The traveler's pouch: dried figs, cheese and olives
Not a cooked dish but a traveler's assembly: soft dried figs, firm goat cheese, olives and a barley cake. The sweetness of figs answers the saltiness of cheese and olives — the complete snack of the ancient walker.
Not a cooked dish but a traveler's assembly: soft dried figs, firm goat cheese, olives and a barley cake. The sweetness of figs answers the saltiness of cheese and olives — the complete snack of the ancient walker.
He who travels light travels far: my pouch weighs nothing and yet it feeds me all the way to Sardis. Sun-dried figs, a piece of goat cheese hard as stone, a handful of olives, and my barley cake — that is my road treasure. The rich drag their chests and tremble that they be stolen; I walk with a contented belly and a free mind, and no brigand's trick can impoverish me.
- •Dried figs — a good handful (sweet energy)
- •Dry goat cheese — a piece (salty protein)
- •Olives — a few (salty and fatty)
- •Mâza (barley cake) — one (base)
- •Almonds or walnuts — a handful (supplement)
The traveler's pouch: dried figs, cheese and olives
Not a cooked dish but a traveler's assembly: soft dried figs, firm goat cheese, olives and a barley cake. The sweetness of figs answers the saltiness of cheese and olives — the complete snack of the ancient walker.
Why this dish? Stories make Aesop a great traveler — Samos, Sardis, Delphi, even the court of Croesus. His leather pouch and walking stick followed him everywhere. These dry provisions, which fear neither sun nor days, are exactly what a man of the road carried to sustain himself on the paths.
He who travels light travels far: my pouch weighs nothing and yet it feeds me all the way to Sardis. Sun-dried figs, a piece of goat cheese hard as stone, a handful of olives, and my barley cake — that is my road treasure. The rich drag their chests and tremble that they be stolen; I walk with a contented belly and a free mind, and no brigand's trick can impoverish me.
Ingredients (period version)
- Dried figs — a good handful (sweet energy)
- Dry goat cheese — a piece (salty protein)
- Olives — a few (salty and fatty)
- Mâza (barley cake) — one (base)
- Almonds or walnuts — a handful (supplement)
Ingredients
- Dried figs — 6 to 8 (sweet energy)
- Dry or aged goat cheese — 100 g (salty protein)
- Olives (green or black) — a handful (salty and fatty)
- Barley cake (recipe r1) — 1 (base)
- Almonds or walnuts — a handful (supplement)
Method
- If figs are very dry, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes to soften.
- Break the goat cheese into chunks.
- Arrange figs, cheese, olives and almonds on a board, accompanied by the barley cake.
- To take along, wrap everything in a cloth or pouch: these foods keep for several days without refrigeration.
How it was made : Ephódia (travel provisions) relied on dried and salted foods that did not spoil: dried figs, hard cheeses, brined olives, barley cakes. The dried fig, sweet and energetic, was the quintessential Greek snack, prized by soldiers and travelers alike.
The contemporary twist : Present it as a 'walker's board' with a drizzle of honey over the cheese: the fig-goat cheese-honey pairing hasn't aged a bit in 2600 years.
Sources : Andrew Dalby, Food in the Ancient World from A to Z · Life of Aesop (Vita Aesopi), ancient tradition
Aesop · Charactorium