1 sheet puff pastry or 24 mini tart shells
8 ounces smoked fish of your choice (we used trout)
16 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage ½ pint blackberries
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Break the fish into small chunks. Mix together the cream cheese, cream, sage, and smoked fish. If using puff pastry, roll it out as thin as you can and cut it into 3-inch circles.
Scoop up 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture and form it into a roughly round shape; place it in the middle of a pastry circle and wrap the sides around the filling (or place the filling in the premade pastry shell). Press a blackberry onto the top of each tart. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the blackberries have darkened. Serve immediately.
Cheese-and-Onion Pie
Moon Boy mounted his stilts and strode around the tables in pursuit of Lord Tyrell’s ludicrously fat fool Butterbumps, and the lords and ladies sampled roast herons and cheese-and-onion pies. —A STORM OF SWORDS
Medieval Cheese-and-Onion Pie
Tart in ymbre day. Take and pboile oynons psse out wat & hewe he smale. Take brede & bray it i a mort, and temp it up w ayren. Do þto butt, safron and salt, & raisons corans, & a litel sug with powdo douce, and bake it i a trap, & sue it forth. —THE FORME OF CURY, 14TH CENTURY
Serves 6 to 8 Prep: 15 minutes Baking: 30 to 45 minutes
Pairs well with Aurochs Roasted with Leeks,
White Beans and Bacon, dry white wine
This makes a quirky quiche-like pie, in which the basil and fruit are the stars. The currants are a surprising and pleasant sweetness at the end of every bite. The pie is delicious on its own and nicely accompanies any sort of roasted meat.
½ batch Medieval Pastry Dough, unbaked
3 to 4 medium onions, finely chopped or thinly sliced
Fresh herbs, 1 sprig each sage, basil, and thyme
¼ cup dried currants
2 tablespoons flour
1 grated cup of your favorite creamy cheese, such as Havarti or Muenster
8 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
¼ teaspoon saffron
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Poudre Douce
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Roll out the pastry dough, fit it into the bottom of a pie or quiche pan, and set it aside.
Parboil the onions and herbs for 5 minutes, then drain them well. Press the herbs dry and chop them finely. Toss the currants with flour; this will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the pie.
Combine the onions, herbs, currants, cheese, eggs, butter, saffron, salt, and poudre douce in a bowl. Mix them thoroughly and pour the filling into the prepared pastry shell.
Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the pastry dough is browned. Remove from oven, and serve while still warm.
Modern Cheese-and-Onion Pie
Serves 6 to 8 Prep: 15 minutes Baking: 35 to 45 minutes
Pairs well with Pease Porridge,
Modern Honey Biscuits, Iced Milk with Honey
If you are looking for a hearty winter meal to warm your insides and stick to your ribs, this is the recipe. Based on a British recipe, this pie is both creamy and heavy. It has an au gratin feel, but serves as either a side dish or a meal unto itself.
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon flour
¼ cup whole milk
¼ cup heavy cream
1½ cups grated aged cheddar cheese
½ teaspoon English mustard
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1 batch Medieval Pastry Dough, unbaked, rolled into 2 rounds
1 egg white for glaze (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Boil the potatoes in salted water for 10 to 15 minutes, then drain and set them aside.
Boil the chopped onions in salted water for 2 to 3 minutes, then drain and return them to the saucepan. Coat the onions with the flour, then add the milk and cream to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, for 3 or 4 minutes, until the liquid is smooth and slightly thickened. Add the potatoes, cheese, mustard, and cayenne; stir well. Season with salt and pepper.
Grease a pie tin and line the base and sides with a round of dough. Prick the base of the pastry several times with a fork. Pour the pie filling into the pastry shell. Brush the rim of the pastry shell with beaten egg or water and place the second pastry round onto the pie. Trim the excess pastry and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Make four small holes in the center of the pastry lid and brush with the remaining egg white, if using.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool to just above room temperature before serving.
Pigeon Pie
“My uncle hasn’t eaten his pigeon pie.” Holding the chalice one-handed, Joff jammed his other into Tyrion’s pie. “It’s ill luck not to eat the pie.…”
—A STORM OF SWORDS
Season your pigeons with peper saffron cloves and mace with vergis and salt then put them into your paest and so close them vp and bake them these will bake in halfe an houre then take them forth and if ye thynke them drye take a litle vergis and butter and put to them and so serue them.
—A PROPRE NEW BOOKE OF COKERY, 1545
Serves 6 to 8 Prep: 1½ hours Baking: 30 minutes
Pairs well with Buttered Carrots,
Sweet Pumpkin Soup, red wine
Pigeon meat is dark, like duck, although not nearly as fatty. The silky texture of the meat is the real showstopper—wonderfully soft and tender, complementing the light, flaky pastry crust. Although we used the suggested spices from a medieval pigeon pie recipe, we made ours with vegetables too, much like a chicken pot pie, so it oozes with vegetables and a creamy sauce. Because of the richness of the pigeon, a small slice will satisfy, and it’s best paired with an assortment of sides.
5 pigeons, cleaned and dressed
A few fresh cloves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 leeks (white and light green parts only), well washed and thinly sliced
1 medium turnip, diced (about 1½ to taste cups total)
½ cup sliced mushrooms
Roux
1 cup chicken stock
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon mace
Salt and ground black pepper
1 batch Medieval Pastry Dough, unbaked, rolled
Beaten egg for glaze (optional) into 2 rounds
Put the pigeons in a large pot and just cover them with water. Throw in the cloves, simmer for around 45 minutes, and drain, reserving the broth. Pluck the meat from the breasts. Cut it into long strips and set it aside. (There is so little meat on the rest of the pigeon that the carcasses can be discarded after this.)
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a skillet, melt the butter and sauté the leeks until they are soft, but not brown. Add the turnip and mushrooms and stir until the pieces are all coated in butter. Add a splash of the reserved pigeon broth, then cover and simmer until the turnips are soft.
Make the roux, then pour in the chicken stock. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture has thickened and is smooth. Whisk in the cream, mace, and salt and pepper. Pour your cooked vegetables and pigeon meat into this creamy sauce and stir well.
Grease a pie tin and line the base and sides with a round of pastry dough. Prick the base of the pastry several times with a fork. Pour the filling into the pastry shell. Brush the rim of it with beaten egg or water, and place the second pastry round onto the pie. Trim the excess pastry and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Make four small holes in the center of the pastry lid and brush with the remaining egg, if using. Bake for around 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden.
White Beans and Bacon
Then came lampre
y pie, honeyed ham, buttered carrots, white beans and bacon, and roast swan stuffed with mushrooms and oysters.
—A CLASH OF KINGS
Medieval White Beans and Bacon
Benes yfryed. Take benes and seeþ he almost til þey bersten. Take and wryng out wat clene. Do þto oynons ysode and ymynced, and garlec þw; frye hem i oile oþ i grece, & do þto powdo douce, & sue it forth.
—THE FORME OF CURY, 14TH CENTURY
Serves 4 to 6 Soaking beans: overnight
Prep: 5 to 10 minutes Cooking: 15 minutes
Pairs well with Rack of Lamb,
Black Bread, dark beer
Roughly chopped lardons paired with the buttery beans make for a lovely mouthful—the beans really soak up the flavor of the bacon. The onions offer a bit of caramelized sweetness at the end of every bite.
4 slices bacon, roughly chopped
1 cup dried white beans, soaked overnight, or one 16-ounce can white beans
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon Poudre Douce
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it is done to your taste, transfer it to a separate plate, leaving the bacon grease in the pan. Sauté the onion and garlic in the bacon drippings until soft.
Turn down the heat to medium and add the bacon, beans, and spices to the onions. Stir until all ingredients are hot. Serve immediately.
Tip: For a slightly more modern twist, try seasoning this dish with a dash of sambar powder and just a touch of sugar instead of the poudre douce.
Modern White Beans and Bacon
Serves 6 to 8 Soaking beans: overnight
Prep: 10 minutes Cooking: 15 minutes
Pairs well with Pork Pie, Modern Arya Tarts
This dish is incredible. Curly endive is reminiscent of broccoli rabe; its slight bitterness is balanced phenomenally by the sweetness of the onions. The dish is quick to prepare and can easily be scaled up for more people.
4 pieces bacon, roughly chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 head curly endive, leaves rinsed and torn
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup dried white beans, soaked overnight, or one 16-ounce can white beans
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and set it on paper towels to drain. Add the onion to the drippings, and sauté until tender.
Add half the endive leaves and cover the pot, cooking until the endive is wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining endive and the garlic, then cover and cook until the endive has wilted again.
Add the beans and bacon, cooking until the beans are heated through, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Bowls of Brown
In the Bottom there were pot-shops along the alleys where huge tubs of stew had been simmering for years … but the brown wasn’t so bad. It usually had barley in it, and chunks of carrot and onion and turnip, and sometimes even apple, with a film of grease swimming on top.
—A GAME OF THRONES
Serves 10 to 12 Prep: 5 minutes Cooking: 8 hours
Pairs well with Black Bread,
Tyroshi Honeyfingers, dark beer
For a truly authentic taste of Flea Bottom—the seething heart of King’s Landing—one looks to the pot-shops. This recipe matches the original description, in that it is thick and full of a variety of meats and vegetables and, because it’s intended for the poor, entirely without frills. It’s more a curiosity than something to serve at a nice dinner party, but it could be dressed up to suit your tastes. (The optional seasonings at the end of the ingredients list may not all be available in King’s Landing, but they will make Bowls of Brown far tastier.) Be innovative, and use whatever combination of meats you desire. Stirring up the pot to see what is on the bottom becomes a kind of adventure, as bones large and small turn up amid the barley and shreds of meat.
About 5 pounds mixed meat, for example:
2 pounds beef soup bones or ribs
2 cups cubed goat meat
1 pound top round steak, cut into small pieces
2 chicken thighs
1 whole game hen
3 cups dark beer
Beef broth
1 cup barley
2 apples, cored and chopped
1 cup pearl onions, peeled
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons Poudre Forte
Flavoring such as liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, or molasses (optional)
This recipe is ideal for cooking in a slow cooker; you’ll need the largest size insert available. Add all your meat to the pot. Pour in the beer, add beef broth to cover, and set the temperature to medium high. Let cook for about 6 hours. Add the barley, apple, pearl onions, carrots, and seasonings, continue to simmer for another two hours, and serve.
If you don’t have a slow cooker, follow the above directions, using a large pot over medium heat. Adjust the burner temperature to ensure a slow, gentle simmer. Keep an eye on the level of liquid and add more if needed.
Tip: If you find your stew isn’t thickening satisfactorily, try adding a roux.
Cook’s Note: If you are putting a whole bird into the pot, be sure to warn your guests about the possibility of small bones. When we served this, we turned the meal into a competition to see who had the most bones left in the bowl at the end, and named the winner “Rattleshirt.”
Quails Drowned in Butter
This evening they had supped on oxtail soup, summer greens tossed with pecans, grapes, red fennel, and crumbled cheese, hot crab pie, spiced squash, and quails drowned in butter. Lord Janos allowed that he had never eaten half so well. —A CLASH OF KINGS
Serves 2 Prep: 15 minutes
Marinating: 1 hour or overnight Cooking: 10 to 15 minutes
Pairs well with Summer Greens Salad,
Turnips in Butter, red or white wine
This recipe is a bit labor-intensive, but the result is worth it. The apple slices sweeten the quail from the inside out, and the sauce is lovely and complex. When it comes to quail, there is only a small amount of meat on each bird, but it is rich, so your guests should be as well fed as they will be impressed by receiving two quails on their plates.
1 small apple, cored and quartered
4 whole quails
Elizabethan Butter Sauce
Unsalted butter
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 spoonful honey (optional)
Place a piece of apple inside the cavity of each quail. With the breast side up, fold the legs up and over toward the neck, and tie with string under the neck. Fold the wings around so the tips lie in between the trussed legs and the breast. This will keep them from burning. You may also truss the quail as you would a chicken or turkey.
Pour the Elizabethan Butter Sauce along with the quails into a large Ziploc bag. If you are doing this the day before serving, put the birds in the fridge to marinate overnight. Otherwise, leave the birds at room temperature for 1 hour.
When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425°F.
Transfer the quails to a baking dish and place them breast side up. Rub the quails with the butter, salt, and pepper. Pour the butter sauce marinade into a frying pan and cook it over medium-high heat. Let it reduce until slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. You can add a little honey if you want to increase the syrupy consistency.
When the marinade has reduced, brush the quails with the sauce. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the juices run yellow.
Cook’s Note: Consider serving the dish with white wine in summer and red in winter.
Almond Crusted Trout
Hamish left them, his place taken by a smallish elderly bear who danced clumsily to pipe and drum while the wedding guests ate trout in a crust of crushed almonds. —A STORM OF SWORDS
Serves 2 Prep: 15 minutes Grillin
g: 1 hour
Pairs well with Modern White Beans and Bacon,
Medieval Armored Turnips, white wine
The crust, which doubles as an awesome stuffing, has a sweetness reminiscent of other sweet-savory medieval recipes, with the almonds and lemon really punching through. It helps keep the fish moist and tender, flaking off the bone. We made this recipe with whole fish, but it’s also great for fillets. The key is to cook it slowly at a low heat, to ensure that the crust doesn’t burn and the fish doesn’t dry out.
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
½ cup chopped or ground almonds (we chopped almonds, then pounded them with a mortar and pestle)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup bread crumbs
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup lemon juice
1 egg
½ cup flour
2 small cleaned and gutted trout, or 4 trout fillets
Heat a grill to low or preheat the oven to 275°F.
Mix the herbs, shallots, almonds, salt, and bread crumbs together by hand or in a food processor. Add in the garlic, lemon juice, and egg and mix until uniform in texture. Put the flour into a shallow bowl and dredge the fish in the flour. Gently pack the almond mixture inside and around the fish. Grill or bake for about 1 hour, or until the crust is just crispy and the fish is cooked through. Plate and serve.
Roasted Boar
“Sansa,” Lady Alerie broke in, “you must be very hungry. Shall we have a bite of boar together, and some lemon cakes?” —A STORM OF SWORDS
Primo le convient mettre en eaue boulant, et bien tost retraire et boutonner de giroffle; mettre rostir, et baciner de sausse faicte d’espices, c’est assavoir gingembre, canelle, giroffle, graine, poivre long et noix muguettes, destrempé de vertjus, vin et vinaigre, et sans boulir l’en baciner; et quant il sera rosti, si boulez tout ensemble. Et ceste sausse est appellée queue de sanglier, et la trouverez cy-après
A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook Page 10