“Unwinding” (Pasrutum) – Leek and Herb Broth

Name: “Unwinding” (Pasrutum) – Leek and Herb Broth
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Water — 1 L (4 cups); Rendered fat or sesame oil — 2 tbsp; Leeks, sliced (kurrat and leek per the tablet's ingredient list) — 2; Garlic, crushed — 4 cloves; Fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped — 2 tbsp; Salt — 1 pinch; Dried sourdough bread, crumbled and sifted — 2 tbsp

The Quirky Foodster Team

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Servings

Ingredients

Water — 1 L (4 cups)
Rendered fat or sesame oil — 2 tbsp
Leeks, sliced (kurrat and leek per the tablet's ingredient list) — 2
Garlic, crushed — 4 cloves
Fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped — 2 tbsp
Salt — 1 pinch
Dried sourdough bread, crumbled and sifted — 2 tbsp

Method

Bring the water to a simmer in the pot and add the fat or sesame oil.
Add the sliced leeks and crushed garlic, and simmer for 15-18 minutes, until softened.
Stir in the coriander and salt in the final 2 minutes of cooking.
Just before removing from the pot, sift the crumbled dried sourdough over the surface, as specified in the tablet's instructions.
Serve hot.

Introduction: A meatless broth of leek, garlic, coriander and dried sourdough, one of only four vegetarian recipes recorded on the oldest surviving culinary tablet in the world.

Cultural Background: This recipe is directly translated from tablet YBC 4644 in the Yale Babylonian Collection, dated to the Old Babylonian period (c. 1730 BCE), the oldest known written recipe collection in the world; the tablet, deciphered by Jean Bottero, records 25 stews (21 meat, 4 vegetarian), including this dish named pasrutum (‘Unwinding’), which explicitly states that meat is not used and calls for water, fat, kurrat (a type of leek), cilantro, salt, leek, garlic, and dried sourdough pounded and sifted over the pot before serving.

Tips: – The tablet’s own text is unusually precise for a period source in listing its ingredients in order, though it gives no quantities; the amounts here are a modern, usable interpretation. – The dried, sifted sourdough is used here as a thickener, a technique explicitly described in the original tablet text.

Variations: – This recipe is presented as translated, since it is one of the very few directly attested dishes in this entire collection; substituting ingredients would depart from the source text. – Naturally vegan if sesame oil is used in place of animal fat.

Storage: Refrigerate covered for up to 2 days.

Reheating: Reheat gently in a pot over low heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring.

Nutrition: Per serving (approx.): 90 kcal, 3 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat, 2 g fibre.

FAQs:

Q: Is this really a translated ancient recipe rather than a modern reconstruction?

A: Yes, this dish is directly translated from tablet YBC 4644 in the Yale Babylonian Collection, one of the oldest surviving written recipes in the world, and its ingredient list and instructions (including the sifted dried sourdough) come directly from Jean Bottero’s published translation.

Q: Why does the recipe specify that meat is not used?

A: The tablet explicitly opens with this statement to distinguish it from the 21 meat-based stews recorded on the same tablet, one of only four vegetarian recipes among the 25 preserved there.