Meg’s Mystaran Cookbook Part 1
by Cab Davidson from Threshold Magazine issue 35
Being a Collection of Recipes from All Great Cuisines of Mystara.
By Meg of Wheaton, Housekeeper and Cook of the Great Castle of Magan
Meg,
image prompted by author with MS Bing
https://pandius.com/Meg.jpg
Translator’s note: These recipes are from a vast repository of notes left by Meg of Wheaton, famed housekeeper of the Great Castle of Magan, the southern Norwold dominion. She was first employed by Lord Spirrel and worked through to her retirement, taking in the reigns of Beotach, Obsidian, and the first years of Clarissa. During that time the Great Castle of Magan paid host to delegations from across Mystara, from as far afield as the Arm of the Immortals, Brasol, Vulcania and Zyxl, and indeed some from even more exotic locations that I am still trying to identify. Here I’ve translated and transcribed some of her recipes, including traditional dishes from Norwold, Thyatis and Glantri, alongside Meg’s own (idiosyncratic) thoughts relating to each. In places she has added to the traditional methods used in those other nations, but it is my hope that this analysis will assist others in further research on the authentic foodstuffs of Mystara.
All of the dishes here serve two people, either as a side dish or as a central part of a meal, except for jugged hare, which can serve 6–8 people (depending on the size of the hare).
Meg mostly used imperial measurements in her notes (alongside handfuls, spoons, pinches, scruples and various other indecipherable volumes), with the conspicuous addition of ‘coins’ in some places, being a weight equivalent to a tenth of one pound. I believe this to be a common Mystaran convention, an internationally recognised concession to the inadequacies of the imperial measurement system. For clarity, the English imperial measurement system rather than the American one is used by most authorities on Mystaran cuisine (and trade). I have included metric approximations for dishes alongside imperial measures.
Honey-Glazed
Mushrooms photo by author
https://pandius.com/Honeyglazedmushrooms.png
Honey-Glazed Mushrooms (Thyatian)
Ingredients
1
tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of garum or fish sauce
½
lb (250g) of mushrooms
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Sprigs of
fresh parsley, lovage or celery leaf
Pepper and salt to taste
Instructions
Mix the honey and garum together.
Pick over the mushrooms and discard any that are infested with mushroom larvae*. Cut any tougher parts of the mushroom off, stems and the like, and fry in the oil until softened. Slice the caps and add them to the pan. Once sizzling away, add in your honey and garum mix, and when it is thickening and getting sticky add in chopped parsley, pepper and salt to taste. Serve immediately.
Meg’s Notes
I learned this as a young girl, from a visiting Thyatian legionary (Maximus Bendicus) who wanted to make sure the officers were kept passive with good food, and indeed the higher-class Thyatians go mad for it. You can tell a Thyatian recipe by the garum, but if you can’t get garum you can substitute any other fermented fish sauce. Most other kinds are saltier, and you should take that into account in your final seasoning of the dish.
Down in Thyatis they like to use Lucinius’ mushroom (Amanita caesaria1) for this dish, but you should be cautious because when cooked the death cap (Amanita phalloides) closely resembles that choice edible. I have often wondered if this is why they’re so fond of using Caesar’s mushroom, the Thyatians being such a Machiavellian lot who relish their assassinations almost as much as their food. Here in Norwold we use what we have according to season (and our less murderous taste in dining), and this dish is excellent with morels (Morchella esculenta and similar), maybuns (Calocybe gambosa), horse mushrooms (Agaricus arvensis), penny buns (Boletus edulis), honey fungus (Armillaria mellea), winter oysters (Pleurotus ostreatus), and even plums and custard mushrooms (Tricholomopsis rutilans) can be made quite good in this dish. In the Cruth mountains I am informed that they cook shriekers this way.
*A common warning in old recipes, due to the prevalence of insect larvae in wild-picked mushrooms.
Cotoneum et Phasianum Pulmentum (Thyatian)
Ingredients
4
pheasant thighs (or 2 chicken thighs)
3 large quinces
Oil for
frying
1 onion
1 stick of celery
½ lb (250g) of
mushrooms
1 large glass of white wine
Chicken or pheasant
stock
1 tablespoon of cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of honey
A
splash of garum or fish sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Chop the onion, celery and carrot finely and sauté until softened. Add the pheasant thighs and brown them. Peel and slice the quinces and mushrooms, and add them to the pan with the wine, honey, vinegar, garum or fish sauce, seasoning and if necessary just enough stock to cover. Cook in a moderate oven for 40 minutes.
Meg’s Comments
This is my take on a fairly classic Thyatian dish. Quinces are uncommon here in Norwold but we do grow them, and they’re an under-used fruit that I think should be more popular. I usually cook this using thighs from pheasant or chicken, which makes this a most economical dish. The breasts go to the tables of the nobles in the castle, whereas pheasant drumsticks are full of hard sinews so they go into the stockpot with the carcass. I cook great pots of this stew for the staff when pheasants are in season.
Baked
Fish photo by
author
https://pandius.com/BakedfishofArchiestrousers.png
Baked Fish of Archie’s Trousers (Thyatian)
Ingredients
1
good-sized fish (e.g. a sea bass) or ½ lb (250g) of boned,
skinned and filleted fish (e.g. salmon)
A dozen vine leaves and
string
2 oz (60g) of butter
Sprigs of marjoram, thyme and
parsley
A squeeze of lemon
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Lay the leaves down in a layer such that they’ll be sufficient to wrap the fish, with three strands of string running left to right beneath them. Spread the butter in a line down the middle, from top to bottom, and lay the herbs on top of this, with a sprinkling of salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon.
If you’re using a whole fish then gut and scale it, and remove the gills before scoring the skin with a sharp knife. Lay your fish on the butter and herbs, wrap the leaves up around from either side and tie tightly closed with the string. Turn this over, lay it in a baking tray, and cover lightly.
Bake in a hot oven for half an hour, after which cut the string, peel back the leaves, and serve thereupon.
Meg’s Comments
Having regular visits from Thyatian officials meant their chefs traipsing in and out of our kitchens with their strange ways. They were always wrapping something in something else or stuffing one animal into another, so much of their cooking is about presentation rather than taste. The lack of fresh fig leaves here in Magan meant that they substituted vine leaves for them, and the addition of butter was my own idea (it isn’t a bad dish without, but everything goes down better when you’ve taken the time to butter it up, as I used to tell my Thyatian legionary friend Maximus).
Translator’s Note: The name of this curious dish is similar to a recipe called baked fish of Archestratus, thought to be of Greek origin, in which fish is simply scattered with marjoram and baked wrapped in fig leaves, and which was transcribed by the ancient Roman writer Apicius. Understanding the link between Mystaran and Terran cuisines may thus prove to be most informative, in a wider context.
Salted Mackerel (Norwold)
Ingredients
4
large mackerel fillets
6 oz (170g) of coarse salt
Spices
(optional)
Instructions
Scatter
salt at the bottom of a clay pot and put the mackerel fillets down on
top. Scatter with more salt. If you want to make this on a larger
scale then keep layering mackerel and salt as you go. You may also
add coriander seeds, peppercorns, grains of paradise, or any other
spices you wish. Cover tightly to keep the air and flies out.
After
several hours, remove the fillets, wash, and pat dry. With care you
should be able to peel the coarser layer of skin from the underside.
Serve as they are, or grill them quickly by the fire.
Meg’s Comments
Great barrels of salt mackerel are packed all along the coastline of Norwold, and this preserved food is a staple for the poorer classes. However, for those of more refined taste this dish is best made on the day it is intended for consumption. The King of Oceansend prefers his to be briefly poached in wine with a little verjuice (sour juice of unripe grapes) after only four hours of salting.
Hare
marinating photo by
author
https://pandius.com/Haremarinatingforjuggedhare.png
Jugged Hare (Norwold)
Ingredients
1
large brown hare (skinned, with liver, heart, kidneys and blood
saved)
4 oz (125g) of fatty bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons of
olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, peeled
and chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped fine
1 tablespoon of
plain flour
1 oz (30g) of butter
1 bottle of good red wine
(elderberry or a chewy Glantrian red)
Sprigs of thyme, chervil,
parsley and rosemary
A good half pound (250g) of mushrooms (may
buns, penny buns and sticky buns are good, depending on time of
year)
3 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Joint the hare, cutting the saddle into four or five pieces, and put it into your best pottery cooking vessel. Crush the garlic, chop the herbs, mix with salt and pepper, the olive oil and the wine. Add this to the hare, cover tightly and leave it for several hours to marinade.
After
this, warm the butter in a skillet, lift out and scrape the hare
clean of its marinade, which should be saved in the pot. Coat the
hare with flour, and fry until golden before removing and placing it
back in the earthenware pot with the marinade. Now in the same
skillet, fry your bacon, carrot, onion, and celery, along with the
heart, liver and kidneys of the hare, again chopped fine, and when
starting to brown add that to the pot with the hare.
Add the
mushrooms, and make sure that the hare is at least mostly covered
with wine (with some water if needed). Now season with pepper and
salt, cover it, leave on a warm fire (for those with modern ovens,
that’s equivalent to a medium oven) for three hours, checking
and turning the meat occasionally.
When it is tender, place the blood in a cold pan, and add a small amount of the warm sauce. Mix rapidly, using the sauce to warm the blood with care, to prevent curdling. Add the rest of the sauce, ladle full at a time, and warm until it is just starting to steam. Do not boil it at this point. Return the sauce to the pot with the hare, check seasoning, and serve at once with fine bread, roasted vegetables and kale.
Pappardelle
alla lepre, Thyatian pasta with jugged hare photo by
author
https://pandius.com/Pappardelleallalepre.png
Meg’s comments
This is always a favourite dish through the autumn months in Magan Castle, and indeed it is popular across Norwold. Up in the highlands a different species, the mountain hare, is preferred. While economical (if a peasant can procure a hare for a few coppers in trade with a hunter or poacher) the quality of the dish rests upon the quality of other ingredients, particularly the choice of wine, and therefore this dish can grace the very highest of tables (where removing the meat, once cooked, from the bone, may be preferred).
Poorer peasants who lack a good, sealed clay pot to cook in make do with the most menial vessels, often using a jug sealed with paste, hence the rather base name of this princely dish.
Damsons
growing wild photo by
author
https://pandius.com/Damsonsgrowingwild.png
Damson Gin (Norwold)
Ingredients
Damsons
Gin
Sugar
Instructions
If you pick your damsons early in the season, before any frost, prick each one with a needle before putting them into a jar. Cover with gin, seal the jar and leave them for a fortnight.
After this time the gin should be dark-coloured and the damsons fully soaked with it. Pour the gin off into a bottle and stopper it tightly. Now pour enough sugar onto the gin-soaked damsons just to coat them (don’t cover them – use roughly a third to a half of the weight of sugar to the initial weight of damsons used) and shake the jar. Come back every day and shake it again, until the sugar has dissolved, and the damsons have wrinkled a little. Pour the syrup thus produced into the gin, shake well, and enjoy. Carefully.
Meg’s comments
The same legionary (Maximus Bendicus, we were close, for a while) who taught me the Thyatian mushroom recipe expressed delight one evening when he spotted damson trees laden with heavy purple fruit. They’re a small, sour, intensely flavoured plum common in the hedgerows of Norwold, but he insisted that they’re originally from Hule. I doubt that’s true. We took my brother out picking them and I remember Maximus staring open-mouthed in awe as he pulled off great handfuls of plums.
While you do not need the finest gin for this, you should avoid the cheaper varieties brewed up in the bathtubs of backstreet hucksters. The exquisite flavour of the damson will overwhelm harsh notes of a relatively poor gin but will not save you from blindness.
Damson Sauce for Poultry (Thyatis)
Ingredients
8 oz
(250g) of damsons
4 tablespoons of honey
1 large glass of
wine
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 stick of celery
1
tablespoon of oil
1 tablespoon of vinegar
Liquamen or fish
sauce
Seasoning
Instructions
Cook the damsons in just enough water to cover the bottom of a pan, tightly covered, until they’re soft. Rub them through a sieve to get them smooth and to leave the stones behind.
Chop the celery finely, fry it with the cumin seeds, and add the fruit pulp, wine, vinegar, and honey. Cook this until it starts to feel a little thick and sticky, and add a few dashes of liquamen (or other fish sauce) before seasoning.
Meg’s comments
This is what Maximus wanted to do with his damsons, and it is how he handled his plums that led me to understand the joy of hot, salty, sour Thyatian sauces. For a royal table one might serve this with crane or bustard, whereas the middle classes would more often have it with goose (we get pink-footed geese here) or duck, but even an earthy commoner might find this economical sauce livens up an old boiling fowl or cockatrice sold for a few coppers by adventurers down on their luck.
I have, with great success, used the leftover fruit from damson gin for this dish, which I find to be a pleasing memorial of my time with Maximus.
Stuffed
Cabbage photo by author
https://pandius.com/Stuffedcabbage.png
Stuffed Cabbage (Glantrian)
Ingredients
½
lb (250g) of minced pork
Cabbage leaves
1 egg
2 teaspoons of
poudre douce (spice mix, see Meg’s Comments below)
Salt
Instructions
If you have a hard cabbage, boil it until you can remove the outer leaves. Otherwise, take leaves from the cabbage and blanch in boiling water until tender. Drop them into cold water, then drain.
Mix the pork, poudre douce, salt and egg together, and spoon some into the centre of each cabbage leaf. Fold them closed, and turn them upside down so that the parcels remain intact. Arrange them in a tray, cover, and bake in a hot oven for about half an hour to forty minutes (until thoroughly cooked when tested). Serve with verte sauce.
Meg’s Comments
Honestly I don’t understand Glantrians. This is sort of half way between good honest Norwold sausages and faggots, but instead of something sensible like caul fat or intestines they use cooked cabbage.
The Thyatians are of course masters of sausage, or botulus as they call them, especially the Hattians who are renowned sausage lovers. Glantrians come up with all sorts of strange and peculiar dishes to allow them to deny that they’re just as fond of sausage as the rest of us. But we all know that they are.
Poudre douce is a savoury spice mix, and each Glantrian chef has their own blend. I use a mixture of ginger, pepper, cinnamon and mace, with just a little sugar.
You can make this dish more to Norwold tastes by putting something more than just pork in the cabbage parcels. I like a little tomato and fried onion, or sometimes apple and sage, for example.
Verte Sauce, a sauce for all savoury dishes (Glantri)
Ingredients
4
slices of bread
1 handful of fresh mint
1 handful of fresh
parsley
1 clove of garlic
¼ cup of cider vinegar
1
cup of white wine
¼ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon
of dried ginger
¼ teaspoon of ground pepper
pinch of
saffron
Instructions
Beat the herbs and garlic together with the salt in a pestle and mortar and leave to steep in the vinegar for a quarter of an hour. While doing so, break the slices of bread up in the wine, and leave to soak. After this, rub the bread and wine through a colander into a pan, and then do the same with the vinegar and herb mix, squeezing out as much of the moisture as you can. Add the saffron, ginger and salt to the pan, and boil until the sauce starts to thicken slightly. If it is not sufficiently green add more parsley and mint.
Meg’s comments
Our Glantrian visitors really were a fuss, demanding sauces with everything. There’s a verte sauce, a jaune sauce, a rouge sauce, everything has a complex and annoying sauce. That really is what typifies Glantrian food, I think, a desire to hide the fact that their actual food is terribly cooked by means of complex and highly flavoured sauces. Why, I can recall the ambassador looking askance at our scullery maids bearing my perfect roast partridges, insisting our birds were just not saucy enough for his cosmopolitan tastes.
Rique-Manger (Glantri)
Ingredients
2
apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4 eggs
1 tablespoon of
butter
2 teaspoons of powdered sugar and spice
1 pinch of
powdered saffron
Instructions
Parboil the apple slices for just a few minutes, until they’re tender. Drain them.
Warm the butter up to a sizzle and fry the apples until browned. Add the eggs, and stir very sparingly. When they’re cooked, sprinkle on the saffron, sugar and spice, and serve immediately.
Meg’s Comments
I was taught this old Glantian dish by the head of the ambassador’s household. His excellency took great joy from all sorts of egg dishes, and sweet ones all the more so. Each Glantrian chef has their own mix of sugar and spice that they use to flavour sweet dishes; they often carry it around in tightly stoppered little jars, and few share their own recipes. When I make mine up I use 3 tablespoons of ginger, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons of cinnamon, ½ tablespoon of powdered cloves, and 1 teaspoon of grains of paradise.
1Called Caesar’s mushroom on Earth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_caesarea