Makes 12 buns Prep: 45 minutes
Dough rising: 1 hour Baking: 15 minutes
Pairs well with Beef and Bacon Pie,
Salad at Castle Black, and Mulled Wine
These buns are made using a Banbury cake recipe. Banbury cakes are steeped in history and are thought to have been brought back to England during the Crusades. Their beautiful appearance belies their rugged durability; these buns are tasty high-energy food, sure to keep you warm while you range beyond the Wall.
For the Dough:
1 egg yolk
⅓ cup dark ale, room temperature
2 teaspoons yeast
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
3¼ cups flour
⅓ cup milk
⅓ cup cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground mace
Splash of rosewater (optional)
For the Filling:
3 cups currants
⅓ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground mace
1 apple, chopped fine
⅓ cup pine nuts
For the Glaze:
1 egg white, lightly beaten
⅓ cup raw sugar
To make the dough, whisk together the egg yolk, ale, and yeast, and place the bowl in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. In a small saucepan, warm the milk and cream together with 1 teaspoon each of cinnamon, cloves, and mace. Pour the warmed milk, yeast mixture, and rosewater (if using) into the flour and mix together to form a dough. Knead the dough for 30 seconds, place it in a bowl, cover it with a tea towel, and let it rise for 1 hour.
To make the filling, take 5 ounces of the risen dough and put it in a food processor. Add 1 cup of the currants, the brown sugar, and the ½ teaspoon each of cinnamon, cloves, and mace. Pulse the mixture to combine it, pour it out into a bowl, and stir in the remaining currants, the apple, and the pine nuts.
Preheat the oven to 425°F and grease a large baking sheet. Cut the dough into quarters. Roll one piece into a long rectangle ⅛ inch thick. Cut the rectangle into three smaller rectangles. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling onto the middle of a rectangle and fold up the sides, pinching them together to seal. Once the bun is formed, gently fashion it into an oblong shape. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, placing the completed buns on the greased baking sheet.
Brush the bun tops with the egg white and sprinkle them with the raw sugar. Slash the top of each bun three times and bake them for 15 minutes. These buns are wonderful served warm, but can also be cooled and stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
Modern Buns with Raisins, Pine Nuts, and Apple
Makes around 20 buns Prep: 15 minutes
Dough Rising: 2½ hours total Baking: 40 minutes
Pairs well with Breakfast on the Wall,
Mutton in Onion-Ale Broth, cold milk
These buns are a liberal interpretation of the baked goods described in the book. The brothers of the Night’s Watch are probably not served gooey cinnamon rolls … but they are so delicious and bursting with tasty morsels that, after one bite, you’ll forgive the liberties we’ve taken.
For the Dough:
¾ cup whole milk
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened
About 4 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 eggs
2¼ teaspoons dry yeast (1 packet)
1 teaspoon salt
For the Filling:
1 apple, cored, peeled, and diced
⅓ cup raisins
¼ cup coarsely chopped pine nuts
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened
For the Icing (optional):
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons milk
Combine the milk and butter in a small saucepan and scald the mixture, bringing it to just under a boil before transferring it to a large bowl and letting it cool to body temperature. Add 1 cup of the flour, the sugar, eggs, yeast, and salt. Add up to 3 additional cups of flour until the dough can be kneaded. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, adding more flour if it is sticky, for about 8 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.
Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, turning the ball to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then a kitchen towel, and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free area until it is doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix the apple, raisins, and nuts with the brown sugar and cinnamon.
When the dough has risen, punch it down. Transfer it to a floured work surface and roll it into a 22-by-11-inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border. Sprinkle the apple mixture evenly over the butter. Starting on the long side, roll the dough into a log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With the seam side down and using a thin, sharp knife, cut the dough crosswise into slices about ¾ inch wide.
Grease a large baking sheet. Arrange the rolls on the sheet, almost touching one another. Cover the rolls loosely with a dishcloth and let rise for 40 to 45 minutes.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 350°F. Bake the rolls until the tops are golden, about 20 minutes, then invert them immediately onto a rack. Cool for 10 minutes. If making icing, mix confectioners’ sugar with milk, adding one tablespoon of milk at a time, until a thick, pourable consistency is achieved. Drizzle over cooled rolls.
Crusty White Bread
The Great Hall of Winterfell was hazy with smoke and heavy with the smell of roasted meat and fresh-baked bread. —A GAME OF THRONES
Makes 3 small loaves Prep: 15 minutes
Dough rising: 3 hours to 2 days Baking: 30 minutes
Pairs well with Stewed Rabbit,
Rack of Lamb, butter and honey
This artisanal bread pairs well with just about any dish. The outside is crusty, the insides soft and moist. This is the ideal bread accompaniment to soups, stews, or even just a large pot of honey.
1½ tablespoons dry yeast (2 packets)
1 to 2 tablespoons honey
3 cups warm water
6½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon coarse salt
⅓ cup cornmeal
Add the yeast and honey to the water and mix it up. Don’t worry if all the yeast does not dissolve; it will finish mixing in the flour. Add the flour and salt and begin working them into the mixture.
Dump the dough onto a clean, floured countertop or board and knead for around 5 minutes, pushing with the heel of your hand, then gathering the dough back into a lump. Knead until the dough becomes one big mass. You will know when it is ready by poking it. When the dough bounces back, you’re all set. If it’s still too sticky, add a little extra flour.
Now place the dough into a large greased bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it sit in a warm place for about 2 hours. You can also put it in the refrigerator overnight; it will rise more slowly. You can even let the dough sit in the fridge for a couple of days, at which point it will begin to take on a slight sourdough taste.
Once the dough has at least doubled in size, divide it into thirds. Pull on each piece to form a ball, tucking all the ends in at the bottom. The balls should be semi-smooth. Dust the top of each round loaf with a bit of flour and make some light slices in the dough with a very sharp knife. Place the balls at least 4 inches apart on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal and allow them to rise, uncovered, for about 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Fill a baking dish or broiler pan with 2 cups of water and place it under the rack where your bread will go. (This is the trick to making a n
ice, crusty loaf of rustic bread. The steam from the water adds a nice crunch to the surface of the loaf.) Bake the loaves for around 30 minutes, until the crusts are a dark golden color and the loaves sound hollow when you tap them.
Salad at Castle Black
“From the Lord Commander’s own table,” Bowen Marsh told them. There were salads of spinach and chickpeas and turnip greens, and afterward bowls of iced blueberries and sweet cream. —A GAME OF THRONES
Salat. Take persel, sawge, grene garlec, chibolles, letys, leek, spinoches, borage, myntes, prymos, violettes, porrettes, fenel, and toun cressis, rosemarye, purslarye; laue and waishe hem clene. Pike hem. Pluk hem small wiþ þyn honde, and myng hem wel with rawe oile; lay on vyneger and salt, and serue it forth.
—THE FORME OF CURY, 14TH CENTURY
Serves 6 to 8 Prep: 10 minutes
Pairs well with Rack of Lamb,
Iced Blueberries in Sweet Cream, dark ale
The original recipe for salad comes from the 14th-century Forme of Cury. We took a few of the suggested greens and added turnip greens, raisins, and roasted chickpeas intended for snacking. We urge you to experiment with other combinations of greens as available, and we especially recommend adding sorrel and borage.
5 cups baby spinach
3 cups turnip greens
1 cup raisins
1 cup roasted chickpeas
Oil and vinegar to taste
Pinch of salt
In a large bowl, combine the greens, raisins, and chickpeas. Drizzle with oil and vinegar to taste, sprinkle with salt, and toss well.
Cook’s Note: The ingredients in the medieval recipe are parsley, sage, green garlic, scallions, lettuce, leek, spinach, borage, mints, primroses, violets, “porrettes” (green onions, scallions, and young leeks), fennel, garden cress, rosemary, and purs-lane.
Mutton in Onion-Ale Broth
The Wall wept and the sun crept across a hard blue sky. Near evenfall, Owen the Oaf returned with a loaf of black bread and a pail of Hobb’s best mutton, cooked in a thick broth of ale and onions.
—A STORM OF SWORDS
Oyle soppes. Take a good quantite of onyons, and myce hem, noyt to smale, & seth hem in faire water, And take hem vppe; and then take a good quantite of stale ale, as .iij. galons, And there-to take a pynte of goode oyle that is fraied, and cast the oynons there-to, And lete al boyle togidre a grete [while]; and caste there-to Saffron and salt, And þen put brede, in maner of brewes, and cast the licour there-on, and serue hit forth hote.
—TWO FIFTEENTH-CENTURY COOKERY-BOOKS
Serves 3 to 4 Soaking wheat berries: 6 hours to overnight
Broth: 1 to 2 hours Prep: 10 minutes Cooking: 30 minutes
Pairs well with Black Bread,
Buttered Carrots, dark beer
This is an ideal meal to make with lamb leftovers, such as one might have after Easter, as it utilizes meaty bones, stale bread, and flat beer. We have added in or changed only a few things in the original 15th-century recipe. The onions go in whole and come out surprisingly sweet, and the flavors in the black bread suit the mutton dish very well. Overall, this is a primitive, hearty soup that is perfect for the brothers of the Night’s Watch.
About 1 pound lamb bones or bony stew meat
8 pearl onions, skinned
1 bottle dark beer, preferably flat
Pinch of saffron (optional)
½ cup wheat berries, soaked until soft (at least 6 hours or overnight)
Salt to taste
½ pound ground lamb, or reserved meat from bones
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or oil
Day-old bread slices, or toasted bread slices of your choice
If you are using stew meat, remove the meat from the bones and set it aside. Place the bones in a large pot, cover with water, and simmer for 1 to 2 hours. Skim the surface of the broth occasionally to remove scum and excess fat.
To the large pot of broth, add the onions, beer, saffron (if using), wheat berries, and salt. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for 15 to 30 minutes. While the broth is cooking, heat the butter in a skillet and gently brown the ground lamb or reserved stew meat. Add the meat to the broth pot and keep the stew warm until you are ready to serve.
Break the bread slices into large pieces and place them in the bottom of individual soup bowls, then ladle the hot soup over the bread. Serve immediately.
Cook’s Note: If you serve the bones with the broth, be sure to warn your diners, lest they be surprised by them. Personally, we love the way the bones look in the bowl, and like a brother of the Night’s Watch, you can then be sure to get every scrap of meat!
Bean-and-Bacon Soup
[Sam] had not eaten since that bowl of bean-and-bacon soup with Pyp and Grenn. Well, except for the bread and cheese, but that was only a nibble, he thought. That was when he took a quick glance at the empty platter, and spied the mouse feasting on the bread crumbs.
—A FEAST FOR CROWS
Traditional Bean-and-Bacon Soup
Soak in lukewarm water a quart of dry beans, lentils, or peas, drain and put them in a crockery kettle, with two leeks, half a head of celery, two middling sized onions, one carrot, two cloves, salt, and pepper, half a pound of bacon, or four ounces of butter; cover entirely with cold broth, set on the fire and boil gently till the whole is well cooked; then take from the fire, throw away the cloves, put the bacon aside, mash the beans and seasonings, strain them, and put back in the kettle with the broth in which they have been cooked; in case there should not be enough to cover the whole, add a little to it, set again on the fire, stir, give one boil, pour on croutons and serve.
—WHAT TO EAT, AND HOW TO COOK IT, 1863
Serves 4 to 6 Prep: 20 minutes Cooking: 1 hour
Pairs well with Black Bread,
Sweetcorn Fritters, sharp cheese, ale
This soup embodies the best kind of stick-to-your-ribs heartiness, ideal for the damp, bone-chilling sort of winter day that is the norm on the Wall. The vegetables all cook down until they are very tender, and each bite of soup contains a bit of everything. The fava beans are unusual enough that they defamiliarize what would otherwise be just a normal soup; it is easy to imagine this being served in the dim, chilly mess hall of Castle Black.
2 leeks (white and light green parts only)
2 stalks celery
2 medium onions
1 carrot
Two 15-ounce cans fava beans (about 4 cups)
2 whole cloves
Salt and ground black pepper
6 cups beef broth
½ pound bacon (6 to 8 strips), cooked crispy and crumbled
To clean the leeks, cut the roots off just above the base. Cut off the tough, dark green top of the leek, and discard or save for making vegetable stock. Slice the stalk in half lengthwise, and rinse, fanning the leaves out to remove the dirt. Slice the leeks into thin crescents, and put into a bowl of water. Swirl the leeks in the water to remove any sediment. Remove the leeks and allow to drain on a towel.
Chop the celery, onions, and carrot into small chunks.
Combine all the ingredients except the bacon in a large pot. Add the broth and as much water as needed to cover everything. Simmer over medium heat for about 1 hour, keeping an eye on the level of the liquid, and adding water if needed.
When all the vegetables have gone soft, ladle out some of the extra broth and reserve it. Remove the cloves.
Mash the soup with a potato masher until there are no whole beans remaining. Don’t be tempted to puree it with a modern device; this would ruin the rugged authenticity. If you want a thinner soup, add some of the reserved broth back in until you get the desired consistency.
Add the bacon, stir to incorporate, and serve.
Modern Bean-and-Bacon Soup
Serves 3 to 4 Prep: 10 minutes Cooking: 20 minutes
Pairs well with Crusty White Bread,
Pork Pie, Honey Biscuits, dry white wine
Wonderfull
y simple yet surprisingly elegant, this soup is rich in flavors without being too heavy. The beans give the soup body, while the feta melts into the puree, creating a near-perfect blend of tastes. The thyme adds a touch of sophistication, and the whole dish comes together beautifully.
3 strips of bacon, plus extra for garnish
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
One 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon dried thyme, plus extra for garnish
2 cups chicken stock
¼ cup feta cheese, plus extra for garnish
¼ cup orzo
1 cup water
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
In a small skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until it is well browned but not burned. Remove to a plate covered with paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon of bacon fat from the pan. Add the olive oil to the remaining fat.
Add the diced onion to the skillet and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until it is just starting to brown. Add the beans, thyme, and stock, then raise the heat to high. Bring the soup to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Half cover with a lid, and cook for 10 minutes.
Puree the soup either with an immersion blender, or in batches with an upright blender. Return the soup to medium heat, then add the feta, orzo, 2 strips of crumbled bacon, and water. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Season with salt and pepper.
Ladle the soup into individual bowls, crumble a bit of the leftover bacon on top, garnish with thyme and feta, and serve.
Pork Pie
“If I could fly, I’d be back at Castle Black eating a pork pie,” said Sam.
—A CLASH OF KINGS
Medieval Pork Pie
A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook Page 3