A Thousand and One Recipes: Caliphate Cooking in 10th Century Baghdad

Courtesy of Nawal Nasrallah This week we're travelling to the golden age of the Islamic Empire in 10th century Baghdad. Hidden in a bustling paper market, we'll visit a mysterious bookmaker responsible for one of the largest cookbooks from the medieval world. While it may not have exactly 1,001 recipes (only 632 at last count...), the book is a treasure trove of medieval dining etiquette, recommendations for healthy eating, and some of the best food poetry we've ever read (ode to fried fish, anyone?). We'll speak with Nawal Nasrallah, editor and translator of Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchen: Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's Tenth-Century Bagdadi Cookbook as she reveals the delicious and ancient cuisine of medieval Baghdad. We'll even make a few medieval Baghdadi recipes, discovering some surprising similarities to not only modern Iraqi cuisine, but culinary traditions throughout the world. Written & Produced by Laura CarlsonTechnical Direction by Mike PorttSpecial Guest: Nawal NasrallahFind out more about Nawal's work at her website, www.iraqicookbook.comYou can buy her edition & translation of al-Warraq's 10th century cookbook, Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchen: Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's Tenth-Century Baghdadi Cookbook from Brill Publishers at brill.comFind out more about the delicious recipes we made from Nawal's book on our show notes.Episode Soundtrack featuring "Alleys of Istanbul" by Turku, Nomads of the Silk Road (licensed under a Attribution License) Learn more about our sponsors for this episode, Sudio Sweden, makers of stylish earbuds for the discerning podcast listener. Right now, Feast listeners can get a 15% discount of their products by entering FEAST17 at checkout. Find out more by visiting sudiosweden.com. (P.S., we're huge fans of the Vasa Blå headphones, check them out here!) Show Notes | Find on iTunes | Other Players Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices