Mersu, Date and Pistachio Cake
A dense, sweet paste of crushed dates enriched with chopped pistachios and aromatics, shaped into small balls or a flat cake — the oldest sweet of the Near East.
A dense, sweet paste of crushed dates enriched with chopped pistachios and aromatics, shaped into small balls or a flat cake — the oldest sweet of the Near East.
Here, this is what mortals placed on their altars to appease me: dates kneaded with pistachios, sweet as the temptation I am. Believe me, their little offerings never held me back for long — but mersu, I gladly tasted it. They pressed it by hand until the date sugar stuck to the fingers, drowning in it pistachios from the land of the Medes. Eat it without fear, mortal: tonight, I have appetite only for cakes.
- •Ripe dates — in abundance (sweet base)
- •Pistachios — a handful (crunchy garnish)
- •Sesame seeds — a little (garnish)
- •Flower water or aromatics (resin, sweet cumin) — a hint (fragrance)
Mersu, Date and Pistachio Cake
A dense, sweet paste of crushed dates enriched with chopped pistachios and aromatics, shaped into small balls or a flat cake — the oldest sweet of the Near East.
Why this dish? To keep demons at bay, offerings and sweets were placed on household altars. Mersu, a date confit kneaded with pistachios, was both a festive treat and a portion offered to spirits — inspired (not reproduced) from these offering gestures against powers like Asmodeus.
Here, this is what mortals placed on their altars to appease me: dates kneaded with pistachios, sweet as the temptation I am. Believe me, their little offerings never held me back for long — but mersu, I gladly tasted it. They pressed it by hand until the date sugar stuck to the fingers, drowning in it pistachios from the land of the Medes. Eat it without fear, mortal: tonight, I have appetite only for cakes.
Ingredients (period version)
- Ripe dates — in abundance (sweet base)
- Pistachios — a handful (crunchy garnish)
- Sesame seeds — a little (garnish)
- Flower water or aromatics (resin, sweet cumin) — a hint (fragrance)
Ingredients
- Pitted Medjool dates — 250 g (sweet base)
- Unsalted chopped pistachios — 80 g (crunchy garnish)
- Sesame seeds — 2 tbsp (coating)
- Orange blossom water — 1 tsp (fragrance)
Method
- Mash the dates into a thick paste with a fork or mortar.
- Incorporate half the chopped pistachios and the orange blossom water.
- Form small balls or a flattened cake.
- Roll in sesame seeds and the remaining pistachios.
- Let rest for one hour in a cool place before serving.
How it was made : Mersu appears in the archives of the palace of Mari (18th century BC) and in Babylonian texts: a preparation of crushed dates mixed with pistachios, figs, or other fruits, served at festivals and placed as offerings to the gods. It is one of the oldest documented 'cakes' in the world.
The contemporary twist : Presented as bite-sized balls rolled in vibrant pistachio and studded with gold, like 'pralines of the gods of Mari.'
Sources : Royal archives of Mari (18th century BC) · Jean Bottéro, Textes culinaires Mésopotamiens, Eisenbrauns, 1995
Asmodeus · Charactorium
