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Mesru (Date and Pistachio Pastries)

Mesru (Date and Pistachio Pastries) is a reconstructed traditional Ancient Mesopotamian recipe for a sweetmeat-type pastry filled with a date, pistachio and honey paste that's baked to cook. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Mesopotamian version of: Date and Pistachio Pastries (Mesru).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

70 minutes

Total Time:

90 minutes

Makes:

8

Rating:

Tags : Vegetarian RecipesBaking RecipesMesopotamia Recipes

Rather than being a translation of an ancient recipe, this is a reconstruction of an Akkadian sweetmeat/pastry from Mesopotamia, the sources for the reconstruction of which is given below:

The recipe for mesru a 'cake' is Akkadian, and though its not actually developed as a recipe anywhere; it is possible to easily gather a few scattered, lexicographical or economic details of it which enable us more
or less to reconstruct its formula.

The term mersu etymologically refers to a sort of “mixing” (mardsu) of a flour that has been soaked in a liquid; the end product is justifiably called 'bread' or 'pastry'. According to the various, more explicit Sumerian equivalents, the liquid used in the mixture could be water (a); milk (ga); beer (kas or oil, even 'clarified butter' (/-nun).

Our 'indirect sources' (primarily delivery notices, add a certain number of complementary elements to this
basic operation. Thus, in Mari (H. Hunger, Kolophone, no. 197:5,), notably:

(Received) 120 litres of dates
And 10 litres of pistachios,
for making mersu.
Meal of the king,
5 The 14th of the month of Kiskissu,
of the year that followed
the seizing of ASlakka by King Zimri-Lim.

The last three lines show how documents were dated then, as there was no universal era for chronological reference.

Although no details are given—in this text or in others—about how to cook mersu, we learn that it was mixed in large pots and often prepared by specialists in Mari. We see that it varied by ingredients and came in different shapes and sizes. Honey was often (but not always) used as a sweetener.

We learn through such partial notices that in Mari, at least, the task of preparing mersu was often conferred upon a
specialist (épisat mersi: “maker of mersu”), who no doubt possessed a secret technique for making it. We are also informed that large pots (diqdru) were used for mixing, and that to enhance the flavour and richness of the dish various
complementary elements—dates, pistachios, dried figs, raisins, apples (?), or condiments such as nigella(?), cumin(?); coriander(?), and even something that to our palates seems somewhat unlikely, garlic—were incorporated into the duly blended flour mixture.

Once the mixture was cooked—we know none of the specifics concerning the way or how long it was cooked—it could be presented as some-thing like a cake. It also emerges that Honey (dispu) gave mersu its sweet taste.
Thus mesru can be reconstructed as a type of pastry with a date and pistachio filling. Maskevich reconstructed the recipe in Adam Maskevich, 'A Mesopotamian Feast', Archaeology Odyssey, January/February 2006. I've generally followed Maskevich's recipe here, but added the honey back in to give a measure of sweetness.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

225g dried, pitted dates, finely chopped
125ml water
30g pistachios, shelled and finely chopped
4 tbsp runny honey
360g barley flour (but wheat flours also work)
200g chilled butter, finely diced
5 tablespoons milk

Method:

Put the dates in a small pan and add water. Cook over medium heat until a thick paste forms, stirring often (about 5–8 minutes).

Mix in pistachios and honey then take off the heat and set aside to cool.

Mix flour and butter together until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk slowly until dough holds together. Cover dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Break off a 5cm piece of dough and roll it in your hands until it becomes pliable. Shape into a ball. Make a hole in the ball’s centre with your thumb and pinch the sides between your thumb and index finger to enlarge the hole.

Take some of the cooled date paste and fill the hole three-quarters of the way. Pinch the edges of the dough together and roll into a ball.

Place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough and bake for 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.