Serve the eggs and peppers side by side. Grind a little more black pepper over the eggs for presentation.
Cook’s Note: We’ve listed the peppers that we used to make this dish, but you should improvise according to your spice sensitivity. Still, we would insist on including at least one orange or yellow bell pepper. These are sweet rather than spicy, but will pick up some of the heat of the other peppers in the pan.
Flatbread
A serving man brought [Doran Martell] a bowl of purple olives, with flatbread, cheese, and chickpea paste. He ate a bit of it, and drank a cup of the sweet, heavy strongwine that he loved. —A FEAST FOR CROWS
Traditional Flatbread
Makes 4 flat loaves Prep: 15 minutes
Rising: 2 hours total Baking: 6 to 8 minutes
Pairs well with Duck with Lemons,
Chickpea Paste, wildflower honey, sweet wine
This is a traditional Turkish recipe and could easily grace a table in Dorne. It results in a wonderfully soft and addictive bread that is equally good with honey, hummus, or a meat course.
1½ cups water
4½ teaspoons dry yeast (2 packets)
1 teaspoon sugar
4 cups flour, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg, beaten, for glaze
Black sesame or poppy seeds (optional)
To make the sponge, heat ½ cup of the water until it is just warm, then dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water and let the mixture stand in a warm place for 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in ½ cup of the flour, cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise for 30 minutes.
Heat the remaining 1 cup water until it is lukewarm. Put the remaining 3½ cups flour in a large bowl, make a well in the center, and add the sponge, salt, olive oil, and lukewarm water. Gradually work this into the flour to make a soft, sticky dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 15 minutes, then put the dough in a buttered bowl, cover loosely, and let rise for 1 hour.
Punch the dough down and divide it into quarters, shaping each into a ball. Then loosely cover the balls and let them rest for an additional 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 550°F.
Wet your hands and shape each piece of dough into a circle by flattening the dough and stretching it to about a ½-inch thickness. Glaze the round with a generous amount of egg and sprinkle it with seeds, if desired. Press your fingertips firmly into the dough, creating indentations over the whole surface. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until golden. The bread is best served warm with honey, but will keep for several days in an airtight container.
Modern Flatbread
Makes 15 to 20 small flatbreads
Prep: 10 minutes Rising: 1 hour Baking: 3 to 5 minutes each
Pairs well with Chickpea Paste,
Modern Bean-and-Bacon Soup,
olives, feta cheese, honey, sweet wine
This is a straightforward recipe for pita bread and is easy to make. Each piece comes steaming hot from the oven, easy to split open and stuff with your choice of filling.
2¼ teaspoons dry yeast (1 packet)
1 teaspoon honey
1¼ teaspoons salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups warm water
Dissolve the yeast in ½ cup of warm water. Add in the honey and stir until dissolved. Let the mixture sit for 10 or 15 minutes until the water is foamy.
Combine the flour and salt in large bowl. Make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour the yeast mixture into the depression.
Slowly add the remaining 1 cup of water, and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the dough is elastic. Then place it on a floured surface and knead for 10 to 15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky but is smooth and bounces back after being poked, it has been successfully kneaded. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Turn the dough upside down so the surface is thoroughly coated. Cover and allow it to sit in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
Punch the dough down and roll it out into a rope; pinch it into 10 to 12 equal-size pieces and form them into balls. Place them on a floured surface, then let them sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
Set the rack at the very bottom of the oven, place your pizza stone or baking sheet on it, and preheat the oven to 500°F.
Using a rolling pin, roll out each ball of dough into a round 5 or 6 inches across and ¼-inch thick. On a pizza stone or preheated baking sheet, bake each pita for just a few minutes, until the bread puffs up and slightly browns. Then turn it over and bake for another minute. Depending on the size of your baking surface, you can bake several pitas at once. Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and replace with additional disks of dough for baking. Use the spatula to gently press each of the baked pitas flat, taking care to avoid the escaping steam. Devour while still warm.
Cook’s Note: Baked pita bread can be stored for up to 1 week in airtight bags, and up to 1 month in the freezer. Be sure to use freezer bags when storing in the freezer.
Chickpea Paste
Serves 4 to 6 Prep: 10 minutes total
Pairs well with Flatbread, mixed olives,
Stuffed Grape Leaves, Lemonsweet
Commonly know as hummus, this dish is a staple in the Arabic world, and has been since ancient times. Equally good as a side with larger meals, this puree is perfect for a light lunch, scooped up with bits of flatbread. It’s so simple to make at home that it could quickly become a favorite snack!
1 or 2 cloves garlic
One 19-ounce can garbanzo beans, with half the liquid reserved
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Aleppo pepper, or paprika (optional)
In a food processor, chop the garlic, then add the garbanzo beans, reserving about 1 tablespoon whole beans for garnish. Add the lemon juice, tahini, and salt to the mix. Blend until creamy and well mixed, adding reserved bean liquid as needed.
Transfer the mixture to a medium serving bowl. Make a decorative imprint in the top, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with Aleppo pepper to taste. Garnish with the reserved garbanzo beans.
Stuffed Grape Leaves
The kid had been roasted with lemon and honey. With it were grape leaves stuffed with a mélange of raisins, onions, mushrooms, and fiery dragon peppers. “I am not hungry,” Arianne said.… After a while, hunger weakened her resolve, so she sat and ate.” —A FEAST FOR CROWS
Makes about 20 stuffed grape leaves
Prep: 45 minutes Cooking: 40 minutes to 1 hour
Pairs well with olives, feta cheese, dates, dry red wine
We took a traditional Mediterranean recipe for stuffed grape leaves and added what was needed in order to make it properly Dornish, according to the description: raisins, mushrooms, lamb, and “fiery dragon peppers.”
1 pint jar brined grape leaves, drained
1 medium onion, minced
½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon hot pepper, such as jalapeño, finely minced
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt
7 to 10 crimini or button mushrooms, minced
¼ pound ground lamb
1 handful chopped raisins
1 cup cooked rice
¼ cup chicken stock
Juice of ½ lemon
Carefully remove the leaves from the jar; they are tightly rolled and squeezed in and can rip when you are pulling them out. Unroll the leaves and gently peel them apart. Place them in a large bowl, cover them with boiling water, and soak for 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water to remove some of the brine. If they are very salty, you may wish to repeat the soaking and rinsing process.
In a skillet, over medium heat, sauté the onion in the oil until the pieces begin to caramelize. Add the hot pepper, black pepper, salt, and mushrooms. Cook for just a few minutes, until the mu
shrooms are soft. Remove the pan from the heat and add the raw ground lamb, raisins, and rice, mixing everything together in a bowl. Don’t cook this mixture but simply blend it well.
Choose a grape leaf to fill—the best ones are about the size of your palm—and lay it on a work surface, vein side up. Place about 1½ tablespoons of the meat mixture near the stem end, then fold in the end and sides and neatly roll up the packet. Repeat this process until all of the filling is gone.
Line the bottom of a large, heavy-bottomed pot with several unstuffed grape leaves, then arrange as many filled rolls as will fit in a snug layer on top, seam sides down. Put down more unstuffed leaves, then place a second layer of rolls on top, positioning them perpendicular to those in the previous layer. When all the rolls are in the pot, pour in the stock, then drizzle the lemon juice over the grape leaves. If there are any leaves left over, place them on top of the rolls. Set a heatproof dish directly on top of the rolls to keep them pressed down.
Cover the pot with a lid and simmer slowly over medium-low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the leaves are tender, the meat is cooked, and the filling is soft; take one of the rolls out of the pot to test it for doneness. You may need to add more liquid during cooking. If so, add ½ cup water and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. When the rolls are done, let them cool. Serve them at room temperature.
Cook’s Note: You can make these rolls up to 3 days in advance, then remove them from the fridge 1 or 2 hours before you need them. You can also reheat them in a microwave.
Dornish Snake with Fiery Sauce
A short man stood in an arched doorway, grilling chunks of snake over a brazier, turning them with wooden tongs as they crisped. The pungent smell of his sauces brought tears to the knight’s eyes. The best snake sauce had a drop of venom in it, he had heard, along with mustard seeds and dragon peppers. —A FEAST FOR CROWS
Serves 4 as a light meal Prep: 5 minutes
Grilling: 15 to 20 minutes Sauce: 15 minutes
Pairs well with olives, feta cheese, Flatbread, sweet red wine
While many claim that snake tastes just like chicken, this is not strictly the case. The texture is similar to chicken—but a slightly overcooked one, quite firm. It’s reminiscent of a dried sausage, given the leanness of the meat and its density. The flavor, admittedly, does share some similarities with chicken, but this is only insofar as both chicken and snake are relatively mild, as if designed to showcase whatever they are served with. In this case, the sauce steals the spotlight. Warm, rich, with a bit of a bite to it, the sauce is subtly exotic. However, it is not so strong that it overpowers the flavor of the snake and instead complements the slight gaminess of the meat.
1 rattlesnake, approximately 2 pounds, cleaned and gutted
Unsalted butter
4 tablespoons stone-ground mustard
2 teaspoons spicy peppers such as ancho, according to your comfort level
⅛ cup red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon turmeric
Heat a grill to medium high.
Coil the snake and place it on a piece of tinfoil. Slice off a few pats of butter and place them on or around the snake. Wrap the snake in a couple layers of foil. Place it on the hot grill and cook it for 15 minutes. Then unwrap it and cook it directly on the grill for 2 minutes on each side. Remove it to a decorative plate and keep it warm.
In a small saucepan, combine the mustard, peppers, wine, oil, lemon juice, honey, and turmeric. Keep the sauce on a low simmer until it has reduced by at least a third, about 15 minutes. Pour it into a decorative dish and serve it alongside the snake for dipping.
Duck with Lemons
Anguy shuffled his feet. “We were thinking we might eat it, Sharna. With lemons. If you had some.”
“Lemons. And where would we get lemons? Does this look like Dorne to you, you freckled fool? Why don’t you hop out back to the lemon trees and pick us a bushel, and some nice olives and pomegranates too.”
—A STORM OF SWORDS
Serves 3 to 4 Prep: 15 minutes
Sauce: 10 minutes Cooking: 2 hours
Pairs well with Traditional Flatbread,
Medieval Honey Biscuits, Lemonsweet
The glaze on this duck is amazing, and the sweet tang of lemons bursts onto the tongue like a Sand Snake out of an ambush. Then comes the clash as lemon, gamey duck, and fiery peppers war with one another. The spice wins out in the end, the slow burn spreading to the back of the throat. It verges on overpowering, but then fades pleasantly, leaving you longing for the next bite.
2 lemons
1 duck, about 4 pounds
½ cup lemon juice (1 to 2 lemons)
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more For the duck
½ teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground chili powder
¼ teaspoon white pepper
Kosher salt
2 pounds assorted root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and leeks, cut into chunks (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Juice your lemons and stuff the empty lemon halves into the duck. Pour ½ cup of the lemon juice into a small saucepan over medium heat and reserve any remaining lemon juice for another purpose. Add the oil, table salt, honey, and spices to the pan. Simmer this sauce until it has just begun to reduce, about 5 minutes.
Place the duck in a roasting pan. Truss the legs and fold the wing tips in so they don’t burn. Rub the duck down with olive oil, then sprinkle it with kosher salt. Using a basting brush, apply the glaze to both sides of the duck.
If you like, add your choice of vegetables to the pan; they will cook in the duck fat.
Roast the duck for 1 hour. Take it out of the oven to baste with additional glaze, then continue cooking for 45 minutes longer. Apply more glaze, then cook for 15 more minutes, or until golden brown. Give the bird one last treatment of glaze, and serve with the vegetables on the side, if you wish.
Cook’s Note: After you’ve eaten the meat from the duck, boil down the carcass for a few hours to make broth. It is absolutely wonderful when used to make risotto.
Lemonsweet
Arianne drew the child away. “You must be hungry. We have dates and cheese and olives, and lemonsweet to drink. You ought not eat or drink too much, though.” —A FEAST FOR CROWS
17th-Century Lemonsweet
Limonade. Prenez une pinte d’eau, mettez de-dans demie livre de sucre, le jus de six citrons & de deaux oranges, l’écorce de la moitié d’un citron & d’une orange que vousaurez pressé. Battez bien l’eau dans deux vaisseaux bien nets en la versand l’un dans l’autre plusieurs fois, & la passez une serviette blanche.
—LE CONFITURIER FRANÇAIS, 17TH CENTURY
Serves 6 to 8 Prep: 10 minutes
Pairs well with Flatbread and Chickpea Paste,
Stuffed Grape Leaves, dried fruit, blood oranges
This is an intense, flavorful version of lemonade, with all the vibrancy of fresh citrus and a sweet tang that goes on and on. It also tastes great with a touch of nontraditional carbonation.
6 lemons
2 oranges
2¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
2½ cups still or sparkling water
Zest half a lemon and half an orange.
Juice the lemons and oranges into a large pitcher or bowl. Add the sugar and peel, then stir or shake vigorously. Pour the lemonade through a cloth or paper towel to strain out the zest and citrus pips. Add water and serve chilled. Keep refrigerated.
Modern Lemonsweet with Honey and Vanilla
Serves 4 Prep: 10 minutes
Pairs well with Flatbread and Chickpea Paste,
Modern Grilled Peaches in Honey, olives
This modern recipe, ironically, makes lemonade that tastes very old-world. Using honey instead of sugar reduces the immediate sweetness prevalent in many modern lemonades, while the unexpected
taste of the vanilla will make you stop and work the flavors over again in your mouth.
½ cup honey
2 cups water
1 vanilla bean, or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 sprig fresh thyme or rosemary (optional)
6 or 7 lemons
Lemon wheels or wedges, For garnish
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the honey and 2 cups water. Slit the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, then, using the back of the knife, scrape the seeds out of the pod and into the saucepan, then drop the pod in as well. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 4 or 5 minutes, until the honey is dissolved and the mixture thickens. Remove it from the heat, add your herb sprig if desired, and allow to cool.
Squeeze enough of the lemons to make 1½ cups juice and pour it into a gallon jug or pitcher. Cut a whole lemon into wheels or wedges and set them aside to use as garnish.
Pour the honey syrup through a strainer into the pitcher. Add water to equal 1 gallon and stir well. Serve the lemonade over ice, garnished with lemon wheels or wedges.
Breakfast in Meereen
Dany broke her fast under the persimmon tree that grew in the terrace garden.… Missandei served her duck eggs and dog sausage, and half a cup of sweetened wine mixed with the juice of a lime. The honey drew flies, but a scented candle drove them off. —A STORM OF SWORDS
Serves 2 Eggs: Several hours to overnight
Prep: 10 minutes Cooking: 30 minutes
Pairs well with Honey-Sweetened Wine
This is one of the more decadent breakfasts to be found in Westeros or Essos. Tea eggs are a wonderfully simple way to make hard-boiled eggs interesting and exciting. The yolks stay creamy even after they are cooked; this, combined with the subtle flavors imparted by its tea, is a spicy and exotic variation on the common egg. We recommend pairing them with a lamb sausage, a suitably unusual breakfast meat. Consider serving the Honey-Sweetened Wine as well; it is an exquisite addition to the meal, complementing the sweetness of the fresh fruit and balancing the richness of meat and eggs.
A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook Page 12