Who wouldn’t like to show off with a sandwich or party finger food prepared according to a medieval recipe from the court of the Caliph of Baghdad? The 9th century cookbook “Kitab al-Tabikh“ (“The Book of Recipes“) makes this possible: it penned down a vast number of recipes from the Abbasid Court, listing the personal favorites of a number of caliphs, including the famed Harun al-Rashid.
The recipes are heavily inspired by medieval Persian cuisine, and so are the dishes’ names. They constitute the food of the rich and mighty, and thus probably are not representative of the average Middle Eastern cuisine of the Middle Ages, but that is, in fact, the case with most historical recipes. Food has been subject to social stratification for millennia.
I have chosen this one, Bazmawurd, because of its striking simplicity and its resemblance to a contemporary chicken wrap. You could easily take this sandwich to office, or serve it, cut into pieces, at a party buffet. The amount of fresh herbs, the chopped walnuts, and not least the chopped lemon give it a special touch.
The ideal bread for the wrap would be lavash, Persian flatbread, but tortillas or Italian piadine would do as well.
You need: flatbread (like lavash, tortillas or piadina), chicken breast, walnuts, lemon, tarragon, cilantro, basil, mint, parsley, olive oil and salt.
Stay tuned – there are much more historical recipes to come on this culinary archaeology channel. In these little videos I focus on easy-to-reproduce recipes (“try this at home“). For more complex historical dishes and cooking techniques, or a full feast, visit me for one of my historical cooking workshops in Puglia. And if you like, visit me at or on instagram at @trullocicerone. Or have a look at the Vacation With An Artist Website at
#food #middleages #history #ancienthistory #medieval