The Unofficial Recipes of The Hunger Games (18 page)

GET YOU THROUGH 'TIL LUNCH HOT BREAKFAST GRAIN

SERVES 4

District 13 had nutrition down to a science and took an extremely utilitarian view of food. Food was strictly a tool for energy and survival, thus it was closely monitored and controlled. This is similar to how Katniss was viewed by President Coin — just a means to an end, with no extraneous facets other than the ones directly necessary to achieve her goals.

No particular grain was named in this recipe, but it's entirely possible that barley was used, as it was readily available in District 13. Thus, that's the one that we will go with.

3 CUPS WATER

1 CUP HULLED BARLEY

¼ CUP HONEY

½ CUP DRIED CHERRIES

½ CUP GOAT'S MILK

1 TEASPOON CINNAMON

¼ TEASPOON SALT

In a 2-quart saucepan, bring the water to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium and add the barley.

Cover and cook at a simmer for 30–40 minutes, or until about 20 percent of the barley has split open and most of the water is absorbed. The barley will be tender but still a little chewy.

Remove from heat and add the honey, cherries, goat's milk, cinnamon and salt and stir until incorporated.

With the exception of the salt, these last ingredients would probably have been considered frivolous in District 13 and wouldn't have been served. They would have been ingredients used regularly in District 12, however.

To reduce cook time to about 15 minutes, soak the barley overnight and drain before adding the water. The amount of cooking water remains the same regardless of whether you soak the barley or not.

DISTRICT 13'S MASHED BREAKFAST TURNIPS

SERVES 4

When Katniss was eating breakfast with Gale before her meeting with President Coin, he shared his turnips with her. Just minutes later, she made his company one of her contingencies to accepting the position of Mockingjay.

These turnips are sweet and subtle in flavor and unexpectedly good for breakfast, or as a side dish at dinner.

4 LARGE TURNIPS

1 TEASPOON SALT, PLUS EXTRA SALT TO TASTE

PEPPER TO TASTE

2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

¼ CUP MILK OR CREAM

Peel and cube the turnips and put them into a 2-quart saucepan.

Cover with water and add 1 teaspoon of salt.

Bring to a boil and continue to cook until the turnips are tender, 15–20 minutes.

Remove from heat and drain. Transfer turnips to a medium-sized mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Add the butter and mash until most of the big lumps are gone, then add the milk and use a hand mixer to mix until smooth.

If your turnips are a bit too thick, add a little bit more milk and a touch of butter until they reach a nice smooth consistency.

“WISH THERE WAS MEAT” BEAN AND ONION STEW

SERVES 4

One of Katniss' biggest pleasures was hunting with Gale, which is why she bargained daily hunting into her deal when she agreed to be the Mockingjay. Not only did she enjoy the simple pleasure of being outdoors and the freedom that being above ground represented, but District 13 was also in need of the meat.

Beans have long been used to add protein to a meal when meat is unavailable. This dish is so good that you won't miss the meat at all.

1 CUP PINTO BEANS

1 CUP BLACK-EYED PEAS

1½ TEASPOONS SALT

1½ TEASPOONS BLACK PEPPER

2 LARGE ONIONS, QUARTERED, WITH THE LAYERS SEPARATED

Sort the beans and black-eyed peas to make sure that there are no stones in them, and rinse.

Soak peas and beans overnight in enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches.

Drain beans and black-eyed peas, put them into a 4-quart stockpot and add 2 quarts of water and the salt.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium.

Gently boil for 1¼ hours, or until beans are nearly tender, adding 2 cups of water as necessary to keep them from boiling dry.

When the beans are almost tender, add the pepper and onions, and cook for another 15–20 minutes.

Let the water reduce so that the broth thickens into a nice, hearty stew. Serve with District 13's Bread.

DISTRICT 13'S BREAD

MAKES 2 LOAVES

This is the type of bread that was served with the “Wish There Was Meat” Bean and Onion Stew. Remember, each district had its own bread, and it was a source of pride to them — it represented who they were.

Since District 13's tools tended to be rudimentary and their view of food was utilitarian, the bread was more like local artisan whole grain bread that we can buy in the markets. This recipe requires whole grain buckwheat flour, which was particularly indigenous to District 13.

4 CUPS WARM WATER (110 DEGREES)

3 PACKETS ACTIVE DRY YEAST

2 TABLESPOONS MOLASSES

2 TABLESPOONS HONEY

1 CUP MILLED FLAX SEED

½ CUP SUNFLOWER SEEDS

½ CUP TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

5 CUPS WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR

1 CUP WHOLE GRAIN BUCKWHEAT FLOUR

½ CUP WHOLE GRAIN BARLEY FLOUR

½ CUP WHOLE GRAIN RYE FLOUR

½ CUP BARLEY

1 CUP ROLLED OATS

1 TEASPOON SALT

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Dissolve the yeast in the water and let it stand for a few minutes to activate and get foamy.

Add the molasses, honey and seeds.

Combine the flours, barley, oats, salt, and mix well, reserving a cup or so.

Add to the foamy water and seed mixture 1 cup at a time until the dough starts to form.

Mix with your hands or a wooden spoon until dough comes together.

Flour a clean surface or cutting board with leftover flour.

Turn out dough onto floured surface.

Knead the dough by folding it in half, smashing it together with the heel of your hand, turning a quarter turn and repeating until the bread is nice and elastic.

Add flour in from the surface as needed to eliminate stickiness and make it smooth. If it's still sticky, just add a little more of your favorite flour until it's the right texture.

Once it's smooth and elastic, place the dough in a greased bowl (use vegetable or canola oil) and roll to lightly coat the loaf in oil.

Cover with a damp dishtowel, place in a warm, draft-free area and let rise until double in size, about 30 minutes to an hour.

Punch down the dough and separate into 2 separate loaves.

Cover and let rise again until double in size. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

When dough is double in size, shape dough into 2 loafs or rounds.

Place loafs in the oven on the middle rack.

Bake 45–60 minutes, or until top of loaf is browned.

Remove from oven and turn the bread out onto a rack to cool. Allow to cool before slicing.

SLIGHTLY SLIMY BUT DELICIOUS GRAY FISH AND OKRA STEW

SERVES 6

This dish was served the first time that Katniss brought her preps into the dining room. Amid stares, pointing and explanations, the group gathered their meal and sat to eat. Perhaps this meal symbolically represented how Katniss felt about her recent deal with Coin and the resulting public announcement regarding her assignment as the Mockingjay.

The soup was described as tasting better than it looked, but with a slightly slimy texture that was hard to get down. Despite its texture, many people love the flavor of okra.

3 WHOLE LARGE TROUT

6 CUPS COLD WATER

1 CUP CELERY, CHOPPED

1 CUP ONION, CHOPPED

1 LARGE CARROT, PEELED AND CHOPPED

2 BAY LEAVES

2 CUPS SLICED OKRA

1 JALAPEÑO PEPPER, SLICED

1 GREEN BELL PEPPER, CHOPPED

2 CLOVES GARLIC, MINCED

2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL

2 TEASPOONS SALT

2 TEASPOONS PEPPER

½ CUP GREEN ONIONS, CHOPPED

Clean and filet the fish. Cut the filets into chunks and set aside.

Take remaining fish bones and add them to a medium stockpot with 6 cups of water, celery, onion, carrot and bay leaves.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours or until you have about 3–4 cups of stock.

Strain finished stock through a fine mesh strainer and reserve stock.

Add okra, jalapeño, bell pepper, garlic and olive oil to cleaned medium stock pot and sauté on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Add strained fish stock to vegetable mixture and bring to boil.

Add reserved fish filets and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes, or until fish is cooked through.

Season with salt and pepper and garnish with finely chopped scallions.

FEEL BETTER FAST BREAD SOAKED IN WARM MILK

SERVES 4

Katniss awoke feeling like she'd let everyone down. The small amount of milk and bread that she had for breakfast reflected Katniss' belief that she had come up short.

For best results, use day old bread — it'll hold up better when soaking in warm milk. This is a great dish for cold mornings or a late night snack.

4 SLICES BRIOCHE BREAD (OR ANY KIND OF RUSTIC, HEARTY BREAD)

2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER, SOFTENED

2 TEASPOONS HONEY

2 TEASPOONS CINNAMON

1 CUP MILK (COW'S OR ALMOND WILL WORK WONDERFULLY)

Butter the bread, then drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Cut into bite-sized pieces and spread onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees until toasted, about 10 minutes.

While the bread is baking, warm the milk up in a small saucepan and divide into 4 warm bowls or mugs.

Remove the bread from the oven and add the equivalent of 1 slice to each mug or bowl of milk.

SAY IT ISN'T SO BREAD AND CABBAGE

SERVES 6

After Katniss saw Peeta address her on TV, she was extremely upset. Once again, bread came to her rescue by simply filling her mouth up so that she could act normally in front of the others.

This dish is hearty enough to serve alone, but it goes very well alongside lamb or pork entrées. It has a simple, yet comfortably rich flavor.

1 MEDIUM HEAD OF CABBAGE

1 MEDIUM ONION

1 TABLESPOON SALT

1 TEASPOON PEPPER

2 CUPS WATER

1 TABLESPOON BUTTER

6 SLICES OF DISTRICT 13'S BREAD

Rough chop the cabbage and onion into medium-sized chunks.

Place the cabbage, onion, salt and pepper into a large skillet or wok and add the water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain liquid and reserve cabbage.

Add the butter to skillet and increase the heat to medium-high.

Lightly brown the cabbage and onions.

Season with salt and pepper.

Remove from heat. Serve with a slice of District 13's Bread.

PEETA'S MINCED VENISON STEW

SERVES 4

Katniss was so upset with Peeta when she went hunting with Finnick that she had a rare inattentive moment while stalking game — she almost missed a buck passing by. Fortunately, everyone still ate meat with dinner that night.

Venison is a fairly lean meat that dries quickly if not cooked carefully. This roast makes great use of a cut that can be tougher than others.

2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

1 POUND VENISON ROAST, MINCED OR GROUND

2 TABLESPOONS FLOUR

3 CUPS WATER

1 CUP CARROTS, CHOPPED

1 CUP POTATOES, CHOPPED

½ CUP ONIONS, CHOPPED

2 TABLESPOONS SALT

1 TABLESPOON BLACK PEPPER

1 SPRIG ROSEMARY

½ TEASPOON THYME

1 CUP CELERY, CHOPPED

In a medium stockpot, melt the butter and lightly sauté the venison.

When brown, remove venison to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the flour and a little more butter as needed to make a roux.

Cook while stirring constantly until the flour is nicely browned. Be careful not to burn the roux.

Slowly whisk in 3 cups of water a ladle full at a time, whisking aggressively so that you don't get any lumps.

Add the carrots, potatoes, onions, salt and pepper, fresh herbs and venison to the pot and bring to a simmer.

Add more water if necessary to keep the vegetables well covered.

Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the carrots start to get soft.

Add the celery and cook until the veggies are tender, about 1 hour.

HOT UNDER THE COLLAR GRAIN AND MILK

SERVES 2

Katniss ate breakfast after a long night spent thinking about Peeta's propo. This cereal may have reminded her somewhat of the hot grain that her mother often made at home.

This dish is very versatile. The addition of currents, nuts or bananas makes it an especially filling meal. You can substitute honey for the molasses to get a very different flavor.

1 CUP WATER

½ TEASPOON SALT

1 CUP QUICK OATS

½ CUP MILK

1 TABLESPOON MOLASSES

¼ CUP RAISINS

Bring the water and salt to a boil in a small saucepan.

Reduce the heat and add the quick oats, cooking for 1 minute while stirring.

Remove from heat and stir in the milk, molasses and raisins.

Divide into 2 bowls.

Though Katniss had mushy beets with hers, a toasted slice of District 13's Bread might go nicely with this rich, creamy dish.

MUSHIER THAN MUD BEETS

SERVES 4

Mushy beets accompanied Katniss' breakfast of hot grains and milk. Her entire meal that dreary morning seemed to reflect her feelings that everything was going badly, or turning to a bitter mush.

Beets have a wonderful natural sweetness brought to life during cooking. This dish would be delicious with a fish or lamb entrée.

4 WHOLE MEDIUM BEETS

SEASON TO TASTE WITH SALT AND PEPPER

2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

1 TABLESPOON CINNAMON

Clean, peel and quarter the beets, then put them in a steamer.

Steam until a fork can be easily inserted into the beets, about 15 minutes.

Remove from the steamer and separate into 4 dishes.

Season with salt and pepper, then add a dollop of butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon to each beet and serve.