A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook
Page 8
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup wine (a sweet red, such as Shiraz, is great)
Pinch of saffron
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of ground mace
Pinch of ground cloves
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
½ cup honey
1 pint blueberries
½ cup chopped dates
1 batch Medieval Pastry Dough, prebaked in eight 4-inch tart pans and cooled
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, wine, saffron, and other spices. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove it from the heat. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, whole egg, and honey together. While beating, add ¼ cup of the hot milk mixture. Pour the egg mixture back into the pot with the hot liquid, whisking vigorously to avoid curdling.
Evenly spread the blueberries and dates into the cooled pie shells. Spoon the cream mixture over the fruit and into the shells. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the filling has set. Allow tarts to cool before slicing and serving.
Modern Blueberry Tarts
Makes one 9-inch tart to serve 6 to 8
Prep: 5 minutes Baking: 1 hour
Pairs well with Sansa Salad,
Medieval Leek Soup, champagne
These tarts are a favorite. They are delightfully fruity, but not overly sweet, relying on the natural flavor and sweetness of the berries to carry the dish. Served with a side of vanilla ice cream and a glass of champagne, this tart is the perfect summertime dessert.
1 batch Lemon Pastry Dough
2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar
2 pints blueberries
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Press the dough into the bottom of a 9-inch round or square tart pan to an even thickness. Pour in as many berries as can fit in a single layer. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the berries evenly, and pop the tart into the oven for 1 hour, or until the filling starts to bubble.
Remove the tart from the oven, top with any remaining blueberries, and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Allow the tart to cool in the pan to room temperature before turning out and serving. Can also be served chilled.
Poached Pears
The war had not touched the fabled bounty of Highgarden. While singers sang and tumblers tumbled, they began with pears poached in wine.…
—A CLASH OF KINGS
Medieval Poached Pears
Wardonys in syryp.—Take wardonys, an caste on a potte, and boyle hem till þey ben tender; þan take hem vp and pare hem, and kytte hem in to pecys; take y-now of powder of canel, a good quantyte, an caste it on red wyne, an draw it þorw a straynour; caste sugre þer-to, an put it [in] an erþen pot, an let it boyle: an þanne caste þe perys þer-to, an let boyle to-gederys, an whan þey have boyle a whyle, take pouder of gyngere an caste þer-to, an a lytil venegre, an a lytil safron … —TWO FIFTEENTH-CENTURY COOKERY-BOOKS
Serves 2 to 4 Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes Sauce: 20 minutes
Pairs well with Oatbread,
Modern Stewed Rabbit, red wine
Imbued with a vibrant pink color from the wine, these pears have a soft, warm texture and aren’t overly sweet. The taste is reminiscent of mulled wine redolent with spices—an authentically medieval dessert, but every bit as delicious and satisfying as a modern dish.
2 to 4 firm, ripe, unblemished pears
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups red wine
½ cup sugar or honey
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Pinch of saffron (optional)
Pinch of ground cloves (optional)
Parboil the pears in a large pot of water for about 5 minutes, then remove and peel. The pears look better presented whole, but can also be cut lengthwise, with their cores removed, if desired.
Heat the cinnamon, wine, and sugar in a pan over low heat until the mixture forms a smooth syrup.
Add the pears to the syrup and poach gently for about 10 minutes, keeping the syrup just below the simmering point to prevent the pears from falling apart. Near the end of the cooking period, add the ginger and vinegar, and, if you’re using them, the saffron and cloves.
Let the pears cool in the syrup. If you have a lot of syrup left over, boil it down until it reduces somewhat, then pour it over the pears.
Modern Poached Pears
Serves 6 Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking: 15 to 20 minutes Sauce: 15 minutes
Pairs well with Duck with Lemons,
Honey Biscuits, Tyroshi Pear Brandy, vanilla ice cream
This is an exquisite dessert. The caramel sauce is warm and gooey, with a subtle citrus flavor. It tastes of autumn—of crisp days spent in an orchard and evenings by the fire.
2 oranges
3 cups sugar
1⅔ cups water
6 large firm pears, peeled and cut flat on the base so that they stand upright
1 cup heavy cream
2 to 3 tablespoons Calvados
2 tablespoons honey
Vanilla ice cream or additional heavy cream For serving
Peel the oranges with a vegetable peeler; set aside the strips of zest, then juice the oranges.
Place the sugar in the center of a saucepan large enough to hold all the pears snugly. Add the honey and pour ⅔ cup of the water around the outside of the sugar. Heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved, gently stirring with a wooden spoon. Once the mixture starts to simmer, do not stir again. Watch for sugar crystals on the side of the pan and, if you see some, wash them down with a wet pastry brush. While you cook the syrup, heat the remaining 1 cup water until it boils.
Once the sugar mixture is a rich amber color (10 to 15 minutes), add the hot water, orange juice, orange peel, and pears. Do this very carefully, as the caramel will spatter. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the pears are tender. Remove the pears and set them aside.
Remove the lid and add the cream and Calvados, then continue to simmer without the lid until the caramel has reduced by about a third. Serve with vanilla ice cream or more cream drizzled on top.
Cook’s Note: For an even more autumnal taste, try adding a pinch of cinnamon and ginger to the caramel along with the orange juice and pears.
Cream Swans
For the sweet, Lord Caswell’s servants brought down trays of pastries from his castle kitchens, cream swans and spun-sugar unicorns, lemon cakes in the shape of roses, spiced honey biscuits and blackberry tarts, apple crisps and wheels of buttery cheese. —A CLASH OF KINGS
Makes 6 to 8 swans
Prep: 30 minutes Baking: 1 hour 20 minutes
Pairs well with Trout Wrapped in Bacon,
Traditional Buttered Beets, any after-dinner liqueur
Absolutely delicious and beautiful in presentation, these swans involve a bit of preparation and assembly, but the oohs and aahs they produce from guests make the effort well worth it. The crispiness of the meringue combines with the frozen yogurt for a meltingly good partnership of texture and taste.
6 egg whites
½ teaspoon flour
1½ cups sugar (superfine is best)
Slivered almonds
High-quality vanilla ice cream,
frozen yogurt, gelato, or sorbet
Preheat the oven to 225°F.
Using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites and flour until soft peaks form. Gradually add in the sugar and beat on medium high until stiff peaks form (about 5 minutes—hang in there!). Load the mixture into a pastry bag (a large Ziploc with a corner snipped off works in a pinch). For beginning sculptors, select a basic round tip; the more adventurous can experiment with a variety of tips to get the look of feathers.
Place the template (see this page) under a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper and pipe out the shapes for the base, wings, and neck with the head at one end. Place a slivered almond in each head for a b
eak. Keep in mind that meringue is fragile, and you will probably break a few elements, so make a few extra wings and necks.
Bake for about 40 minutes, then check on the necks, as they will finish first. Remove them if they are done, and continue to bake the rest of the pieces for about 40 minutes more. The finished meringue pieces should be light, dry, and crunchy. They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
To assemble the swans, lay out a base on a serving dish. Using a small ice cream scoop, make small balls of ice cream. Lay these on top of the base and attach the remaining elements of the swan. The wings go on the sides, and the neck on the front (use a chopstick or something similar to create a hole in the ice cream for the neck). Repeat to assemble all the remaining swans. Serve immediately.
Click here to download as a PDF.
Honey Biscuits
For the sweet, Lord Caswell’s servants brought down trays of pastries from his castle kitchens, cream swans and spun-sugar unicorns, lemon cakes in the shape of roses, spiced honey biscuits and blackberry tarts, apple crisps and wheels of buttery cheese. —A CLASH OF KINGS
Medieval Honey Biscuits
Crispels. Take and make a foile of gode past as thynne as paper; kerue it out wyt a saucer & frye it in oile; oþer in grece; and þe remnaunt, take hony clarified and flamme þerwith. Alye hem vp and serue hem forth.
—CURYE ON INGLYSCH, 14TH CENTURY
Makes about 20 biscuits Prep: 10 minutes Frying: 20 minutes
Pairs well with any pie,
Bean-and-Bacon Soup, hot beverages
These biscuits have a homey authenticity that comes from the use of plain pastry dough, dripping with honey and covered in cinnamon. They taste of warm cottages and comfort in a world where winter is coming.
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
Cold water
Olive oil or unsalted butter
¼ cup honey
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Mix together the flour and salt. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until the dough has the texture of coarse bread crumbs. Gradually stir in just enough cold water that the dough sticks together. Be careful not to overwork it or add too much water.
Roll out the pastry to ¼-inch thickness and cut it into circles about 2 inches across.
Fry the pastry in a pan coated with a little olive oil or butter over medium heat, until lightly brown and crisp, being careful not to burn the pastry. This should take about 3 minutes. Drain well on paper towels. Meanwhile, place the honey in a saucepan and slowly bring it to a boil. Brush the pastries with the hot honey, sprinkle them with cinnamon, and serve hot.
Cook’s Note: In place of a fresh batch of dough, feel free to utilize the leftovers from any of our pie recipes.
Modern Honey Biscuits
Makes 16 biscuits Prep: 10 minutes Baking: 15 minutes
Pairs well with Beef and Bacon Pie,
Sister’s Stew, Iced Milk with Honey
These biscuits are incredibly fragrant and bursting with spicy favor. They are served best warm with a tall glass of milk.
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or mixed spice
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
½ cup honey
1 cup raw sugar for decorating
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Either line two baking sheets with parchment paper or plan to bake in two batches.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, granulated sugar, and ginger. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Heat the honey in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is warm and runny (or microwave it for 1 minute). Add the honey to the flour mixture and work with a wooden spoon or spatula until a soft dough forms.
Pour the raw sugar into a bowl. Roll the dough into 2-inch balls and coat them with raw sugar. Place eight balls onto each prepared baking sheet, without flattening them; leave room around the sides for spreading. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the tops of the biscuits are just cracked. Let them stand on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
Eat the biscuits right away or store them in an airtight container for up to a week.
Breakfast in King’s Landing
Cersei Lannister was breaking her fast when Sansa was ushered into her solar. “You may sit,” the queen said graciously. “Are you hungry?” She gestured at the table. There was porridge, honey, milk, boiled eggs, and crisp fried fish. —A CLASH OF KINGS
Serves 2 Porridge: 10 minutes to overnight
Fingerfish: 20 minutes Eggs: 5 to 10 minutes
This makes for a satisfying start to any day. The saltiness of the fingerfish is a flavorful counterpart to the sweetness of the honeyed porridge. The texturally aware eater will delight in the wide array provided by this spread: crunchy fish, soft porridge, thick honey, firm egg. Alternatively, present the selection as a smorgasbord so that guests can pick and choose.
1 recipe Traditional Fingerfish, cooked and kept warm
1½ cups steel cut oats, soaked in water overnight
Milk (whatever you most commonly use is fine)
4 hard- or soft-boiled eggs (see this page or this page)
Berries, brown sugar, diced apples, nuts, honey, and other porridge toppings
Drain the soaked oats and pour them into a pot, adding just enough milk to cover them. Place the lid on the pot and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the eggs to your liking.
Arrange all the breakfast elements on your plate, and enjoy!
Fingerfish
In the Queen’s Ballroom they broke their fast on honeycakes baked with blackberries and nuts, gammon steaks, bacon, fingerfish crisped in breadcrumbs, autumn pears, and a Dornish dish of onions, cheese, and chopped eggs cooked up with fiery peppers. —A STORM OF SWORDS
Traditional Fingerfish
Makes 10 fingerfish Prep: 10 minutes Frying: 15 minutes
Pairs well with breakfasts,
Traditional Bean-and-Bacon Soup,
Crusty White Bread
The traditional recipe is one made on the Turkish coast of the Black Sea, where these fantastic little fish are a staple food. The outside is crunchy from the cornmeal breading, while the inside is tender and moist. Just a pinch of salt brings out the taste of the fish, while a bit of lemon is a classic pairing.
10 hamsi (European anchovies), or other very small fresh fish such as sardines or smelt
1 cup cornmeal
Oil for frying
Pinch of salt
½ lemon (optional)
You may either fry the little fish whole or take their heads off first. When they are sufficiently small, such as hamsi, they do not require deboning, but can be eaten whole.
Rinse the fish under cold water, then dip them in the cornmeal, coating them thoroughly.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the fish until they are lightly golden on both sides. Sprinkle with salt and squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over the fish, if desired, before serving.
Modern Fingerfish
Serves 2 Prep: 15 minutes Frying: 10 minutes
Pairs well with Pease Porridge,
Modern Bean-and-Bacon Soup, Lemonsweet
This is a fish stick in perfect form. Miles beyond anything that came out of your mom’s freezer when growing up, the batter is crispy, the fish tender and flaky. Add a squeeze of lemon and some tartar sauce, and you’ll feel like a kid again.
1 pound halibut
⅓ cup flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
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br /> 3 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges for serving (optional)
Tartar sauce for serving (optional)
Cut the halibut into roughly fish-stick-shaped rectangles, and pat the pieces dry with a paper towel. Set out three shallow bowls and fill them with the flour, egg, and bread crumbs, respectively. Roll the fish pieces in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs, covering every surface, and set them aside.
Melt the butter and olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the fish to the pan, and brown it on every side. Drain the fish pieces on paper towels. Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce on the side, if you like.
Sweetcorn Fritters
Tyrion listened with half a ear, as he sampled sweetcorn fritters and hot oatbread baked with bits of date, apple, and orange, and gnawed on the rib of a wild boar. —A STORM OF SWORDS
Serves 2 to 3 Prep: 5 minutes Cooking: 5 to 10 minutes
Pairs well with Oatbread,
Roasted Boar, light beer, such as a lager or pilsner
These are so very delicious. The batter crisps up during the frying, but the kernels of corn maintain their fantastic fresh pop. The result is a textural tug-of-war that will have you grabbing fritter after fritter. Given the lack of corn in Medieval Europe, there are no extant recipes for corn fritters from that time period. As such, we have created a recipe that produces corn fritters that are flavorful, aesthetically consistent with Martin’s description, and would pair well with the other foods he mentions in the passage.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
Kernels from 2 ears cooked corn, or 2 cups frozen or drained, canned corn
¼ cup milk
1 large egg
⅓ cup yellow cornmeal
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of ground black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil