Eat with Dragons: Game of Thrones Vegetarian Recipes

Sometimes I forget how relaxing, rewarding and motivating it is to spend a weekend afternoon in the kitchen. As promised, here are the vegetarian recipes I made to celebrate the Season 5 finale of Game of Thrones. Enjoy!

• Volantene Chilled Beet Soup
• Unpoisoned Mushrooms Bathed in Butter and Garlic
• Hobb’s Onion and Cheese Pie
• Queened Cherries with Cream

Volantene Chilled Beet Soup

“Sweet beets were grown in profusion hereabouts, and were served with almost every meal. The Volantenes made a cold soup of them, as thick and rich as purple honey.” (A Dance with Dragons, p. 86)

• 3 cups cut red beets (trim and peel beets, then cut in about 3/4″ thick slabs)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange beet pieces in a single layer on a foil-lined baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until tender when pierced with a knife, 20 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven.
2. When beets are cool enough to handle, combine with buttermilk, orange juice and sour cream in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
3. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. Serve chilled. If you’d like, garnish with a dollop of sour cream or drizzle of buttermilk. Makes about 4 small servings.

Unpoisoned Mushrooms Bathed in Butter and Garlic

“‘Mushrooms,’ the magister announced, as the smell wafted up. ‘Kissed with garlic and bathed in butter. I am told the taste is exquisite. Have one, my friend. Have two.’” (A Dance with Dragons, p. 27)

• 8 ounces white button mushrooms, cleaned and halved (clean with a brush or paper towel rather than water so that mushrooms won’t get soggy)
• 3-6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• Pinch of crushed dried thyme
• Salt to taste

Sauté mushrooms, garlic and thyme in butter over low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add salt to taste (may not need to use much if using salted butter). Makes about 4 small side-dish servings.

Hobb’s Onion and Cheese Pie

“‘Hobb is baking onion pies,’ said Satin. ‘Shall I request that they all join you for supper?’” (A Dance with Dragons, p. 706)

• 1 frozen deep-dish pie crust
• 2 large (softball size) Vidalia or other sweet onions, peeled and sliced uniformly
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• large pinch of salt
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar (the best quality you can afford)
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sauté onions in butter, olive oil and salt for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until onions are very soft and sweet and only slightly browned. Add balsamic vinegar, and sauté another couple of minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
4. Sprinkle flour over bottom of frozen pie crust. Arrange grated cheese in a layer on the bottom of the pie crust. Add onions and arrange so that top of mixture is even. Pour egg mixture uniformly over onions.
5. Bake until pie filling is set (when a knife inserted in the center emerges clean), about an hour.
6. Remove from oven and cool completely before slicing (the filling tends to fall apart a bit, because of all the onions, but waiting to cut it helps). Makes 6 servings.

Queened Cherries with Cream

“Illyrio smiled as his serving men spooned out bowls of black cherries in sweet cream for them both. ‘What has this poor child done to you that you would wish her dead?’” (A Dance with Dragons, p. 29)

• Fresh sweet cherries, pits removed
• Cream or half-and-half

Serve cherries in bowls smothered with cream or half-and-half.