The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook (16 page)

1 pound strawberries, chopped

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 cup strawberry jelly (not jam or preserves)

1½ cups milk

1½ cups heavy cream

3 egg yolks

1. Mix the strawberries and sugar together and let sit for 1 hour to allow the juices to be extracted. Drain well and reserve the juice. Set aside.
   

2. Combine the strawberry jelly, milk, and heavy cream in a medium saucepan and cook over high heat, whisking constantly, until the jelly has melted and the mixture is smooth — do not boil. Temper the egg yolks by whisking in 1 cup of the hot mixture; then return the yolk mixture to the saucepan while whisking constantly. Cook until the mixture thickens slightly; again, do not boil. Pour the mixture through a sieve.
   

3. Stir in the reserved juice. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and cool to room temperature. In separate containers, chill the custard mixture and chopped strawberries until completely cold, about 6 hours for the custard.
   

4. Freeze the custard mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions for your ice cream maker. Add the strawberries 2 minutes before the churning is over. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.
   

Makes about 6 cups

No matter how annoyed he is, nothing interferes with Ron's appetite. While eating his apple tart, he fumes at his mother for making him clean up his room. Not bad, Ron (see
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
, Chapter 6).

Tart Dough

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling

5 tablespoons butter, divided

4 sweet apples, such as Fuji or Braeburn, peeled, cored, and sliced

½ cup granulated sugar, divided, plus more for sprinkling

½ teaspoon cinnamon

4 tart apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and sliced

1. For the crust, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse yellow meal, about 15 pulses. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl whisk together the yolk, cream, and vanilla. Pour it over the flour-butter mixture and fold it together using a rubber spatula until the dough clumps together. Gather the dough together and shape into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
   

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator (if it is too stiff for rolling out, let it rest on the counter for 10 minutes) and roll it out on a floured surface to a 12-inch circle. Fold it into quarters, brushing off excess flour with a pastry brush after each fold, and then unfold it into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Ease the sides gently into the pan and press the dough gently against the sides. Use the rolling pin to roll the overhang off the pan. Prick the bottom generously with a fork.
   

3. Line the pan with aluminum foil and fill with weights or beans. Bake until the dough is dry but still pale, about 20 minutes. Remove the shell from the oven and remove the foil and weights.
   

4. For the filling, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet. When it foams, add the sweet apples, ¼ cup of the sugar, and the cinnamon. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the apples soften. Continue cooking, mashing with the bottom of your largest-size heatproof measuring cup, until the apples are mostly mashed. Cook, stirring constantly, until the apples are golden brown and all the liquid is cooked out. The total cooking time should be about 20 minutes. Transfer the apples to a plate and cool to room temperature.
   

5. Wipe out the skillet with paper towels and heat 2 tablespoons of the remaining butter. When it foams, add the Granny Smith apples and the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the apples begin to soften. Transfer to a plate and cool to room temperature.
   

6. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spread the sweet apple mixture evenly over the bottom of the prepared tart shell. Arrange the tart apple slices in concentric circles over the top of the apple mixture. Melt the remaining tablespoon butter and brush it over the apple slices. Sprinkle generously with sugar and bake until the edges of the apples turn dark brown, about 25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
   

Serves 8

Harry's appetite returns after the wizard court drops the charges against him, and he is glad to sit down to a Mrs. Weasley dinner of roast chicken and mashed potatoes. But then again, it's hard for him to eat as the thought of Dumbledore causes his scar to burn (see
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
, Chapter 9).

Herby Chicken

1 medium onion, sliced

6 cloves garlic, peeled

1 3-pound chicken

2 tablespoons softened butter or margarine

¼ teaspoon ground thyme

¼ teaspoon ground sage

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup water

Mashed Potatoes

2½ pounds (about 6) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup chicken broth

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and lay the onion slices and garlic cloves in a baking dish. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry.
   

2. Mix the butter or margarine with the thyme, sage, and parsley and spread it under the skin of the breasts and thighs; you will need to loosen the skin first by lifting up the flap of skin and sliding your fingers under it. Lay the chicken in the pan, breast-side up, on top of the onions and garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the pan.
   

3. Bake for 50 minutes. Rotate the pan, raise the temperature to 450°F, and bake for another 30 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 170°F.
   

4. While the chicken is roasting, prepare the mashed potatoes. Cover the potatoes with water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until tender, about 25 minutes.
   

5. Heat the 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet and add the 4. onions. Cook the onions over medium heat, stirring frequently, until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Remove from the heat.
   

6. Drain the potatoes. Add the onion-garlic mixture, ½ cup oil, chicken broth, and salt and pepper. Mash with a potato masher.
   

Serves 4

While Harry's friends, determined not to let him starve to death at the Durs-leys', send him snacks and cakes, Mrs. Weasley sends heartier food. She sends him a variety of meat pies along with a fruitcake so he has better meals to eat than a quarter of a grapefruit (see
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
, Chapter 3). The following four individual pie recipes are classic British recipes.

Pie Crust

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into pieces

½ cup (8 tablespoons) vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into pieces

½ to ¾ cup cold water

Filling

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 ounces chuck steak, trimmed and cut into ¼-inch dice

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4–5 ounces mushrooms, chopped

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth

1/8 teaspoon ground thyme

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Salt and pepper

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water

1. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter and shortening over the flour mixture. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse yellow meal without any white powdery bits remaining, about 15 pulses. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle ½ cup water over the mixture and toss with a rubber spatula until the dough sticks together. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough is dry (better too wet than too dry). Divide the dough in half, form into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
   

2. To make the filling, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a skillet and add the beef in two batches, searing over high heat on each side until crusty brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer each batch to a plate and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the skillet and heat it over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring and scraping up the fond (browned bits), until the onions are well browned. Add the flour and mix until combined. Add the chicken broth and again mix until combined. Return the beef to the skillet; add the thyme, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 2 hours. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and cool to room temperature.
   

3. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. On a generously floured surface, roll out one of the disks very thin. Use a 4½-inch cookie cutter to cut out circles. Fit the circles into a 6-cup muffin pan. Fill generously with the beef filling.
   

4. Roll out the second disk of dough. Use a 3½-inch cookie cutter to cut out six circles. You may have enough dough to cut out one more 4½-inch circle and one more 3½-inch circle to get one more pie. (If that's the case, use a 12-cup muffin pan and fill the empty cups halfway with water.) Brush the rims with water, lay the circles over the filling, and press with your fingers to seal. Brush the tops of the pies with the beaten egg and cut slits in the top of each pie to form vents. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake an additional 20 minutes, until the pies are golden brown.