DATES WITH HONEY AND RICOTTA CURDS SPREAD

Dates with Honey and Ricotta Curds Spread

Meal: Entertaining Angels Unawares Recipe 

Dates with Honey and Ricotta Curds Spread
2 cups rich fresh ricotta curds
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. honey
⅛ tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbsp. ground walnuts
sprig of fresh mint

Mix the curds, honey, walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small, deep, chilled bowl. Stir until well combined. Chop the mint leaves and sprinkle over the mixture.

Use as a filling for pitted dates or as a topping on celery or endive; it is also fine on toasted cinnamon bread.

Yield: 6–8 servings




The Text

The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

Abraham cooked the meat by cutting it into small pieces and broiling them on skewers over an open fire.

Genesis 18:1–8, New Revised Standard Version
Biblical Passage Notes

“The Oaks of Mamre”: In Hebrew, Elonei Mamre or Alonei Mamre, the place where Abram settled and built an altar to God after dividing his household between himself and Lot. Some scholars have connected the place with ancient tree-worshipping cults, and such a connection would seem to emphasize the difficulty of Abram/Abraham's break from polytheistic traditions. Others indicate that Mamre was the name of an Amorite inhabitant of the area (that is, someone from the hill country or the vicinity of Jerusalem). Over the ensuing millennia, pilgrims have venerated the site because of Abram/Abraham's commitment to monotheism, though there is some question about the precise location of the oaks. Con-stantine, the 4th-century c.e. Roman emperor, consecrated one spot with the Basilica of the Terebinth of Mamre, but during the time of Saint Jerome, pilgrims held fairs under a growing oak tree. The Crusades brought renewed interest, and pilgrims celebrated the Feast of the Trinity at a supposedly original site, remembering the three strangers (God and two angels) who visited Abram/Abraham there.

The name Abu-ramu is sometimes taken to mean “lofty father,” but this is a doubtful translation of the Assyrian. The name Abraham is also thought to mean “ancestor of a multitude,” though that meaning is probably folklore, and there seems to be no linguistic evidence to support it. It is probable that Abraham is merely a dialectical variation of Abram.
The Preparation

This was a simple meal that Abraham prepared for his visitors, and probably the first instance of fast food in the Bible. It takes place near Hebron, about twenty-three miles south of present-day Jerusalem. The city itself is situated on a plain about 3,000 feet above sea level. To this place the three visitors arrived, we are told, and Abraham “hastened” to prepare a meal, as he was not expecting strangers, especially at hot midday, when one usually rests. Sarah was given the task of making the bread, the daily custom of grinding and baking reserved for the women of the household, most often the wife. Generally, flour was mixed with water, made into dough, and rolled out into cakes. The cakes were then placed on ground previously heated by fire, then covered with hot embers till baked. It was a quick process.1

Luckily the visitors were not in too much of a hurry, as preparing a calf from pasture to palate would take a bit longer. In the interest of time and hospitality, the calf would probably have been cooked either by roasting it whole (no fancy preparation or cuts) or by cutting it up into small, hacked pieces and broiling them on skewers over the fire. Many scholars point out that the meat would have been served with some sort of grain and vegetable dish (the KJV speaks of “corn,” but as it was originally a North American plant, probably barley or some other large grain was used). A bowl of camel's milk and some cheese or curds served as dessert; the 21st-century cook with a sense of humor might add or substitute Angel Food Cake.

Abraham served this meal, or something like it, at the terebinth of Mamre, a tall spreading tree or grove of trees, an ideal setting for today's cookout or picnic meal. The recipes that follow comprise an entire meal for six to eight people, yet they require some planning and advance preparation.

Many of the ingredients for these recipes are found in the Bible: yeast (Leviticus 10:12), flour (Numbers 15:4), salt (Ezra 6:9), saffron (Song of Songs 4:14), honey (I Kings 14:3), walnuts (Song of Songs 6:11), cinnamon (Exodus 30:23), mint (Luke 11:42), endive (one of the “bitter herbs' of Exodus 12:8), leeks and garlic (Numbers 11:5), olive oil (Luke 16:6), egg whites (Job 6:6), veal (I Samuel 28), cumin (Isaiah 28:25, 27), cucumbers (Isaiah 1:8), and goat cheese (II Samuel 17:29), but feel free to substitute or adapt as needed. It will still be a heavenly meal!