A Medieval Christmas Feast with Recipes in Jerusalem

As Christmas nears, let's go back in time to 1300 AD Jerusalem and imagine the tasty dishes they had during this sacred holiday season. Back then, Christmas was a big deal with days filled with plenty of eating and merrymaking. The food was pretty straightforward, but it represented a mix of European, Middle Eastern, and North African tastes and elements.

Our feast kicks off with a simple parsley and barley soup. Barley was a staple for medieval cooks, and this soup gets its gentle flavors from slowly cooked onions, carrots, parsnips and is seasoned lightly with cumin and coriander. For the main dish, roasted whole lamb is a classic choice. It’s spiced up with rosemary, mint and sweetened slightly with pomegranate juice. This lamb would be cooked over an open flame, giving it that smoky savory taste.

Bread is key for scooping up all those tasty juices. Authentic bread from medieval times was baked fresh every day using coarsely milled wholewheat or rye flour. It was cooked in a wood-fired oven. This kind of baking gave you a bread that was crusty on the outside but soft inside. Olive oil and wine were usually on hand to round out the meal. For something sweet, dried fruits like figs, dates, and raisins were common. They might stew them into a sticky sauce to go with sugary almond cakes—typical sweets of the period.

Here are some Medieval Christmas Feast with Recipes if you fancy trying your hand at a 14th-century Christmas dinner:

Parsley and Barley Soup

Ingredients:

1⁄2 cup pearled barley

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 parsnip, diced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1⁄4 cup chopped parsley

Instructions:

Add barley, onion, carrots, parsnip and spices to broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes until barley is tender.

Once cooked, blend half the soup to thicken consistency.

Reheat and stir in parsley just before serving.

Roasted Leg of Lamb

Ingredients:

5 lb leg of lamb

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp pomegranate juice

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 tsp mint

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat your oven or wood-fired cooker (to get the true smokey flavor) to 350°F. Dry the lamb and rub some oil on it.

Mix together the pomegranate juice, rosemary, mint, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Spread this mix all over the lamb.

Cook at 350°F for 1 to 1.5 hours or until it's cooked how you like it.

Wait for 10 minutes after taking the lamb out before you cut and serve it.

Dive into old-fashioned Christmas flavors with these easy recipes! We're thankful for simple meals that unite us during the festive time.

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