A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook (A Song of Ice and Fire) (26 page)

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Authors: Chelsea Monroe-Cassel,Sariann Lehrer

BOOK: A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook (A Song of Ice and Fire)
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Pairs well with Medieval
Pease Porridge
,
Crusty White Bread
, white wine
This dish is very different from modern soups, and typically medieval in its flavors. The almond milk in the broth and strong spices such as clove and mace give the soup
a character all its own. While intended to be made with oysters, the original recipe brilliantly accommodates the substitution of escargots.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, minced
½ cup white wine
½ cup fish stock
1 cup small mushrooms or roughly chopped larger mushrooms
1 tablespoon sugar
1½ cups almond milk
1 cup fresh or canned escargots
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of mace
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and sauté the onion until the pieces are soft, about 5 minutes.
In a separate pot, combine the wine and fish stock, bring the mixture to a boil, and add the mushrooms. Turn down the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the sugar and almond milk to the pot with the wine and stock, keeping the mixture hot but not boiling. Add the escargots and cooked onions, followed by spices to taste.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the soup has thickened slightly. Serve hot.

Modern Cream of Mushroom and Snail Soup
Serves 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking: 30 minutes
An inherently rich, flavorful dish, this soup is divine. The creamy texture of the escargot is countered nicely by the fresh, clean taste of parsley. The wine in the broth adds a depth of flavor, and the longer the broth is cooked down, the creamier and more decadent it becomes. It also makes for fantastic leftovers!
2½ cups chopped mushrooms: a mix of chanterelle, oyster, and shiitake
1 small onion, chopped
4 cups chicken stock
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup flour
1 cup whole or part-skimmed milk
1 cup light cream
Salt and pepper to taste
One 6-ounce can escargots, drained and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 green onions, chopped
¼ cup white wine
Combine the mushrooms, onion, and chicken stock in a saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes.
In a separate pot, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat and stir in the flour; cook until the mixture turns a nice golden color. Add the milk and cream, stirring constantly until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the mushroom and chicken stock.
Sauté the escargots, garlic, parsley, and green onions in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter for about 2 minutes, then add them to the soup, along with the wine. Serve hot.

Sweet Pumpkin Soup

Her father had been fighting with the council again. Arya could see it on his face when he came to table, late again, as he had been so often. The first course, a thick sweet soup made with pumpkins, had already been taken away when Ned Stark strode into the Small Hall
.

—A GAME OF THRONES

Serves 4 to 6
Roasting vegetables: 1½ hours
Cooking: 10 minutes
Although served in the capital of King’s Landing, this is every bit a Northern autumnal soup. Sweetened by yams, the bisque pairs butternut squash and pumpkin to perfection. Roasting the vegetables caramelizes them slightly, really bringing out the best of their innate flavors. Add a few dashes of spice, and you have a soup that Arya would rather eat than fling at her sister.
1 sugar pumpkin (around 4 pounds)
1 large yam
½ medium butternut squash (cut lengthwise), seeds removed
½ cup apple cider
2 cups chicken broth
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Using a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half horizontally. Clean out the inside, removing all the stringy innards and seeds. (You can roast the seeds, making them into a lovely snack for later.)
Wrap the yam in foil and place it on a baking sheet along with the butternut
squash half and the two pumpkin halves. Roast all the vegetables until they are soft, about 1½ hours.
Mash the yam, the squash, and the flesh from the pumpkin together in a large saucepan. Add the cider, broth, and spices, and blend either in an upright blender, or using an immersion blender. Return the soup to the pan and heat until it is hot through.

Summer Greens Salad

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 6
Prep: 15 minutes
The varied flavors and textures of this salad make for a taste that is both complex and sophisticated. The sweetness of grapes and apricot counters the tang of the arugula, while the bite of the fennel gives a flavor that lingers on the tongue. The combination
of nuts, crunchy fennel, gooey jam, and firm grapes will give your palate a great deal to experience.
1 fennel bulb
4 teaspoons apricot jam
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, minced
Salt and ground black pepper
5 ounces arugula (lightly packed, stemmed, 8 cups)
1 cup seedless grapes (red or green), halved
¾ cup crumbled gorgonzola
½ cup chopped pecans (the candied version is wonderful)
Cut the fennel in half lengthwise and reserve one part for another use. Trim the stalks from the remaining half bulb, core it, and slice it very thin; set aside. Trim the fennel fronds from the stalks and set them aside; discard the stalks.
Whisk the jam, vinegar, oil, shallot, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper together in a large bowl.
Toss the fennel slices with the vinaigrette; let them stand for 15 minutes.
Add the arugula, fennel fronds, and grapes; toss, and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
Top with gorgonzola and pecans and serve.

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