Read A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook (A Song of Ice and Fire) Online

Authors: Chelsea Monroe-Cassel,Sariann Lehrer

A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook (A Song of Ice and Fire) (37 page)

BOOK: A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook (A Song of Ice and Fire)

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Duck with Lemons

Anguy shuffled his feet. “We were thinking we might eat it, Sharna. With lemons. If you had some.”

“Lemons. And where would we get lemons? Does this look like Dorne to you, you freckled fool? Why don’t you hop out back to
the lemon trees and pick us a bushel, and some nice olives and pomegranates too.”

—A STORM OF SWORDS

Serves 3 to 4
Prep: 15 minutes
Sauce: 10 minutes
Cooking: 2 hours

Pairs well with Traditional
Flatbread
,
Medieval
Honey Biscuits
,
Lemonsweet

The glaze on this duck is amazing, and the sweet tang of lemons bursts onto the tongue like a Sand Snake out of an ambush. Then comes the clash as lemon, gamey duck, and fiery peppers war with one another. The spice wins out in the end, the slow burn spreading to the back of the throat. It verges on overpowering, but then fades pleasantly, leaving you longing for the next bite.

2 lemons

1 duck, about 4 pounds

½ cup lemon juice (1 to 2 lemons)

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more For the duck

½ teaspoon table salt

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon ground chili powder

¼ teaspoon white pepper

Kosher salt

2 pounds assorted root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and leeks, cut into chunks (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Juice your lemons and stuff the empty lemon halves into the duck. Pour ½ cup of the lemon juice into a small saucepan over medium heat and reserve any remaining lemon juice for another purpose. Add the oil, table salt, honey, and spices to the pan. Simmer this sauce until it has just begun to reduce, about 5 minutes.

Place the duck in a roasting pan. Truss the legs and fold the wing tips in so they don’t burn. Rub the duck down with olive oil, then sprinkle it with kosher salt. Using a basting brush, apply the glaze to both sides of the duck.

If you like, add your choice of vegetables to the pan; they will cook in the duck fat.

Roast the duck for 1 hour. Take it out of the oven to baste with additional glaze, then continue cooking for 45 minutes longer. Apply more glaze, then cook for 15 more minutes, or until golden brown. Give the bird one last treatment of glaze, and serve with the vegetables on the side, if you wish.

Cook’s Note:
After you’ve eaten the meat from the duck, boil down the carcass for a few hours to make broth. It is absolutely wonderful when used to make risotto.

Lemonsweet

Arianne drew the child away. “You must be hungry. We have dates and cheese and olives, and lemonsweet to drink. You ought not eat or drink too much, though.”
—A FEAST FOR CROWS

17th-Century Lemonsweet

Limonade. Prenez une pinte d’eau, mettez de-dans demie livre de sucre, le jus de six citrons & de deaux oranges, l’écorce de la moitié d’un citron & d’une orange que vousaurez pressé. Battez bien l’eau dans deux vaisseaux bien nets en la versand l’un dans l’autre plusieurs fois, & la passez une serviette blanche
.

—LE CONFITURIER FRANÇAIS
, 17
TH CENTURY

Serves 6 to 8
Prep: 10 minutes

Pairs well with
Flatbread
and
Chickpea Paste
,
Stuffed Grape Leaves
, dried fruit, blood oranges

This is an intense, flavorful version of lemonade, with all the vibrancy of fresh citrus and a sweet tang that goes on and on. It also tastes great with a touch of nontraditional carbonation.

6 lemons

2 oranges

2¼ cups confectioners’ sugar

2½ cups still or sparkling water

Zest half a lemon and half an orange.

Juice the lemons and oranges into a large pitcher or bowl. Add the sugar and peel, then stir or shake vigorously. Pour the lemonade through a cloth or paper towel to strain out the zest and citrus pips. Add water and serve chilled. Keep refrigerated.

Modern Lemonsweet with Honey and Vanilla

Serves 4
Prep: 10 minutes

Pairs well with
Flatbread
and
Chickpea Paste
,
Modern Grilled Peaches in Honey
, olives

This modern recipe, ironically, makes lemonade that tastes very old-world. Using honey instead of sugar reduces the immediate sweetness prevalent in many modern lemonades, while the unexpected taste of the vanilla will make you stop and work the flavors over again in your mouth.

½ cup honey

2 cups water

1 vanilla bean, or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 sprig fresh thyme or rosemary (optional)

6 or 7 lemons

Lemon wheels or wedges, For garnish

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the honey and 2 cups water. Slit the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, then, using the back of the knife, scrape the seeds out of the pod and into the saucepan, then drop the pod in as well. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 4 or 5 minutes, until the honey is dissolved and the mixture thickens. Remove it from the heat, add your herb sprig if desired, and allow to cool.

Squeeze enough of the lemons to make 1½ cups juice and pour it into a gallon jug or pitcher. Cut a whole lemon into wheels or wedges and set them aside to use as garnish.

Pour the honey syrup through a strainer into the pitcher. Add water to equal 1 gallon and stir well. Serve the lemonade over ice, garnished with lemon wheels or wedges.