The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook - Dinah Bucholz [30]
6 cups beef or chicken stock (beef preferred)
Additional grated Parmesan, for serving
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel the onions, cut them in half from pole to pole, and slice as thinly as possible. In a heavy soup pot, heat the butter. Remove the pot from the heat.
Remove one end of the baguette and slice six 1-inch-thick slices for the croutons. Cover the cut end of the bread and save for the end. Dip a pastry brush into the hot butter that is in the pot and brush one side of each slice with the butter. Place the slices butter-side up on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the cheese. Toast the bread in the oven for about 10 minutes or until browned.
While the bread toasts, return the pot to the heat and add the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the sugar and continue to stir over medium-high heat until the onions have browned, about 15 minutes.
Blend in the flour. Gradually add the stock while stirring and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and float a cheesy crouton in the center, then sprinkle cheese around the crouton.
Serves 6
Beef Stew with Herb Dumplings
Just when Harry is about to be sick from yet another excursion into Voldemort's mind, Kreacher tries to offer him some stew. Not a good thing to offer someone who's about to throw up, don't you agree? (See Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 12.)
Not exactly haute cuisine, but you can't do better than this for a hearty and satisfying comfort food. The humble dumpling has been around for centuries. The Scots used to dump nettle leaves, hawthorn buds, and dandelion leaves into their dumplings — sounds more like a witch's brew than a food. Tastes have surely changed.
Herb Dumplings
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground sage
¼ teaspoon ground thyme
¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
½ stick (4 tablespoons) butter or margarine, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons milk
1 egg
Beef Stew
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ pounds chuck steak, trimmed and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed, and cut into 1-inch cubes
To make the dumplings, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, black pepper, and herbs. Add the pieces of butter and rub with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal and no powdery bits remain.
Whisk the milk and egg together and add to the flour mixture. Toss with a rubber spatula until the mixture begins to clump together. Press plastic wrap down on top of the dough and refrigerate until needed.
To make the stew, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a Dutch oven or wide pot and add the meat in batches, searing on both sides over high heat 4 to 5 minutes until crusty brown, and transferring each batch to a dinner plate. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet. Add the chopped onion and cook over medium-low heat until softened, scraping up the fond (browned bits) from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
Add the flour to the pot and stir until combined. Pour in the chicken broth and stir until well combined. Add the salt and pepper and the meat along with its accumulated juices to the pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened and bubbling. Reduce to a simmer and simmer the meat for 1½ hours.
Add the carrots, celery, and potatoes to the pot and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove the dumpling dough from the refrigerator. Wet your hands and form the dumplings into 1-inch balls, dropping them onto the hot stew in the pot as you form them. Wet your hands as needed to prevent sticking. Cover the pot and simmer another 30 minutes until the dumplings have puffed up and feel set when pressed lightly with the