RESTING TIME • 1 night
While Lucy, Peter, and Susan remain hidden between the coats inside the magic wardrobe, blend 2 3/4 oz cornstarch with 5 fl oz (2/3 cup) water in a bowl and set aside.
Bring the superfine sugar, lemon juice, and 4 fl oz (1/2 cup) water to a boil in a saucepan. When the syrup reaches 240°F, add all the cornstarch mixture at once, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Simmer for about 50 minutes over low heat, continuing to stir. The paste is ready when the light from the street lamp no longer illuminates the forest, and the mixture, now translucent, comes away from the sides of the saucepan and forms a ball around the spoon. If it doesn’t, continue cooking for a few more minutes.
Add the rose water and cook for another 5 minutes.
Line a tray with parchment paper and sift over a thin layer of cornstarch, as fine as the gentlest snow. Carefully spread the paste over the tray and smooth the top before letting it rest at room temperature for at least 12 hours, or overnight if possible.
Pour the glass of confectioners’ sugar onto a plate, oil a knife, and cut the paste into 1 1/4-inch cubes. Roll the Turkish delight in the confectioners’ sugar, tap off the excess, and store in an airtight container.
SWORD COAST TART
This traditional dish is enjoyed by Chaos Mages, treasure hunters of all kinds, and paladins between quests.
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
10 1/2 oz shortcrust pastry (readymade, from your bakery/store)
2 pears
4 fl oz (1/2 cup) maple syrup
1 lb 10 oz cranberries
1 oz flour
6 oz brown sugar (demerara sugar or dark soft brown sugar)
Milk, for the glaze
PREPARATION TIME • 15 mins COOKING TIME • 45 mins
Weigh out 1 3/4 oz of shortcrust pastry and set it aside for the decoration. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Peel the pears, remove the seeds, then dice and place the pears in a saucepan over high heat together with the maple syrup and cranberries. Stir the mixture until the cranberries burst.
Sprinkle this syrupy mixture with the flour; mix in well. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to reduce the syrup by about a third. Take the saucepan off the heat and let it cool completely.
Meanwhile, use a rolling pin to roll out the pastry, lay it in a medium-sized tart pan, and prick with a fork to prevent air bubbles forming.
Cover the pastry base and sides with aluminum foil, pour in some ceramic baking beans or dried beans, and bake blind for about 20 minutes.
Roll out the pastry that you set aside. Cut out a dragon shape using a cookie cutter or a hand-drawn stencil cut from thin cardboard. Shape the rest of the pastry into lots of little sausages, roll them out and cut out claw shapes using a knife.
Remove the beans and aluminum foil. Sprinkle the base of the tart with the brown sugar, spread over the stewed fruit. Carefully lay the pastry dragon on top, arrange the claws around the edge of the tart, brush with milk, and bake for 25 minutes. Serve hot or cold.
BEWITCHING POTIONS
Eternal Love Potion • Lavender and honey syrup
Ent-Draught • Berry syrup
Gandalf’s Pick-Me-Up • Summer fruit juice
Beorning Beverage • Cherry syrup
Elf-Made Wine (alcohol-free) • Fall fruit juice with spices
Memory Potion • Apple and pomegranate juice with vanilla
Genuine Butterbeer (alcohol-free) • Vanilla butterscotch float (cold)
Warm Butterbeer (alcohol-free) • Hot butterscotch milk
Green Potion • Cherry and kiwifruit mocktail
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” Elixir • Peach, grapefruit, and cherry drink
Dragon Potion • Curaçao, apple, and cranberry syrup
The Witch-Queen’s Beauty Potion • Carrot juice with apple and hazelnuts
Pumpkin Juice • Pumpkin juice
Smurfesque Cocktail • Pear juice with curaçao
Mesopotamian Nectar • Grape juice with rose and pistachios
Digory’s Secret • Apple and lemon juice with ginger
The Comfort of the White Witch • Hot milk with coffee and caramel
Grand Vizier • Spiced soy milk
Genie Elixir • Apple, raspberry, and blueberry mocktail
Magic Potion • Beet, fruit, and carrot juice with honey
Invisibility Potion • Tonic water and citrus fruit mocktail
Friendly Arm Inn Hippocras • Spiced grape juice with honey
Slappy’s Ghostly Punch • Summer berries and orange iced soup
ETERNAL LOVE POTION
Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, lived in the forest of Brocéliande, where she raised Lancelot. In the Arthurian legends, Merlin falls in love with her and teaches her all his secrets, including the potion for inspiring eternal love. Viviane made the potion and offered it to Merlin and, according to some, the two magicians have lived together in the forest, invisible to humans, ever since.
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
1 3/4 oz lavender flowers (from organic food stores)
4 1/2 oz honey
3½ fl oz lemon juice
INFUSION TIME • 20 mins RESTING TIME • One night
When the world was already old and the forests still young, Merlin wandered through the forest of Brocéliande, admiring its beauty. It was then that he caught sight of Viviane, and became infatuated with her. Wishing to preserve Merlin’s love for her, Viviane made up the potion that would keep him by her side.
She began by drawing 2 pints (4 cups) of water from the Crystal lake, collecting honey from the forest, and picking lavender flowers, which she left to dry throughout the summer under the light of the moon. Finally, she obtained the fruit of the faraway lemon tree.
Viviane heated the water in a cauldron and, as soon as the first bubbles appeared, she removed it from the heat and threw in the lavender, letting it infuse for 20 minutes.
She strained the liquid through the finest piece of cheesecloth, then added the honey and lemon juice, stirring and softly singing her love for the wizard.
Sealed in a crystal flask, she let the potion rest in the icy waters of the lake.
Viviane offered the drink to Merlin and as soon as his lips touched the potion, he was captivated by her again. His only desire was to remain with her beneath the foliage of the forest, until the end of time.
ENT-DRAUGHT
The Ents are giant tree-like beings, able to speak, think, and move. They are the ancient guardians and protectors of the forests of Middle-earth. In The Lord of the Rings, Merry and Pippin, seeking refuge in Fangorn Forest, meet Treebeard, the eldest of the Ents, who provides protection for them at Gandalf’s request. This explains how, for a time, Merry and Pippin live on the mysterious Ent-draught, which makes those who drink it grow taller.
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
2 1/4 lb blackberries
1 lb 2 oz blueberries
3 1/2 oz elderberry flowers and leaves (from organic food stores or the health/herbal tea section of the supermarket)
3 1/2 oz mallow leaves (from organic food stores or the health/herbal tea section of the supermarket)
7 oz maple syrup
PREPARATION TIME • 15 mins RESTING TIME • 30 mins
COOKING TIME • 10 mins
Rinse the harvested fruits, flowers, and leaves.
In a pot made of clay from the Old Forest, bring 2 pints (4 cups) fresh spring water to a boil. When the first bubbles appear, add the berries and cook for 5 minutes until they burst and release their juices.
Add the flowers, leaves, and maple syrup. Mix for another 5 minutes and strain the liquid through a strainer (or through the roots of an obliging Ent, if one can be found).
Bottle the Ent-draught and keep in a cool place, in the icy water of a leaping stream, for example.
GANDALF’S PICK-ME-UP
Gandalf the Grey, later Gandalf the White, is the most famous wizard of Middle-e
arth. Renowned among the hobbits for his spectacular fireworks, he is the companion and friend first of Bilbo, then later of Frodo, Bilbo’s nephew (really cousin). Gandalf guides the Fellowship of the Ring through the thousand and one perils sent by Sauron to retrieve the Ring of Power. Gandalf keeps with him a flask filled with miruvor, an elven cordial able to lift the spirits under any circumstances, including climbing the pass of Caradhras.
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
1 orange
1 lemon
1 lb 2 oz yellow peaches
1 lb 2 oz cherries
2 lb 4 oz red currants
PREPARATION TIME • 20 mins RESTING TIME • 1 hr
Gather the fruits at dawn on the summer solstice and rinse them carefully with the clear waters of the Bruinen.
Cut the orange and lemon in half and squeeze to collect their juice.
Remove the skin and stones of the peaches and pit the cherries, then place the fruits in a mortar (or a food processor) with the washed and de-stemmed red currants and purée them, before adding orange and lemon juice.
Strain through a gossamer cloth (or a fine strainer) to obtain a clear liquid.
Pour into stoppered bottles and keep in the refrigerator, until no later than the dawn of the fifth day.
BEORNING BEVERAGE
On the eve of battle, the bear-men traditionally drink this mixture made of honey from their hives and cherries from their woods, which allows them to take the form of a bear. In The Hobbit, it is Beorn himself in the guise of a giant black bear who ends the Battle of Five Armies by slaying the orc chieftain.
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
2 lb 4 oz cherries
16 fl oz (2 cups) mild honey
PREPARATION TIME • 20 mins RESTING TIME • 1 hr
COOKING TIME • 10 mins
Rinse the cherries on a moonless night, remove their pits, and squeeze them through a cloth to collect their juice.
Heat 16 fl oz (2 cups) water to lukewarm in a saucepan and pour in the honey. Stir gently until it melts.
Add the cherry juice and heat for another 5 minutes, mixing together well.
Take off the heat and cool completely. Pour the beverage into stoppered bottles and place in the refrigerator.
Drink as soon as you hear the orcs approaching in the distance.
ELF-MADE WINE (ALCOHOL-FREE)
When Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange visit Severus Snape, he swears an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa, after which they drink a toast to the glory of the Dark Lord.
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
1 orange
16 fl oz (2 cups) grape juice
1 handful blueberries (frozen if out of season)
4 T soft brown sugar
1 t ground ginger
1 t ground nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
PREPARATION TIME • 5 mins COOKING TIME • 5 mins
RESTING TIME • 1 hr
Begin by casting an Iron-shield spell to protect your hands, then, using a very sharp knife, cut the peel from the orange. Pull apart the segments, remove the white membrane covering them, and cut the flesh into segments.
Pour all the ingredients into a cauldron, beginning with the blood-colored grape juice.
Add 10 fl oz (1 1/4 cups) water and boil for 5 minutes. Take the cauldron off the heat and let it rest for 1 hour. Strain and serve scalding hot or icy cold.
MEMORY POTION
Severus Snape was extremely fond of Harry’s mother, Lily Potter. After she died, he is said to have often drunk this potion, which is able to preserve memories intact.
INGREDIENTS • One 16 fl oz (2 cup) flask
3 1/2 oz ubull fruit (apple)
1 bean of melipone (vanilla)
A few phoenix tears (2 T maple syrup)
14 fl oz (1 3/4 cups) juice of lythraceae (pomegranate)
PREPARATION TIME • 20 mins
This potion must be prepared in utter silence, which is impossible for dunderheads like you. I do not expect, therefore, that you will remember anything but the color of your pillow.
Rinse the ubull fruit, peel it, cut it, remove the seeds, and stew it with a little water in a cauldron on a medium heat. Split the melipone bean in half, then, using your wand or the back of a knife, scrape out the inside to collect the seeds. Add the seeds to the stewed ubull and mix in.
Place the phoenix tears in a second cauldron, add the stewed ubull, and pour in the juice of lythraceae. Stir three times in the direction of the wheels of a Time-Turner, then four times in the opposite direction.
Let cool, bottle in a flask, and be ready to astound with your elephantine memory!
GENUINE BUTTERBEER (ALCOHOL-FREE)
Butterbeer was born in 1855 in Great Britain, with the invention of butterscotch. Combined with vanilla soda, this syrupy liquid looked so much like beer that it was nicknamed “butterbeer.” Fred and George, Ron Weasley’s twin brothers, were the chief suppliers for parties in the common room. Let the butterbeer flow like water!
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
2 1/4 oz butter
2 1/4 oz superfine sugar
1 T molasses or golden syrup (international foods section of your store)
16 fl oz (2 cups) cream soda or vanilla soda (online or in the international foods section)
Whipped cream, to your heart’s content
PREPARATION TIME • 5 mins COOKING TIME • 10 mins
Melt the butter in a small cauldron over low heat, add the sugar, and stir gently. Cast an Unstick spell or use a damp brush to remove any sugar crystals that stick to the sides. Use a Levitation spell and add the molasses or golden syrup. Boil for 5 minutes.
Let the mixture cool completely or cast a Chill spell. Pour 2 tablespoons of syrup into each mug, then add some cream soda. Top with a generous dose of whipped cream and enjoy.
WARM BUTTERBEER (ALCOHOL-FREE)
Served warm, butterbeer is a cheering drink after trudging through the snow in Hogsmeade or for giving you the strength to fight the forces of evil.
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
2 1/4 oz butter
2 1/4 oz superfine sugar
1 T molasses or golden syrup (international foods section of your store)
16 fl oz (2 cups) milk
Whipped cream, to your heart’s content
PREPARATION TIME • 5 mins COOKING TIME • 5 mins
Follow step 1 of the cold butterbeer recipe (without cooling the syrup).
Pour in the milk and warm the mixture, stirring gently. Serve in mugs and top with whipped cream according to your preference.
GREEN POTION
In the world of Hyrule, this potion allows Link to restore his powers.
INGREDIENTS • 2 pt flask (4 cups)
16 fl oz (2 cups) waterfall water
16 fl oz (2 cups) kiwifruit juice
4 T cherry syrup
Juice of 1 lemon
1 handful maraschino cherries
PREPARATION TIME • 5 mins RESTING TIME • 15 mins
In one of the Secret Caves of Hyrule, known to the Fairies yet unknown to the Octoroks, pour the water from a waterfall through a magic flute into a cauldron.
Add the kiwifruit juice given to you by the Minish on your last quest and stir gently.
Pour the cherry syrup into a pitcher, and add the the lemon juice and the kiwifruit mixture.
Add the maraschino cherries and let the potion rest for 15 minutes to restore the maximum number of magic points, before decanting into your flask.
“SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS” ELIXIR
A very exclusive cocktail, served by penguin waiters on Derby Day.
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
4 T cherry syrup
8 fl oz (1 cup) grapefruit juice
1 1/2 pt (3 cups) peach juice
2 t vanilla extract
PREPARATION TIME • 15 mins
Chip some small chunks of ice from an iceberg. Divide them between 4 glasses. Divid
e the cherry syrup, grapefruit juice, peach juice, and vanilla extract equally between the glasses.
Stir gently with Mary Poppins’ umbrella and enjoy while watching the carousel horse race.
DRAGON POTION
This will allow you, like the vengeful Maleficent, to wake up or put to sleep your inner dragon.
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
Essence of terror
(or 4 T blue curaçao syrup)
wounded pride
(or 16 fl oz [2 cups] apple juice)
Concentrated vengeance
(or 16 fl oz/2 cups cranberry juice)
Fire fruit
(or the juice of 1 lemon)
PREPARATION TIME • 5 mins
When the tempest breaks and the storm rises, pour the essence of terror into a goblet, watching it shimmer in the flashes of lightning.
At the second clap of thunder, add your wounded pride and concentrated vengeance. Smile your darkest smile and stir with your scepter.
When gusts of wind start whirling around you, it is time to add the juice of the fire fruit. Then drink and unleash your terrible wrath.
THE WITCH-QUEEN’S BEAUTY POTION
A potion to stay forever beautiful, not to mention devious. Ha! ha! ha!
INGREDIENTS • One 16 fl oz (2 cup) flask
Roots of pastinaca
(or 14 fl oz [1 3/4 cups] carrot juice)
Juice of ubull
(or 3 1/2 fl oz unpoisoned apple juice)
Powder of sleeping beauties
(or 1 T ground toasted hazelnuts)
Bark of salagama
(or 1 cinnamon stick)
PREPARATION TIME • 15 mins COOKING TIME • 10 mins
INFUSION TIME • 15 mins
Don your favorite and most flattering accessories (accursed cape, demonic scepter …), roll up your sleeves, then rinse and peel the pastinaca roots and slice them into rounds.
Boil them for 10 minutes in a small cauldron, then strain and reserve the liquid (you can give the vegetable slices to your pet raven; it will love them).
Wizard’s Cookbook Page 9