g flour 2 eggs 1/2 tsp ground rosemary 75 g chopped almonds 2tsp ground pepper 100 ml sweet white wine (or grape juice) 2 tbsp honey Milk 75g Chopped hazelnuts Method: 1 - Mix Dry Ingredients Toss about a cup of flour in a bowl. Add in some rosemary, a couple teaspoons of ground pepper, and about 75g of chopped almonds to the bowl. Mix everything together, just so it's all evenly mixed. Rosemary is a commonly-found herb in the Mediterranean, and found it's way into Roman cooking in a variety of dishes! I...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be taking a look at some pre-Roman cider, from Gaul! As most of our records come from Roman sources, we don't get much insight beyond "The Gauls are so different to us Romans, they don't even drink wine! They just drink fermented grains and fruits like barbarians" And while these are, inherently, totally biased records, they provide a decent look at what they drank! Since we know that apples were cultivated in this region, and has a history of cider production, we can assume that Gauls created archaic forms of cider - which I'll now attempt to do now! 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 on Patreon! Ingredients Enough apples for 2-3L apple juice honey (to taste) dried yeast Special Utensils Glass Demijohn/Terracotta pot Siphon DISCLAIMER Before I begin, I have to reinforce that this is a...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! This week, I'm making some hard-boiled eggs in a pine nut sauce, as recorded by Apicius. This is a quick and easy recipe that would have served as a cheap but filling meal for many Romans in antiquity - requiring at least eggs, pine nuts, and garum. However, the recipe recorded by Apicius gives us a glimpse at a more middle-class meal! 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 on Patreon! Ingredients 200g pine nuts (soaked overnight in water) 4 eggs 1 tbsp honey 1 tbsp vinegar 1 tbsp garum (or fish sauce) pepper salt dried lovage (or celery seeds, ground) Method 1 - Prepare the Sauce To begin making this recipe, we need to soak our pine nuts in some water overnight. So start making this the day before you want to eat it! Place the soaked pine nuts into a mortar and pestle, and get to grinding. They should break down fairly easily. ...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making a quick side-dish from Rome, as recorded by Apicius! He has a few ways of preparing mushrooms, but this is one of the more flavourful methods he shows us! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients 500g mushrooms (I used chestnut mushrooms) 2 tbsp red wine vinegar (or malt vinegar) 1 tbsp salt 1 tbsp pepper fresh coriander or parsley Method 1 - Chop the Mushrooms This is a rather simple recipe, but to begin with, we need to prepare our mushrooms. I used chestnut mushrooms, sliced into thin segments, but button or Portobello mushrooms may also be similar to what was available in antiquity, along with edible morels. If you have smaller mushrooms, you can skip slicing these, and proceed with cooking them as is! 2 - Sautee Mushrooms Into a hot pot, pour a generous amount of olive oil - enough to coat the base. On top of this, toss your mushrooms. Spri...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be taking a look at a Roman recipe, recorded by Apicius, which was likely eaten at contemporary roadside eateries in the Roman Empire - the simple isicia omentata - or what is basically a Roman burger patty! The end result is like a spiced and fragrant meatloaf! In any case, lets 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 (for 5-6 burgers) 500g minced meat (beef, pork, lamb would be most fitting here) 100g breadcrumbs 2 cups wine (white or rose would work best) 100g pine nuts 50g black pepper Method 1 - Soak the Breadcrumbs To begin with, we need to soak 100g of breadcrumbs in a cup or two of wine. This is to add some moisture to the finished isicia, and to help pad out the meat. In antiquity, stale bread would have been used here, as it was a simple way to make the most out of every loaf of bread. If your breadcrumbs look ...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making a sweet dessert recorded by Apicius - the simple pear patina, which is kind of like a baked sponge in terms of texture. The original recipe requires some ingredients that are difficult to get a hold of today, so I've substituted some close modern approximations - which work just as well! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients 5 pears white wine (to cook the pears) 2 tbsp honey pepper cumin 1/2 cup sweet wine 4 eggs 1 tbsp olive oil Method 1 - Poach pears To begin with, we need to prepare our pears. Do this by pouring most of a bottle of wine into a pot large enough to accommodate your pears. You can also use water, if you're not keen on using alcohol! Place this over a high heat, and bring it to a simmer. When it's simmering steadily, carefully place your pears into the liquid, before pouring a couple tablespoons of honey over this...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making a simple bread-based soup - referred to as juscellum by Apicius! It's a lot like Tuscan "aquacotta" soup, which is prepared in a similar way - though today it often includes tomatoes, which would not have been available in antiquity. Ingredients 1 onion 1 carrot 1 stick celery 3 cloves garlic thyme 2 slices bread (torn or grated) 2 eggs 750ml chicken stock olive oil salt pepper Method 1 - Chop Ingredients To begin with, we need to chop and dice an onion. You don't need to worry about being too careful here, as they'll soften up considerably while its cooking. Peel and dice a carrot or two - carrots and parsnips were considered to be the same vegetable to the Greeks and Romans, so either one works well here! Finally, deal with some celery by slicing it thinly. 2 - Sautee and Cook Toss a bit of olive oil into a pot, and place this over a medium heat. When it's shimmering, toss in your onions, car...

 Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making some honey-stewed stuffed dates - as recorded by the Roman culinary artiste - Apicius. As with most of his recipes, it's a little vague in the ingredients and methodology, but I've tried to recreate this as faithfully as I could! Stuffed walnuts are still eaten around the world today, and they're extremely easy to make, so an excellent thing to make for that special someone this Valentine's Day! In any case, lets now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 12 dates (pitted) 1/4 cup walnuts 1 tbsp peppercorns honey red wine vinegar water Method 1 - Prepare Ingredients To begin with, we need to crush or chop our walnuts. Crush them as much as you like in a mortar and pestle. I prefer large chunks here, so that's what I did. Alternatively, you could just chop these with a knife - its up to you! Place the chopped nuts into a small bowl and leave it aside....

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be taking a look at another one of Apicius' recipes - something recorded as BETACEOS WARRONIS or Varro's Beets - the name seems to be based on a contemporary Roman agricultural writer, Varro. This is a fairly simple recipe, that results in some succulent, tender chicken along with some very filling and herbal beets. In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 500g chicken (the cut is up to you, I used boneless chicken breast here) 200g beets, peeled and chopped 150ml white wine honey olive oil salt pepper cumin Method 1 - Prepare the Chicken To begin with, we need to cut and season our chicken. I'm using boneless chicken breasts here, because they were easy to come by, but really any cut of meat will work here. In any case, cut your meat into bite-sized pieces. Next, season them generously with salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and cumin. Althoug...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! This week, I'm going to be making some honey spiced wine that was popular in the Eastern Mediterranean. The name of this comes from Apicius, and roughly translates to "surprise" or "marvellous" spiced wine. This recipe was also recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud, which reaffirms the claims for this drink's popularity in the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant! Given the time of year I'm posting this, it would be a fitting drink to serve for any festivities you might have planned for Saturnalia! But before I begin, I just want to make it clear that this is a recipe for an alcoholic beverage, so please don't make this if you're under the legal drinking age where you are! It's 18 in Ireland, but it may be different where you are! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 100g honey 700ml wine (preferably red) 2 bay leaves 2 saffron stran...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, we'll be making another Roman recipe, from Apicius - a writer and gourmet from the 1st century AD. This recipe is very similar to modern French toast, but is really only a little plainer than modern renditions of it! The original recipe is pretty short, and not very descriptive, so I've decided to reconstruct this in a slightly different way. "Slice fine white bread, remove the crust, and break it into large pieces.  Soak these pieces in milk and beaten egg, fry in oil, and cover with honey before serving." - Apicius, 7.13.3 In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients Bread loaf (or pre-sliced bread) 3 eggs 200ml / 1 cup milk honey (to taste) olive oil (to fry) Method 1 - Bread To begin with, we need some bread. You can of course use any kind of bread. I made some Roman bread last week, so check that out if you want to know how I made the loaf I use...

 Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making some Roman bread! Bread is one of humanity's food staples - if there's a collection of humans, they'll find a way to make bread one way or another! This particular bread is actually recorded by Apicius - Marcus Gaius Apicius, a Roman writer and gourmet - who was writing in the 1st century BC. This is a simple wheat loaf, that I've decided to give a little decoration too. In any case, lets take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 1 cup wholemeal flour 1 cup plain flour 1 packet instant yeast OR 1/2 cup sourdough starter 1 tsp salt warm water (to mix) Method 1 - Prepare the Dough To begin with, pour your packet of yeast into a large bowl, and add a little water, just to rehydrate it. Romans didn't have access to dried yeast like this, but they used natural airborne yeast - like how we use it today when making sourdough! You could just as easily use a 1/2...