I'm fairly convinced that cookery in the ancient world was both a simpler and a more complicated affair. Complicated in the sense that they couldn't tune their oven to exactly 375 degrees, they didn't have food processors and for that matter a refrigerator. But what they lacked in convenience they seemed to make up in bold simplicity (and extremely vague recipes!). I tried a recipe today. I can't say that I'm terribly impressed so I'm not going to post it. However I've found a book with some other versions and I'm going to try those out. However, the 'cake' turned out okay (I had no expectations) and consists of only ricotta, flour, an egg, and honey drizzled over the finished product. There is a bay leave involved but I'm skeptical as to how important that is. Perhaps important for authenticity and I respect that. But to be honest I'm hoping to pillage history for simple dishes that reflect local cooking. Long before shortening, baking soda, and granulated sugar there was food. While I'm not planning on living like a medieval monk (they ate some weird crap) I think there are some valuable lessons to be learned but looking back.
No comments:
Post a Comment