Two “Ancient” Mediterranean Recipes

Here are two Mediterranean recipes that I posted on my website several years ago. At some point I must have taken down the posts that included them. They are included in my small cookbook of foods from my novels, but I decided it was fun to have them more generally available. By the way, if you’d like my cookbook, Cooking from My Fiction, sign up for my newsletter, and you’ll receive it as a gift via one of the welcome emails.

Lamb and Lentil Stew with Raisins

This lamb and lentil stew came about as I was experimenting with ingredients available to my Bronze Age characters. It’s quite delicious and a good dish for warming winter meals.

1 lb. lamb cut into 1” pieces
6 cups broth
2 cups water added later
2 TB olive oil or more
1 onion, chopped
2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 TB whole cumin seeds
1 sprig rosemary + 1⁄2 tsp finely chopped
2 sprigs thyme + 1⁄2 tsp finely chopped
1/8 cup raisins
1⁄2 cup lentils

1. Sprinkle cubed lamb with salt. Heat skillet & add some olive oil. Brown meat in small batches. Put browned lamb into a heavy oven-proof pot.
2. Toast cumin seeds over medium-high. Remove from heat.
3. Add some olive oil to skillet & cook onions, leeks & garlic until browned. Add cumin seeds to the onions.
4. Add onion mixture, broth, rosemary & thyme sprigs to the lamb & bring to a boil on stove. Bake in oven 325 degrees for 2 hours with heavy lid.
5. You can cook it on top of the stove on low if you prefer, but you will have to stir it regularly and I find that a nuisance. The Hittite cook worked with coals under a tripod-supported pot.
6. At the two hour point, take it out of the oven. Fish out the large herb stems. Add 2 cups water, lentils, raisins & finely chopped rosemary & thyme. 2 cups of water was just right for me, but if your lid was less tight fitting, you may have to add more. Remember that the lentils will absorb twice or more of their volume in liquid & you want a nice soupy consistency to the end product.
7. Bring the stew back to temperature on top of stove for a few minutes before returning it to the oven to bake 1 hour more.

Lamb Sausages with Poached Fig Salad

These ingredients are very typical of ancient Mediterranean cuisine and the food of the Hittites (except the lemon juice—they’d use vinegar if they dressed greens like this—and some of the spices may not have found their way to ancient Anatolia and Greece, although spices are the most peripatetic of foods). It’s a modern recipe, originally from Tony Maws, but I can certainly see it laid out in the great halls of the Mycenaeans and Hittites. Fetching fresh greens from the fields in spring, chopping some bits of lamb with some spices and rolling it as in modern Turkish kofta, and poaching figs with wine are certainly within historical plausibility.

3 1⁄2 cups red wine
1⁄2 cup honey
1⁄2 cinnamon stick
1 cardamon pod
1⁄2 tsp. fennel seeds
1⁄2 tsp. coriander seeds
2 sprigs thyme
1 lb. fresh figs
1 1⁄2 lbs. lamb sausage (such as merguez)—I used Whole Foods Basil Lamb sausages or make the kofta in recipe below
3 or more cups parsley or arugula leaves
3 1⁄2 TB olive oil
1⁄2 TB lemon juice Sea salt
Fresh cracked pepper

1. Combine red wine, honey, cinnamon stick, cardamon, fennel, coriander and thyme in a medium pot. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Poke each fig 8-10 times with a skewer or small, pointy knife. Add figs, cover and gently simmer 10 minutes, or until figs plump and soften
2. Remove figs with slotted spoon and set aside. Simmer poaching liquid on medium-high 10 additional minutes, or until liquid is syrupy and coats the back of spoon
3. Meanwhile, set a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Swirl in 2 TB oil. Cook sausages, using tongs to turn, 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through and juices run clear
4. Cut figs into quarters or halves (depending on size) and place in a small mixing bowl. Toss with greens and dress with 1 1⁄2 tablespoons olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve sausages with fig salad. Drizzle 1 tablespoon reduced wine syrup over top

Ground Lamb sausages/kofta

(if you can’t find lamb sausages or prefer to make these)

1 cup shredded white bread or pita
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 lb ground lamb
3 TB onion, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
2 TB finely chopped flat leaf parsley
Olive oil

1. Soak the bread in the milk and then squish with your fingers until there are no big pieces of bread. To this soggy bread, add and mix the onion, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, salt and parsley. Then lightly toss that mixture into the ground lamb to evenly distribute.
2. Form into little fat sausages and fry in olive oil, turning them so all sides get brown and they are cooked through, about 10 minutes. You may need to do them in batches so they don’t crowd the pan.