The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook - Dinah Bucholz [57]
6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch-thick slices on the bias
½ cup water
2 tablespoons golden syrup or maple syrup or corn syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Combine the carrots, water, golden syrup or maple or corn syrup, salt, and cinnamon in a skillet and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat and simmer the carrots, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, until the carrots are somewhat softened but not yet tender.
Raise the heat and boil until all the liquid evaporates. As the liquid starts to reduce, begin stirring more frequently. Keep cooking until the glaze starts to turn brown, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat and serve immediately.
Serves 4
Classic Gravy
Gravy is not really a food; it's something you put on your food. It's served at Harry's first Hogwarts feast and first Hogwarts Christmas dinner, probably to pour over all the many potato dishes (see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Chapters 7 and 12).
It's amazing how sophisticated British cooks were in the 1200s and 1300s. They made gravy from a purée of ground almonds, broth, ginger, and sugar, to be poured over rabbit, chicken, eel, or oysters. The expression “fit for a king” certainly had great significance in those days. The peasants didn't get to dine on this kind of fare, to be sure!
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken, turkey, or beef stock
½ cup chicken, turkey, or beef drippings, after fat has been skimmed off the top (see note)
Salt to taste
Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the flour and stir until the flour turns brown and foams. Slowly pour in the stock, stirring constantly. Add the drippings.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the gravy is thickened and bubbling.
Taste, and adjust salt accordingly.
Makes about 2½ cups
This gravy is not truly classic. Technically, gravy contains no thick-eners, so the following recipe is really a sauce. This type of thick sauce, however, is associated with classic gravy by many.
If drippings are not available, you can use all stock.
English Tomato Ketchup
If ketchup is worth mentioning at Harry's very first Hogwarts banquet, then it can't be a typical bottled variety. The house-elves no doubt make their own signature ketchup, which they send up to the Great Hall along with the rest of the meal (see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Chapter 7).
Originally ketchup in England was made with pickled mushrooms and no tomatoes, and although tomato ketchup is pretty much the only kind that is made these days, ketchup really refers to any condiment that is concentrated and that contains a lot of sugar and vinegar. It's easy to make homemade ketchup and it tastes great — but ironically it costs a lot more to make it from scratch than to buy a bottle.
2 pounds (about 4 large) ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, cut into small chunks
¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 stick cinnamon
5 whole cloves
5 whole allspice
5 peppercorns
Place all the ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the tomatoes are very soft, about 30 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat. Pour the contents into a large sieve set over a large bowl and push it through with a rubber spatula until all the juice is extracted. Discard the remaining pulp, skin, seeds, and spices.
Return the cooked tomato mixture to the pot and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally until it is reduced and very thick, about 30 minutes.
Makes ¾ cup
Steak and Kidney Pudding
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