Lunch Break Papers

Roast beast (Turkey; I know it's not authentic but sue me. It was an inexpensive cut of meat. Could have used a small chicken.) which was roasted on a bed of mixed vegetables (carrots, celeriac, turnip, onion, garlic, with thyme and rosemary mixed with a bit of olive oil) and a slug of red wine.

Red cabbage cooked with a bit of red wine, bay leaf, redcurrant jam, ginger and cinnamon, lemon juice, and a spoonful of applesauce (could have just chopped an apple in there and will do that next time).

Czech-style dumplings (flour, egg, water, milk, small pieces of dry white bread).

The meat was nice and tender, and the flavours of the herbs and the wine came through. Perhaps a bit of red wine vinegar or lemon juice to add next time as the carrots and turnip made it a little on the sweet side.

Mashing some of the veg with the liquor (and perhaps a slug of cream) would make for an excellent sauce.

Red cabbage is a classic, but definitely use chopped apple next time, the apple sauce tastes strange here. Usually there's also some clove in there but the feast I was test-cooking for had a clove allergy, but if one ups the ginger and lemon juice it works just fine. I was told it tastes of Christmas. :)

All in all, very tasty indeed.

(originally posted June 2016)

taken from from Mark Grant: Roman Cookery, Serif 2008; original recipe by Anthimus in “On Foods”

200g lentils (he uses Puy, I used ordinary lentils)
1 tsp red vine vinegar (I only had white wine vinegar but I added a dash of red wine)
2 tsp sumac
1 slice of lemon
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp ground coriander
salt

Boil the lentils in water for about 30 minutes or until tender. Drain off the water, add the seasonings, cover with water and let simmer with the lid on for about 20 minutes.

Add more vinegar, sumac and coriander to taste, a pinch of brown sugar to round it.

A nice, sour and spicy lentil dish. For meat eaters, I am sure some sausages on the side would do well. Serve with bread.

Tastes even better the next day.

(originally posted June 2016)

Taken from Jaqui Wood, “Prehistoric Cooking”, The History Press 2011.

100g oatmeal
100g flour (she calls for barley flour, I used plain white for the first try)
20g butter
salt
milk to mix

Mix the flours together, rub in the butter, add the salt. Mix to a soft dough with the milk.
Form into small (and flat!) cakes and cook on a hot griddle until firm and brown.

Has a nice, nutty flavour; goes well with butter and cheese. Also a good addition to a soup or stew.

Addendum: Upon experimentation, the butter is not needed, milk will do fine. The mixture mustn't be too dry. Seeds (nuts, sesame...) and flavourings (coriander, caraway, dried herbs...) can be added for taste variations.

I've been doing these a couple of times now on weekends, and they're really good.