#aegean

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
½ cup small broad beans
½ cup chickpeas
½ cup green lentils
1 tbsp salt
½ cup olive oil
½ 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 salted water. Do this by placing into a pot, a half a cup of chickpeas, a half a cup of green lentils, and half a cup of broad beans (or butter beans, if you can’t get your hands on them) Pour in some water until the pulses are just submerged. Heat this slightly over a medium heat for a few minutes.

2 - Make Dressing
While your pulses are soaking together, go make your salad dressing. Although probably a more modern development, it’s not unlikely that a simple olive oil and wine vinegar dressing was made and used in antiquity.
In any case, quickly whisk together equal amounts of olive oil and red wine vinegar until it emulsifies into a smooth seasoning. Make sure to taste this and adjust to your preference.

3 - Toss Salad
Now, we need to drain our pulses, again. The ritual washing of things in salted water (such as sea water) was a common motif in contemporary Hellenic religious practices - and it’s likely that some food types were prepared in a similar manner (particularly dishes being prepared for a ritual)
Place a bed of your rocket (or arugula) leaves onto a plate, and spoon on a generous portion of your pulses. Drizzle with a bit of your dressing, and sprinkle a handful of sesame seeds onto the plate.

Serve up and dig in!

The finished dish is a simple yet filling meal, packed full of protein! The pulses used would have been available in antiquity, and archaeological records show that lentils, chickpeas, and broad beans were all cultivated in the Eastern Mediterranean since the Neolithic period - albeit in differing amounts, depending on the size of the settlement, and the quality of the soils.

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 and let it heat up. Keep stirring it occasionally with a wooden spoon, so it doesn’t burn. Let this cook away over high heat until it foams up significantly. Much like boiling milk, this will happen very quickly, and might catch you off-guard. If it looks like it’s getting too high, take it off the heat and it’ll cool down pretty quickly.

3 - Mix Honey and Sesame
After about 10 minutes of foaming, turn the heat down to low before tossing in your toasted sesame seeds. Stir all of this together and let it cook for another 5 - 10 minutes. The honey should start to turn a deeper golden brown, but if it gets too dark, take it off the heat immediately.

When it’s been mixed together, pour it out onto a baking tray lined with paper. Spread it out into a fairly thin layer, but not too thin! Let it sit like this for about 20 minutes or so, before slicing it into segments with a knife.

You can serve this up whenever it’s cooled like this, or leave them overnight to re-solidify a little more! Either way, the finished dish is super sweet, and has a delicious nutty flavour, thanks to the toasted sesame seeds.

The modern name for this dish - pasteli - has its origins in medieval Italian cuisine, as this kind of sweet treat is common throughout Europe, the Near East, Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Though obviously, each region has its own takes on this basic formula, such as the addition of local spices, nuts, or other ingredients!

Καβάλα…η ωραία του Βορρά!

Φωτό:Νικόλας Μάστορας

Location : Aegean Sky

Location: Aegean Sky