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YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A BIBLICAL SCHOLAR TO APPRECIATE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN CULINARY

A review by Marty Martindale

No. The Bible is not a cookbook, however, its history is a great source for culinary research. Performing this research was Anthony F. Chiffolo, Editorial Director of Praeger Publishers and prolific author and Rayner W. Hesse, Jr., an Episcopal priest. They titled their interesting compilation, Cooking with the Bible. Mediterranean cooking is exciting due a   bold use of fruits, nuts and wheats with vegetables and some meat. The area’s recommended wines are paired with each MENU. This is healthy eating!

The feasts, or “The Meals” presented number 18, some of which are:

Joseph Dines with His Brothers
The Reapers’ Meal
Kind David’s Nuptials
Elisha Cooks Masterfully at Gilgal
The Prodigal Son Returns
The Wedding Feast at Cana

The general formatting for each menu is thus:

• Maps

• Chronology

• Biblical text lining out the feast

• Historic explanation

• The menu

• Preparation in Biblical times

• Recipes for preparation in today’s kitchens

• Finally a lengthy “Lore of the Ingredients” section

One of the meals, The prodigal Son Returns, as others, has interesting names, as well as familiar, for each recipe. This particular feast:

Poor Lad’s Loaf
Veal Kebabs
Honey-Baked Goat with Mint Sauce
Heifer Fondue
Fresh Mallow with Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Fresh Kefir Yogurt with Concord Grapes
Figs in Chamomile Tea and Cream
Carob Cake for Two Sons

Some interesting recipe food combinations:

• Rice of Beersheba:  Combines broth, basmati rice, dill and capers.

• Israeli Salad:  Calls for cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, parsley, olive oil, lemon, green pepper, scallions and the spice, zataar.

• Fasooleyah Khodra Bi Zeit:  (Arabian Beans and Sun-dried Tomatoes):  Largely Green beans, onions, garlic, allspice, basmati rice and dried tomatoes

• Aroz de Bodas (Sephardic Wedding Rice:  A mold of basmati rice, scallions, turmeric, seedless green grapes, pine nuts and fresh mint leaves

• Field Herbs with Corn:  To corn they add vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, marjoram, dill, parsley, bay leaf and sumac.

• Musakhan (Chicken and Onion Bread):  Mixes chicken, olive oil, lemon, scallions, garlic, saffron, sumac, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne and pine nuts atop any flatbread

• Vegetable Cholent:  Mixes lima beans, kidney beans, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, barley, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers and garlic, cayenne, sage, cumin, ginger and feta cheese

• Wilderness Squash:  Combines Acorn squash, honey, pistachios, dried apricots. Butter, onions and Angostura bitters

• St. Peter’s Fish with Parsley Sauce:  Utilizes a pesto of parsley, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and onion and bass or trout

• Manaish with Goat Cheese: s Spread flatbread with a mixture of olive oil, zaatar, sumac and goat cheese. Serve with peppermint tea.

This well-researched book is pricey, however it’s an excellent reference source and very possibly might serve as a format for a years-worth of fare for culinary groups’ gatherings.

© Marty Martindale, 2006, Largo FL

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