The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook - Dinah Bucholz [62]
1 pound frozen Brussels sprouts (use frozen sprouts for easier preparation)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Bring the sprouts and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook sprouts about 7 minutes, until tender. Drain the sprouts and transfer to a serving dish.
Heat the butter in a skillet until foaming. Add the flour and stir to combine. Pour in the milk while stirring. Add the salt, nutmeg, and pepper, and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbling.
Pour the sauce over the sprouts. Serve warm.
Serves 6
The sprouts can be stored with the sauce in the refrigerator up to 1 week but should be reheated gently over a low flame or in the microwave.
Bouillabaisse
To make the foreign students feel at home, the dishes of their native cuisines appear along with the usual Hogwarts fare on the Great Hall tables at the feast welcoming Durmstrang and Beauxbatons (see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 16).
If you've been wondering how in the world to pronounce it, your search is over. Ready? Here goes: bool-yuh-BAYSS. Any dish with a French name sounds fancy, but this stew originated with simple fishermen. A very logical story: the fisherman comes home with the catch he hasn't been able to sell, an assortment of fish and shellfish. The wife dumps it all in a pot with veggies and herbs, wine and olive oil if available, and boils it up to serve with bread. Simple enough — although the variety of ingredients in this recipe is anything but.
½ cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups clam juice
¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
1½ cups chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon paprika
½ cup dry white wine
Pinch of saffron
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 pounds firm white fish like halibut, sea bass, or snapper, cut into bite-size pieces
1 pound lobster meat, cut into bitesize pieces
1 pound crabmeat
1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 dozen clams
1 baguette per serving
Butter, for serving
In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring, until tender, about 3 minutes.
Add the minced garlic, clam juice, parsley, tomatoes, salt, thyme, paprika, wine, saffron, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover the pot. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Bring the soup to a boil over high heat. Add all the seafood, cover again, and reduce the heat to a simmer for 45 minutes.
Divide the soup among 6 bowls. Serve with the fresh bread and butter.
Serves 6
Nine Recipes from the Goblet
The following nine recipes are based on a quote from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: “The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin… while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings” (Chapter 23).
The Oxford Companion to Food tantalizingly asks about Toad in the Hole, “How did it get its name?” but doesn't answer the question! Wikipedia explains that maybe it's because the sausages poking out of the batter look like toads poking their heads out of their holes. They don't, but oh, well. Someone had too much imagination.
Toad in the Hole
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound of your favorite sausages
To make the batter, whisk together the flour and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth, then whisk in the butter, then the milk. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.