Tasting History dishes I’ve made this past month
As my latest hyperfixation has been making Tasting History meals, I figured I’d post a compilation of what I’ve made this month instead of spamming the sub with individual posts of all my creations.
So from photos 1 to 8, here’s what I’ve made this month along with any modifications I made and my thoughts on each dish.
Ancient Roman Pork with Apples: My first time making an ancient Roman dish with no modifications made to Max’s recipe. Really liked it, especially with the sauce lightly drizzled on top.
Kanasu Stew: Followed the recipe, although I added some chicken stock and salt after the initial tasting to improve the flavour. I also used spelt flour in place of emmer flour. Overall I liked this dish, but it didn’t wow me.
Wild Boar with Cameline Sauce: I could only find boar medallions at my local game butcher, so I decided to pan fry instead of boiling to avoid overcooking. Sauce was made according to the recipe. The boar was cooked nicely but the sauce had an oddly slimy consistency and was too overpowered with cinnamon. Oddly enough it tasted better cold from the fridge the next morning.
Pomodori Farciti all’Erbette: I used larger tomatoes for this, so ended up cooking them for about 45 - 50 minutes and didn’t fry them before cooking. They came out absolutely delicious and am already planning on making them again while tomatoes are in season.
Commodus Sweet & Sour Beef: Followed the recipe without modifications. Was a big fan of the texture of the meat and sauce, but I found it WAY too sweet. I really thought I’d be a fan after liking the pork & apples dish that was similar, but I really didn’t like this one. If I tried it again I’d probably cut the defrutum and honey by half.
Parthian Chicken: Used all chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken since I was cooking for less people, but did everything else according to the recipe. It came out perfectly juicy, although the skin was a bit limp so I took the thighs out of the sauce and threw them under the broiler for a few minutes. This was absolutely delicious with such interesting flavours, and I’d definitely make again.
Honeyed Roman Mushrooms: I ended up using a bit less honey for this than the recipe since I was still a bit scarred from the sweet beef recipe. Modifications worked well since I was a big fan of these.
Roast Venison with Wine Sauce: I only had an 8 oz tenderloin steak, so I ended up cutting the sauce recipe back by 1/4 and took a slightly different approach to cooking the meat. I ended up doing a reverse sear starting in the oven at a low temperature until it reached 115F internally and then finished by searing in a hot pan while basting in butter and rosemary. I also really liked the sauce, although I once again cut the amount of sugar in half in order to make it more palatable.
Anyway, I’ve had so much fun making and eating all these dishes, and can’t wait to try more!