Soften the gelatin in a bowl of warm water. Peel the beets and purée them in a food processor. Rinse the radishes, remove the tops and tails, and dice.
Drain the gelatin and mix it into the puréed beets. Add the whipped cream and fold through until the mixture is a smooth mousse. Add the diced radishes.
Taste and season lightly with salt and generously with pepper. Fill the cones with the mousse, finishing by adding 1 teaspoon of lumpfish roe in each..
Enjoy with friends … well … as long as you are quite certain they are not sinister creatures masquerading as friends, out to trap you.
MOLECULARIZED SMURF SPAGHETTI
In Soup a la Smurf, Gargamel lists an impressive number of dishes in which Smurfs are the main ingredients. This is one of the dishes he kept in reserve….
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
2 lemons
4 chicken cutlets (you can also use leftover roast chicken)
5 1/2 oz live smurfs
(or 5 1/2 oz blue candy spaghetti)
1 onion
Olive oil and butter for frying
1 handful fresh parsley leaves
Salt and pepper
PREPARATION TIME • 15 mins COOKING TIME • 45 mins
Roll the lemons back and forth several times between your palm and a tabletop, pressing down firmly. Then flay the lemons with a grater or peeler to remove the zest. Cut them in half, and squeeze to collect the juice.
Place the chicken in a dish, sprinkle over the zest and two-thirds of the lemon juice, cover, and marinate for the time it takes to cast a spell over the Smurfs.
Catch the Smurfs…. Watch out! Too late … Wipe away the pepper thrown into your eyes by Jokey Smurf, bandage your fingers injured by Handy Smurf’s hammer, and push Azrael out of the window, who has been watching the birds through the glass. Tie up the Smurfs so they don’t escape and wash them, making sure to remove the glasses of Brainy Smurf first. Once they are tied together well, make them swallow a philosopher’s potion to turn them into spaghetti.
Peel the onion, cut it into small pieces, and cook with the rest of the lemon juice and a small glass of water over low heat for 20 minutes, until really soft. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan and add the drained pieces of chicken. Cook the cutlets (about 4 minutes per side), basting them regularly. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve the Smurf spaghetti, warmed quickly in the microwave, with the chicken and stewed onions, and sprinkled with parsley leaves. (Author’s note: no Smurfs were really harmed in the making of this recipe.)
DRAGON EGGS
Be careful of what you wish for! If you think like a dragon, behave like a dragon, and by some chance end up sleeping in a dragon cave, you may well wake up one fine morning and find you have turned into one. Imagine what it would be like if you found yourself covered in scales, breathing fire, flying through the air, and guarding eggs like these!
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
1 lb 2 oz potatoes
1 onion
5 eggs
Salt and pepper
1 T chopped coriander leaves
Natural food colorings (beet juice, spinach juice, curry powder…)
Béchamel sauce
¾ oz butter
2 T flour
8 fl oz (1 cup) milk
Salt and pepper
¼ t turmeric
PREPARATION TIME • 15 mins COOKING TIME • 35 mins
RESTING TIME • 30 mins
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash and peel the potatoes and grate them finely. Do the same with the onion (protect your eyes with a Dry-eye spell if necessary). Mix together the potatoes, onion, and 1 of the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Divide this mixture between 8 tartlet pans, pressing it up the sides to make nests. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the rest of the eggs for 9 minutes in boiling water, then plunge them in iced water to stop the cooking process. Tap each egg with the back of a spoon to break the shell without removing it.
Place each egg in a freezer bag, then pour in a few drops of food coloring and 1 tablespoon of water so the egg is fully immersed in colored water. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
Take the eggs out of the bags, peel them and place them in a bag containing a different coloring, if you wish. Let them rest for 10 minutes, then remove the eggs and drain them on paper towels.
Make the béchamel sauce: Melt the butter and, when it starts to brown, add the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Season with salt and pepper, add the turmeric, and cook for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring.
Unmold the potato nests, fill them with sauce and a Dragon egg, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
RED DRAGON INN ROAST LAMB
One day when the cook was preparing a roast leg of lamb, the Dragon Inn was attacked by a troop of warriors from the ice lands. Legend has it that a small group fought valiantly to defend not just their lives but their meal, too! During the fight, a pot of sauce was tipped over the lamb that was cooking in the fireplace. Once peace had been restored, the warriors proclaimed it the best they had ever eaten!
INGREDIENTS • serves 6
2 cloves
½ t ground cinnamon
½ t ground cumin
½ t ground ginger
1 lamb leg roast (3 lb 5 oz)
2 garlic cloves
1 onion
1 carrot
Olive oil
4 T cider vinegar
6 T honey
Salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
2 T freshly picked rosemary leaves
PREPARATION TIME • 10 mins COOKING TIME • 7 hrs
RESTING TIME • 2 nights
When night is falling over the narrow streets, when good people are returning to their homes and others emerging from their lairs, crush the cloves and mix them with the cinnamon, cumin, and ginger. Rub this mixture over the lamb, then wrap it in plastic wrap and let it stand overnight in the refrigerator.
When the rays of dawn are caressing the roof of the inn, peel the garlic and onion (remove the sprout inside the garlic), then the carrot, and slice them all thinly.
Heat some olive oil in a large cauldron or heavy-based pan and sear the lamb on all sides until browned all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Sauté the garlic, onion and carrot in the pan for 5 minutes. Add 16 fl oz (2 cups) water and the cider vinegar, then the honey, and season with salt and pepper, stirring all the time so everything blends together well. Add the bay leaf and rosemary. Return the lamb to the pan and let it simmer for 7 hours over low heat, turning every hour and basting regularly with the sauce.
Take the pan off the heat and let it cool completely. Return the cooled lamb to the refrigerator where no giant can detect its delicious aroma. The next day, gently reheat the lamb. Strain the cooking juices and serve with the meat before the dracs and trolls get too impatient and come to blows.
GARLIC TART
A delicious dish, ideal for a banquet between fighting arch enemies or for the chilly days of winter.
INGREDIENTS • serves 6
3 1/2 oz young garlic
1 clove
3 1/2 oz smoked bacon
10 1/2 oz plain petit-suisse cheese
1 3/4 oz raisins
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
9 oz shortcrust pastry
(from your bakery/cake shop)
PREPARATION TIME • 15 mins COOKING TIME • 1 hr 15 mins
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
When the wolves are howling and hunting deer around the castle, peel and remove the sprout from the middle of the garlic, then add it to a pot of boiling water with the clove. Cook for 30 minutes then remove the clove and carefully drain the garlic.
Meanwhile, cut the bacon into slices and cook in a frying pan over high heat until the pieces are golden brown and crispy. Mix together the garlic, bacon, cheese, raisins,
and eggs, and season lightly with salt (the bacon is already salty) and generously with pepper.
Roll out the pastry, use it to line a tart pan, then fill with the garlic mixture. Bake for 45 minutes and enjoy before the next battle begins.
CARNUTES BOAR
Specially prepared by the Druids for their annual conference in the Forest of the Carnutes, this dish is also ideal in the fall, when indomitable Gauls from Brittany come to dinner. Serve with some magic potion!
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
1 3/4 oz honey
1 3/4 oz mustard seeds (or whole-grain mustard)
2 T mixture of chopped fresh thyme, rosemary, and parsley
Salt and pepper
10 1/2 oz boar fillets (or other part thick enough to carve slices from)
1 3/4 oz diced butter
3 onions
1 amphora of ale (1 bottle of dark beer)
3 T cranberries
PREPARATION TIME • 10 mins COOKING TIME • 1 hr 30 mins
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Make a sauce by mixing together the honey, mustard, salt, pepper, and the herbs you picked fresh with dew at sunrise.
Rub the meat with this mixture, place in a roasting pan, pour in a small glass of water, and add the diced butter. Place in the oven and cook for the time it takes for a quick chat between Druids (about 45 minutes), basting regularly with the juices.
Peel the onions with a silver-bladed knife, then cut them into quarters. Try not to cry.
Once the chat is finished, pour the ale over the boar and scrape around the meat well with a wooden spoon to collect and mix in any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the pieces of onion and return to the oven for another 30 minutes, the time it takes a bard to chant a mystical rhyme.
Arrange the cranberries around the boar, making sure they are well-covered in the sauce. Return the boar to the oven for another 15 minutes, or the time it takes to don your most becoming cambric tunic.
Remove the boar from the oven, and let it rest for 10 minutes while the Druid elders make an interminable speech. Finally, enjoy the meal, chanting.
ROAST PORK WITH NELWYN VEGETABLES
This dish is specially prepared by the brave and loyal Willow Ufgood for the spring festival, where he hopes to be selected as a new apprentice by the High Aldwin.
INGREDIENTS • serves 6
6 carrots
2 parsnips
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
6 sage leaves
1 pork loin roast (2 1/4 lb)
Olive oil
1 T honey
Salt and pepper
PREPARATION TIME • 20 mins COOKING TIME • 1 hr 30 mins
Wash and peel the carrots and parsnips, and slice them into rounds.
Peel the onions and garlic, removing the sprout in the middle, and slice them very thinly.
Rinse and shred the sage leaves.
Brown the pork on all sides with a little oil in a flameproof casserole dish on high heat.
Add the vegetables, the sage leaves, and a small glass of water, reduce the heat, and cook for 1 hour. Stir regularly, adding a little water if necessary and turning the roast every 20 minutes.
After 50 minutes of cooking time, remove the lid from the casserole dish, stir in the honey, season with salt and pepper, and let it finish cooking uncovered.
SHADOWY CREATURE
Look closely—are you absolutely sure that this is a spicy turkey taco? Or has a much more fearsome creature taken its place while your back was turned? If leftover turkey can be transformed into a delicious dish to enjoy with friends, who knows what else it is capable of?
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
10 dried mild chili peppers
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
2 3/4 oz almonds
2 T black sesame seeds
3 tomatoes
1 t quatre-épices spice mix (pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger)
Salt and pepper
16 fl oz (2 cups) chicken broth
1 3/4 oz unsweetened cocoa
powder
10 1/2 oz leftover turkey (no bones)
4 corn tortillas
PREPARATION TIME • 10 mins COOKING TIME • 1 hr 20 mins
Rinse the chili peppers, cut them into four, and soak them for 1 hour in a large saucepan filled with boiling water.
Strain the chili peppers and reserve the liquid but discard the skin and seeds. Peel and chop the onions and garlic cloves, first removing the sprout from the garlic.
Blend the peeled and seeded chilis in a food processor with the garlic, onion, almonds, black sesame seeds, tomatoes, and spice mix, and season with salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture into a saucepan over very low heat and thin out with the chicken broth, adding a little at a time and stirring. When it has a creamy consistency, add the cocoa powder and turkey pieces and cook for 5 minutes more.
Warm the tortillas in the oven for 5 minutes. Fill the tortillas with the turkey, top with sauce, and serve hot.
Warning: Never read this recipe three times in a row under the light of a full moon; who knows what could happen …
BEAUTY’S TARTLETS
The night that Belle arrives at the Beast’s castle, her grief is so great that she refuses to eat. The invisible cooks use all of their creative culinary gifts to bring back her smile and appetite.
INGREDIENTS • makes 8 tartlets
9 oz shortcrust pastry
(from your bakery/cake shop)
Flour for your work surface
3 1/2 oz porcini mushrooms
3 shallots
2 T fresh white breadcrumbs
1 egg
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and Pepper
1 3/4 oz butter, melted
PREPARATION TIME • 15 mins COOKING TIME • 45 mins
It can be a little disconcerting not to be able to see the servants when they have been rendered invisible under a spell. That is why it is recommended to prepare this recipe yourself.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Roll out the shortcrust pastry on a floured surface and cut out circles 1 1/4 inches wider than the diameter of your tartlet pans.
Place the circles of pastry in the pans, crimping the edges for decoration. Place a piece of parchment paper inside the pastry shells, pour 1/2 inch of ceramic baking beans or dried beans on top of each, and bake blind for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, trim the base of the mushrooms, brush them carefully, clean with a damp cloth, and slice them thinly.
Peel the shallots and chop them finely. Mix them with the breadcrumbs, egg, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove the tartlets from the oven, and remove the pieces of parchment paper and beans. Fill the tartlet cases with the shallot and breadcrumb mixture, lay the mushroom slices on top, and brush with melted butter. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve warm.
THE BEAST’S CHOPS
In his strange castle where torches and candelabra are fixed to the walls by human arms, the Beast initially refuses to join Beauty at mealtimes. But as time passes and their affection grows, they dine together and enjoy dishes that were popular in the seventeenth century—when Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont wrote the most popular version of this tale—such as these lamb chops with peas.
INGREDIENTS • serves 4
1 lb 2 oz fresh peas
3 1/2 oz spring onions
1 3/4 oz butter
8 lamb chops
Béchamel sauce
1 oz butter
1 oz flour
16 fl oz (2 cups) milk
Salt and pepper
2 T crème fraîche or sour cream
Turmeric
PREPARATION TIME • 10 mins COOKING TIME • 45 mins
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Shell the peas and cook them for 4–5 minutes in a large saucepan of boiling water. Wash and peel the onions and cut them into thin strips.
Heat a 4-ounce glass of water in a large pot, add
the spring onions, and let them simmer for 10 minutes, then lower the heat and add 1 oz of the butter. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes, then drain.
Melt the remaining butter, brush it over the chops, place them in a baking dish, and cook them in the oven for 20 minutes. At the end of this time, wrap them in a sheet of aluminum foil and let them rest for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the béchamel sauce: Melt the butter and, when it starts to brown, add the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Season with salt and pepper, add the turmeric, and cook for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring.
Add the spring onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes over low heat, still stirring. Stir in the crème fraîche or sour cream. Serve the chops with the peas and sauce.
The fact that the dishes sometimes appear and disappear from the table by themselves is just something you get used to.
MARVELOUS SNACKS AND SWEETS
The Eye of Agamotto • Shortbread with raspberries and white chocolate cream
Poisoned Apples • Candy apples
Toast for Disobedient Children • Toast with sweet omelet and fruit compote
Raspberry Cakes • Raspberry madeleines
Strawberry Ice Cream • Homemade strawberry ice cream
Scourer Repellents • Tomato gelatin squares with popping sugar
Treacle Tart • Treacle tart
Werewolf Biscuits • Black Forest–style shortbread desserts
Nathaniel’s Reminders • Pumpkin cookie pops
Djinn Desserts • Date and sesame balls
Chocolate Frogs • Frog-shaped chocolates
Elven Waybread (Lembas) • Cookies with dried fruit and nuts
Jafar’s Jewels • Shortbread with honey and hazelnuts
Delights of the Lamp • Gazelle horn-style cookies
Magica De Spell’s Lucky Dimes • Chestnut flour shortbread
Fairy Melusine’s Pastry • Tart with prunes
Patapumpkins • Pumpkin candies
Circe’s Charm • Cheesecake with honey
Witches’ Council Jello Ring • Fruit gelatin mold
Alakazam Cookies • Buckwheat shortbread with sesame
Wizard’s Cookbook Page 6
