Abbasid beef barida

This recipe, which dates from the earliest Arab culinary tradition, is for a so-called ‘cold’ dish (باردة, bārida), which referred to vegetable dishes, though some are with fish or, as in this case, meat, which were starters.

This dish is also unusual in that it is one of a relatively small number calling for beef, which is boiled in water. When it is done, murrī and a thick sauce made with pounded walnuts, vinegar, rue and salt are poured over it. It is served with a sprinkling of zayt al-unfāq (زيت الأنفاق) — a term derived from the Greek omphákion (ὀμφάκινον) –, which referred to oil pressed from fresh unripe olives. The garnish includes quartered boiled eggs, rue and green herbs.

Medieval Andalusian Goat Stew

This is a recreation of a wonderful recipe created by one of the most important physicians of the Middle Ages, the Cordoba-born Abū al-Qāsim al-Zahrāwī, who was court physician to the Andalusian caliph ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III al-Nāṣir, and has been considered the father of modern surgery. It’s made with kid (or a pullet, if you can’t get goat),

Take one pound of tender meat, or meat from a young goat or chicken, whichever is available. After cutting it up, it is cooked with some onion, salt, and almond oil (which is tob preferred over olive oil). After crushing raisins into a paste with some vinegar, the strained off liquid is added to the meat, along with galangal, cassia, saffron, and thirty (yes exactly!) peeled pistachios. Once everything is cooked, it’s ready to serve. It is apparently a dish that strengthens the liver and stomach. Just what the doctor ordered!

Aleppine Sour Orange Stew

Sour orange stews — known as nāranjiyya (نارنجية) after the word for ‘sour orange’, nāranj (today, they’re often also referred to as bu-safīr (بوصفير) or burtuqāl murr (برتقال مرّ, ‘bitter orange’) –were very popular in the medieval Arab culinary tradition and recipes can be found in multiple cookery books. This particular variety is from 13th-century Aleppo, and requires cooking a jointed chicken in sesame oil, chicken fat with onions, almonds and sour orange juice. The taste is enhanced by fresh mint, cinnamon, and mastic. It’s quite tangy so you might wish to sweeten it with sugar, but the author advises doing without since that is the way the dish should be done. Additionally, chefs are advised that the person peeling the sour oranges should not be the one extracting the juice!

Purslane goat stew

Known in al-Andalus as tafāyā (تفايا), a word of Berber origin, it is one of the dishes allegedly imported by the famous Abbasid musician and gastronome Ziryāb (d. 852). In the East, it was known as isfīdhbāj(a), a Persian borrowing which translates as ‘white stew’ because it was originally made with cheese.

It seems to have suited the Andalusian palate since it became extremely popular; it would be served as the first course of every meal, whereas the great physician Ibn Zuhr (1094–1162) claimed it was one of the best ways to cook meat.

This particular tafāyā is made with kid (a small goat), which is cooked with water, salt, olive oil, coriander, mint, almonds, onions, purslane and, of course, lots of eggs! The result is aptly called a ‘green’ tafāyā.

Andalusian milk Tharīda with mutton

The tharīd (ثريد) is one of the oldest dishes in Arab cuisine and was imported from the East to North Africa and al-Andalus, where it gained a new lease of life, with the cookery books containing many recipes and new variants, such as this one, made with milk, from The Exile’s Cookbook.

The meat is cut up into large chunks and then cooked with pepper, salt, coriander, and onion. Once the meat is done, it is set aside and finely crumbled unleavened bread is added to the broth, to which milk is gradually added until the bread is saturated with it. The tharīd is transferred to a serving dish, after which freshly made butter (home-made is best of course!). The final touch comes in the guise of a dusting of sugar. The cakey texture of the bread is an ideal complement to the meat, whereas the butter and sugar provide a subtle sweet counterpoint. A delight!

The 12th-century Andalusian physician Ibn Zuhr stated that if the milk is boiled, the tharida is tastier and milder, but very harmful! I guess everything in life comes at a price!

    al-Ma’mun’s citron stew

    A recipe for a lamb stew made with citron pulp ( حماض, hummād) attributed to the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma’mūn (d. 833), the son of Harun al-Rashid, and founder of the famous ‘House of Wisdom’ (بيت الحكمة, bayt al-hikma). A renowned gastronome, he also gave his name to a popular rice pudding and is said to have written a cookery book, which is unfortunately lost.

    The recipe involves lamb chunks cooked with onion, coriander, olive oil, chickpeas and salt. Once the meat is done, the citron pulp is added, while pomegranate juice and some sugar is used to take the edge off the sourness. It is seasoned with pepper, coriander, and ginger. There is, however, a very interestiing twist in the tail as it should be poured over pieces of bread, thus turning it into a tharid. So, there you have it — two for the price of one! What’s not to like?

    Borage stew

    This is a unique recipe for a beef stew from The Exile’s Cookbook made with borage (Borage officinalis), known as lisān al-thawr (لسان الثور, ‘ox tongue’) — a loan translation from the Greek boúglōsson (the etymon of the English ‘bugloss’) — but as Abū khuraysh (أبو خريش) in Andalusian Arabic. The dish is made with lamb, borage leaves, salt, olive oil, pepper, coriander and onion. The beautiful star-shaped flowers also serve as an attractive garnish.

    This is the only time borage appears as an ingredient in a food dish, as it was used primarily in medicinal compounds (often its water in beverages), most notably in stomachics and anti-nausea drugs.

    The best-quality borage allegedly came from Syria or Khorasan. Medicinally, burnt borage was thought to be useful against mouth ulcers, palpitations and melancholic conditions. When cooked with sugar, it was beneficial for coughs and roughness of the chest. It is still used today in Unani medicine (where it is known by its Persian name, ‘kavzaban’, گاو زبان) for a variety of conditions, including palpitations and nerve health.

    North African Beef with pomelo vinegar

    A fragrant recipe from The Exile’s Cookbook for beef cooked with pomelo vinegar, murrī , garlic, salt, olive oil, pepper, coriander and garlic until it is browned, and the juices dried out. Before serving, it is perfumed with pomelo vinegar, though lemon or sour grape vinegar are suggested variants. The result is a veritable carnivore’s feast, best eaten with some flatbread.

    Andalusian roast partridge

    The medieval Andalusian cookery books reveal that its people were very partial to game, and there are several recipes for partridge, like this one from The Exile’s Cookbook. After skinning and cleaning the partridge, it is cooked in water, salt, olive oil, pepper, coriander, some onion, almonds, murrī and vinegar. When it is done, it is finished off in the oven together with the strained broth in which it was cooked. This dish is a must for game lovers!

    Andalusian Narjisiyya

    This recipe from The Exile’s Cookbook has deep roots, which can be traced back to Abbasid times and possibly further, to Persia. The earliest narjisiyya (نرجسية) recipes involved adding egg yolks at the end of the cooking process thus creating the impression of narcissus flowers (نرجس, narjis) floating on top, hence the name of the dish.

    In al-Andalus, the dish appeared in a different guise, namely as a lamb omelette of sorts being cut up in the shape of a narcissus flower, with the carrots serving as the stamens. The recipe calls for ram (but lamb will do just as well, of course), which is cut up and then cooked halfway through with salt, olive oil, pepper and coriander. Then carrots are cut up lengthwise and ‘planted’ on the meat, while adding some water, vinegar and saffron. Afterwards, it is time to sprinkle on washed rice and then — it is an Andalusian dish, after all! — eggs whipped with saffron. You can cook it either in the pot or in the oven (as in the recreatino). When it is done, the resultant omelette — or quiche — is cut up in the shape of narcissi. The narjisiyya was thought to have aphrodisiac properties as well as being beneficial for those engaged in strenuous exercise.

    The Iranian Nargesi Esfanaj is the closest modern descendant, though it may well have predated the Arab dish.