—LE MENAGIER DE PARIS, 1393
Serves 2 Prep: 15 minutes
Marinating: 1 hour or overnight Roasting: 15 to 25 minutes
Sauce: 15 minutes
Pairs well with Oatbread, Sweetcorn Fritters, mead
At first quite peppery, the sauce quickly mellows into a complex medley of flavors that delights the palate. Cloves are predominant, but despite the quantity, the flavor isn’t overwhelming. The boar itself is like a delicious hybrid—the texture similar to a high-quality cut of steak, and the richness like venison, but without the accompanying gaminess. A medieval must!
4 boar tenderloins, about
¼ pound each
⅛ cup red wine, such as a rioja or Syrah
1 cup apple cider or white grape juice
2 teaspoons Poudre Forte
⅛ cup red wine vinegar
12 to 20 whole cloves
Place the boar tenderloins in a Ziploc bag or a baking dish. Mix the wine, vinegar, and juice with 1 teaspoon of the poudre forte, and pour the marinade over the boar. Allow the meat to sit in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Drain the liquid into a saucepan, and set it aside. Using a sharp paring knife, make small holes in the tenderloins and insert whole cloves into the meat; 3 to 5 cloves per tenderloin should suffice. Sprinkle the remaining 1 teaspoon poudre forte over the tenderloins, pressing the spices into the meat.
Line a baking pan with tinfoil and place the boar on it. Roast the meat for 15 minutes, then check for doneness. Depending on the size of your tenderloins, it may take up to 10 minutes longer.
Remove the boar from the oven and pour any juices from the baking pan into the reserved marinade. Cover the boar to keep it warm.
Simmer the sauce ingredients until they have reduced slightly, around 15 minutes. Pour the sauce over the boar and serve.
Peaches in Honey
When a serving girl brought [Sansa] her supper, she almost kissed her. There was hot bread and fresh-churned butter, a thick beef soup, capon and carrots, and peaches in honey. Even the food tastes sweeter, she thought. —A CLASH OF KINGS
Roman Peaches in Honey-Cumin Sauce
Persica duriora purgabis, frustratim concides, elixas, in patina compones, olei modicum superstillabis et cum cuminato inferes. —APICIUS, 4TH CENTURY
Serves 8 or more Prep: 15 minutes Baking: 30 minutes
Pairs well with Pork Pie,
Honeyed Chicken, Sansa Salad, sweet wine
This is a curious recipe, taken from an ancient Roman text on cookery. The combination of pepper, cumin, and fruit turns familiar flavors into something unusual, each element lingering in its turn on the palate. The dish would work beautifully as a chutney or as a side dish to a meaty main course—it isn’t what most of us consider a dessert. A little bit goes a long way, but this is what your favorite meat course didn’t know it was missing.
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ cup honey
¼ cup white wine vinegar
Pinch of dried mint
4 peaches, ripe or just underripe
2 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roast the cumin in a dry pan until it turns fragrant and just begins to darken; this takes only a few minutes. Mix the roasted cumin with the pepper and set aside.
Mix the honey and vinegar in a saucepan, then cook it over medium heat until the honey has melted into the vinegar. Stir in the spice mix and the mint. Simmer briefly, stirring, until everything is combined.
Peel the peaches, remove the pits, and cut them into slices. Place the peach slices in a large baking pan and toss them with olive oil. Pour the cumin sauce over the peaches and bake for 30 minutes.
Modern Grilled Peaches in Honey
Serves 8 Prep: 5 minutes
Grilling: 8 to 10 minutes Honey glaze: 30 minutes
Pairs well with Modern Bean-and-Bacon Soup,
Beef and Bacon Pie, white wine
These peaches are pure deliciousness. Grilling brings out the fullness of the peach flavors, and they become reminiscent of peach pie filling. The thyme-infused honey takes the sweetness and complexity to the next level. You will want to savor every single bite. Consider adding a dollop of crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream to complete the dish.
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 fresh thyme sprigs, plus more for garnish if desired
4 firm ripe peaches, cut in half, pits discarded
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Mascarpone, crème fraîche, or vanilla ice cream for serving
Chopped nuts for garnish (optional)
In a small pot, whisk together the honey and lemon juice. Add the thyme sprigs and cook over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat, cover it, and let the mixture steep for 15 to 20 minutes. Then discard thyme sprigs and strain the glaze if necessary. You can serve it cold or reheat it when the peaches are ready.
Shortly before you are ready to serve the dessert, put the peach halves in a bowl, drizzle them with oil, and mix them with your hands. Make sure all the peaches are coated with a thin layer of oil. Heat a grill pan.
Put the peaches on the hot pan, cut-side down. Cook them for 4 to 5 minutes, then turn them over. Cook for another 4 minutes, or until the peaches are soft but still firm (they shouldn’t fall apart).
Place the peaches on plates, drizzle them with glaze, and top with a dollop of mascarpone, crème fraîche, or a scoop of ice cream. Decorate with chopped nuts or thyme sprigs.
Apricot Tarts
A man was pushing a load of tarts by on a two-wheeled cart; the smells sang of blueberries and lemons and apricots. [Arya’s] stomach made a hollow rumbly noise. “Could I have one?” she heard herself say.
—A GAME OF THRONES
Medieval Apricot Tarts
Lesshes fryed in lenton. Drawe a thick almande mylke wiþ wat. Take dat and pyke he clene w apples and peere & mynce he w pnes&; take out þ ston out of þ pnes, & kerue the pnes a two. Do þto raisons, sug, flo of canel, hoole macys and clow, gode powdos & salt; colo hem vp with sandr. Meng þise with oile. Make a coffyn as þ didest bifor & do þis fars þin, & bake it wel, and sue it forth.
—THE FORME OF CURY, 14TH CENTURY
Makes eight 4-inch tarts or one 9-inch tart
Prep: 15 minutes Baking: 45 minutes
Pairs well with Almond Crusted Trout,
Salad at Castle Black, semisweet white wine
The original 14th-century recipe for this tart includes several different kinds of fruit but is still delicious when altered to showcase apricots. The yellow-orange of the apricots is beautiful against the red of the sandalwood-tinted creamy filling, and the combination of fresh and dried fruit creates a textural balance.
2 cups almond milk
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground mace
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sandalwood powder, or a few drops of red food coloring
½ cup dried apricots, sliced into thin strips
3 to 5 fresh apricots, diced
½ cup pitted prunes, thinly sliced lengthwise
½ cup currants
1 batch Medieval Pastry Dough, prebaked into one 9-inch shell or eight 4-inch shells
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Mix together the almond milk, sugar, spices, pepper, salt, oil, and sandalwood. The color should be a brilliant red, and the mixture should be thick but runny.
In a separate bowl, combine the fruits. Spread the fruit mixture into the shell, then spoon the almond milk mixture over it.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until the
filling is set and the top has slightly browned. Allow the tart to cool completely before serving.
Modern Apricot Tarts
Makes 4 small tarts Prep: 15 minutes Baking: 25 to 30 minutes
Pairs well with Quails Drowned in Butter,
Sansa Salad, dry white wine
This dessert is beautiful in presentation and has a more delicate taste than tarts that use dried apricots. The fresh fruit is lighter and is accented by the combination of lemon and pistachio.
1 batch Lemon Pastry Dough
5 fresh apricots
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon chopped pistachios
¼ cup tart cherry juice (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll out each piece and press it into a 4-inch tartlet pan.
Cut the apricots into very thin wedges and arrange them in the tart pans, starting from the outside and working in; place the slices curved side up. Sprinkle each tart with 1 teaspoon sugar and some chopped pistachios. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow the tarts to cool completely before removing them from the pans.
If desired, drizzle 1 tablespoon cherry juice over the top of each tart to add color and sweetness.
Lemon Cakes
Later came sweetbreads and pigeon pie and baked apples fragrant with cinnamon and lemon cakes frosted in sugar, but by then Sansa was so stuffed that she could not manage more than two little lemon cakes, as much as she loved them. —A GAME OF THRONES
Elizabethan Lemon Cakes
To Make Lemon Cakes. ½ lb flour, ½ lb fine sugar, the peel of two lemons, or one large one; 3 oz. butter; 3 eggs; ½ the whites. Break the butter into the flour and stir them with a knife. Make them the bigness of a gingerbread button. Grate the lemon peel with a piece of the sugar. Butter the tins. Take them of the tins whilst warm. Place them upon the tins about 2 inches distance because they spread in the oven. Two minutes will bake them. —LUCAYOS COOKBOOK, 1690
Makes 36 small cakes Prep: 5 minutes Baking: 15 minutes
Pairs well with Roasted Boar, Leek Soup,
Iced Green Minty Drink
Falling somewhere between cakes and cookies, these chewy lemon delights are both addictive and easy to make. They have an elegant simplicity and a delicate sweetness that renders them the ideal companions for afternoon tea, whether in London or King’s Landing.
2½ cups flour, plus more as needed
2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Grated zest from 2 lemons
1 egg
2 egg yolks
⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar
1½ teaspoons milk
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a large baking sheet.
In a large bowl, combine the flour and granulated sugar. Cut in the butter, then add the zest and the whole egg and yolks. Mix thoroughly, adding more flour as needed, until the dough is no longer sticky and can be easily shaped by hand.
Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch across and place them on the prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart, giving them room to spread as they bake.
Bake for 15 minutes, until the tops are just slightly golden. Allow the cakes to cool for a minute before moving them to a cooling rack.
Mix the confectioners’ sugar and milk to a smooth consistency. Once the cakes have cooled, use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the cookies.
Modern Lemon Cakes
Makes 45 to 60 mini cakes
Prep: 15 minutes Baking: 30 minutes Icing: 20 minutes
Pairs well with everything
Similar to French petit fours, these modern lemon cakes are just as addictive as the cakes produced by the Elizabethan recipe, but are sweeter and heavier than their historical counterparts.
For the Cake:
2½ cups all-purpose flour, well leveled
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
1½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Juice from ½ lemon
2 to 4 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 cup whole milk
For the Icing:
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
⅓ cup lemon juice, plus more if needed
1 teaspoon unsalted butter, softened
Yellow food coloring (optional)
Garnishes such as candied orange peel, pomegranate seeds, or decorative sprinkles (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom of an 11-by-7-inch baking pan, line the bottom with parchment, butter again, and dust with flour; tap out any extra flour.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add lemon juice and lemon zest, mixing until just combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three batches and the milk in two, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Don’t overmix!
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top of the cake should be just turning golden. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out and cool it for another 15 minutes. Place the cake in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Cut the chilled cake into cubes and set them aside. It’s now time for the icing!
Mix the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice together in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring all the while. Stir in the butter. Mix until the icing is a nice, smooth consistency, suitable for pouring. Add more juice, if necessary. If you would like, tint the icing yellow with food coloring.
Drizzle icing over each cube of cake, making sure to cover the sides. Coat the cake only once, then let it cool for a minute. If desired, garnish with a piece of candied orange peel, a pomegranate seed, or decorative sprinkles. Let the icing cool completely and set before moving or serving the cakes.
Iced Milk with Honey
“Would you care for refreshments? Some dates, perhaps? I have some very fine persimmons as well. Wine no longer agrees with my digestion, I fear, but I can offer you a cup of iced milk, sweetened with honey. I find it most refreshing in this heat.” —A GAME OF THRONES
Serves 1 Prep: 5 minutes Chilling: 1 hour at least
Pairs well with Modern Honey Biscuits,
Modern Cheese-and-Onion Pie
For many of us, pouring milk over ice is counterintuitive, but the addition of the honey makes this more than milk. It’s clean and refreshing, and if you use the spices, you’ll find they lend it a subtle, exotic feel. Definitely a must for the hot, muggy weather of summer in King’s Landing.
1 cup part-skim or whole milk
2 tablespoons honey, or to taste
Pinch of saffron and/or cinnamon (optional)
Pour milk into a saucepan and warm it over low heat. Do not scald the milk! When steam begins to rise from the surface, add the honey and stir until combined. Place the sweetened milk in the fridge to cool off.
To serve, place either cubes or small chunks of ice (crushed ice dissolves too quickly) into a glass. Pour the sweetened milk over the ice, sprinkle with spices, if desired, and serve.
Breakfast in Dorne
[T]hey 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
Serves 3 to 4 Prep: 10 minutes Cooking: 25 minutes
Pairs well with Flatbread,
Fingerfish, Lemonsweet
If you like spicy food, you will enjoy this br
eakfast. It is a warm scramble of eggs with onion, cheese, and pepper, served with a heap of sautéed onions and fiery peppers. The result is a mouthwatering medley of flavors that embodies the heat of the Dornish landscape and the fiery pride of the Dornish people. Although this dish is very spicy, the heat is not cumulative. It quickly becomes hot, but it maintains that same mouthwatering level of heat straight through to the end.
1 jalapeño pepper
1 green cubanelle pepper
1 orange bell pepper
2 cherry bell peppers, in different colors
2 poblano peppers, red and green
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
4 or 5 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed
1 ice cube
6 eggs
¼ cup grated cheddar cheese
3 pinches of salt
Ground black pepper
Chop all the peppers roughly. Take a colorful mixture of these pepper pieces and mince enough to make about 3 tablespoons; set this aside. Likewise, mince 3 tablespoons of the onions and set aside.
Pour 4 or 5 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan over medium heat. Add the coarsely chopped onion and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until the pieces are just starting to soften. Add the coarsely chopped peppers, and additional oil as needed to keep the peppers from burning. Sauté for another 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the ice cube, cover the pan, and steam the vegetables for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the peppers are somewhat softened. Transfer the vegetables to a plate and keep them warm.
In the same pan, sauté the reserved minced onions and peppers over low heat for about 1 minute. Add the eggs, but do not stir. Sprinkle the cheese over the eggs as they begin to cook, then add the salt and about 1 teaspoon pepper. Then scramble the eggs, keeping them moving in the pan until the whites cease to be runny. The moment this occurs, immediately remove the pan from the heat.
A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook Page 11