Could 4,000-year-old recipes translate into a feast to tantalize the tastebuds of today’s dining aficionado? At the hands of chefs from New Haven’s own Sanctuary Kitchen, it turns out they more than satisfied. Around 30 diners gathered at RAWA Tuesday night for an International Festival of Arts and Ideas event where a three-course meal prepared by Sanctuary Kitchen was presented in conjunction with Yale Peabody Museum, inspired by writings from tablets that are a part of their Babylonian collection.
The first course, as well as a menu card, was awaiting patrons at their seats when Chris Renton, associate director of the museum, welcomed everyone, adding that it was “great to be in community with all of you.” He then introduced Klaus Wagensonner of the Babylonian Collection of the museum, who he said “digitized 35,000 tablets singlehandedly.”
Wagensonner — who in 2019 co-curated a Peabody exhibit of Mesopotamian artifacts — talked about the recipe tablets while holding up a replica of one, eventually walking it around to all the tables to show patrons close up.
He then demonstrated for us on a piece of clay how the markings were made into the tablets. He also held up a poster that gave examples of a couple of the translations, noting that no measurements were used and they were “open to interpretation.”
The dishes prepared for dinner would be influenced by these tablets, with the Sanctuary Kitchen chefs putting their own spin on them while honoring many of the ingredients and methods mentioned.
At this point, many of us had already started on the first course, a Medjool date stuffed with roasted almond and caramelized garlic served with charred lamb kebab with pomegranate glaze and chopped pistachios. Each was hearty and filling, a balance of sweet and savory that aptly previewed the flavors to come.
The second course featured sliced lamb roast on freekeh with cumin-roasted leeks, turnips, garlic and a savory vegetable broth. The lamb was fork tender, and the vegetables and broth complemented but did not compete with its flavor. This dish made me more of a fan of lamb than I have been in the past. Lemonade and hibiscus iced tea were also available. I tried the tea, which was just sweet enough to refresh and revitalize the palate in between courses.
Donna Golden, a founding member of Sanctuary Kitchen who also serves on the leadership team and as a volunteer coordinator, then introduced Chef Rawan, also of Sanctuary Kitchen, who grew up in Syria, had lived in Jordan, and then resettled in New Haven in 2017, where she and her husband Masan became the first chefs to join that program. Rawan talked about how the chefs had worked together to “contemporize the recipes” that we would be enjoying this evening.
Golden also noted that it was the five-year anniversary of Sanctuary Kitchen, which focused on “community building through food,” highlighting its new curbside menu that was available every Friday for pickup at their location on Legion Avenue.
Chefs Rawan and Noor walked around answering question from the diners as the third course was brought out, a leek chard fatayer (stuffed hand pie) along with a kale salad with seared red onion, fresh pomegranate seeds, and lemon olive oil dressing. Rawan noted that leeks, garlic, onions, and pomegranate were mentioned in the recipes on the tablets. I thought I myself might be too stuffed to finish the stuffed hand pie, but it was exceptionally light for a pastry-based food. I hungrily persevered and left nary a crumb behind.
Just when we thought it was done, we were served the most perfect little piece of RAWA’s own baklava, probably the best piece of baklava I have ever eaten. It was just enough sweetness with which to end the meal and the sharing of history and collective dining experiences. Nikki Sewell — a volunteer at Sanctuary Kitchen, one of the diners who shared a table with me, and someone who had frequented other Arts and Ideas food events in the past — agreed that this was a special event.
“It’s a great concept and collaboration,” she said. “For me it combines three of my passions: food and [supporting] immigration and women in business. These women come here and open their own restaurants. I think it’s so cool.”
And speaking of opening restaurants, there was also an announcement that Rawan, Masan, and their family had recently opened Emesa right in Westville. Noor told us they made the “best shawarma ever.” I put that on my ever growing list of places to try — very soon.