(versão portuguesa no final da página)

“He offered them oatcakes and blood sausage and a swallow of ale from a skin he carried, but never his name; nor did he ask theirs. Bran figured him for a Liddle.“

What?.. The words ‘blood’ and ‘sausage’ in a vegetarian blog?! What is happening?

I remember when I first started reading the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire (thank you G!), seven years ago (other than being completely enthralled by the story and its increasing magic and complexity), one of the things that stood out were the marvelous descriptions of banquets, feasts and everything food related. I mean, a reception in Winterfel or King’s Landing, a Dornish simple fare or even the strange delicacies beyond the Narrow Sea (no Dothraki fare, thank you) would invariably make my salivary glands switch into joyous hyperactivity mode and almost make me want to forgo vegetarianism. Well, almost.

 “When they woke the next morning, the fire had gone out and the Liddle was gone, but he’d left a sausage for them, and a dozen oatcakes folded up neatly in a green and white cloth.  Some of the cakes had pinenuts baked in them and some had blackberries.  Bran ate one of each, and still did not know which sort he liked the best.”

A Storm of Swords: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Three – George R.R. Martin

Oatcakes are a food staple throughout Westeros: people eat them at breakfast, hot from the oven but, more often than not, they appear in the story as the humblest meal to seal the stomachs of those who travel. Stale oatcakes abound in ASOIAF but the recipes I share with you today are but a mild remembrance of the sturdy oatcakes made with oatmeal, salt, butter and hot water (which I also made, but only recommend hot from the oven and abundantly smeared with something tasty..).

We’ll be enjoying Game of Thrones much anticipated season 4 and snacking on oatcakes while we patiently wait for book six: The winds of winter.

Pine nut Oatcakes

Makes 6 cakes

Dry mix:

• 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
• ½ cup whole flour (I used spelt)
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1/3 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt

Wet mix:

• 2 TBsp ghee (or butter), room temp.
• 180g yogurt (I used goat’s yogurt)
• 2 TBsp lemon juice + 1 TBsp lemon zest

Honey & Berry Oatcakes

Makes 6 cakes

Dry mix:

• 3/4 cup rolled oats (not instant)
• 3/4 cup whole flour (I used kamut)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1/3 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt

Wet mix:

• 2 TBsp ghee (or butter), room temp.
• 1 1/2 TBsp honey
• 180g yogurt (I used goat’s yogurt)
• 2 TBsp apple juice
• 1/3 cup dried berries (or raisins) OR heaping ½ cup fresh or frozen berries (cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc)*

* Unfortunately blackberries are not yet in season, so I used dried cranberries. I also made a batch with dried cherries and frozen raspberries, both were quite good.

 

Preheat oven to 170°C.

Place dry ingredients in a bowl and briefly mix. Add ghee (or butter) and use your hand to rub it with the flours until it resembles wet sand and clumps up here and there.

For pine nut oatcakes: Add yogurt and lemon zest and juice.

For honey & berry oatcakes: Add yogurt and honey to the bowl, along with apple juice and raisin-berry mix of choice.

Fold everything with your hands or a silicone spatula until it comes together (use as few strokes as possible, do not over work the dough). Transfer the dough to a parchment paper or baking sheet and flatten it out into a disk about 3cm thick; use a cookie cutter to cut out circles, pressing down through the dough, twisting the cutter to separate from the dough; place the cakes 3-4cm apart in a baking tray lined with parchment and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Lembro-me de quando comecei a ler o primeiro livro das Crónicas de Gelo e Fogo (obrigada G!), há sete anos atrás, uma das coisas que me impressionou (sem mencionar como a história nos absorve a cada página que passa com a sua magia e complexidade), foram as maravilhosas descrições dos verdadeiros repastos, banquetes e tudo o que esteja relacionado com comida. Uma recepção em Winterfel ou em King’s Landing, uma simples refeição típica das terras quentes de Dorne e mesmo as estranhas delícias das terras além do Mar Estreito (dispenso as especialidades Dothraki, obrigada) era capaz de levar as minhas glândulas salivares a um incontrolável modo de hiperactividade e quase me levou a querer abdicar do vegetarianismo. Quase.

Bolos de aveia – Oatcakes – são comuns por todas as terras de Westeros: são servidos ao pequeno-almoço, acabados de sair do forno, mas na maior parte das vezes aparecem na história como a forma mais humilde de forrar os estômagos daqueles que viajam.

Nós vamos acompanhar a quarta temporada da série Game of Thrones e petiscar uns bolinhos de aveia enquanto esperamos pacientemente pelo sexto livro da colecção.

Bolos de aveia com pinhões

Faz 6 bolinhos

Ingredientes secos:

• 1 taça (240ml) de flocos de aveia grossos
• ½ taça (120ml) de farinha integral (eu usei espelta)
• 1/3 taça (80ml / 40gr) de pinhões
• 1 c. de chá de fermento em pó
• ½ c. de chá de bicarbonato de soda
• ½ c. de chá de sal marinho integral

Ingredientes líquidos:

• 2 c. de sopa de ghee (ou manteiga)
• 180g de iogurte (eu usei iogurte de cabra)
• 2 c. de sopa de sumo de limão + 1 c. de sopa de raspa de limão

 

Bolos de aveia com mel e frutos silvestres

Faz 6 bolinhos

Ingredientes secos:

• 3/4 taça (180ml) de flocos de aveia grossos
• 3/4 taça (180ml) de farinha integral (eu usei kamut)
• 1 c. de chá de fermento em pó
• ½ c. de chá de bicarbonato de soda
• ½ c. de chá de sal marinho integral

Ingredientes líquidos:

• 2 c. de sopa de ghee (ou manteiga)
• 2 c. de sopa de mel local
• 180g de iogurte (eu usei iogurte de cabra)
• 2 c. de sopa de sumo de maçã
• 1/3 taça (80ml / 40gr) de frutos silvestres secos (ou passas) OU ½ taça bem cheia de frutos frescos ou congelados (arandos, mirtilos, amoras, etc)*

* Infelizmente ainda não chegou a época dos frutos silvestres, usei então arandos secos e passas. Também é bom com cerejas secas e amoras congeladas.

 

Pré-aquecer o forno a 170°C.

Colocar os ingredientes secos numa saladeira e misturar brevemente. Acrescentar o ghee (ou manteiga) e massajar com os dedos até obter uma mistura algo arenosa com grumos aqui e ali.

Para os bolos com pinhões: acrescentar o iogurte, sumo e raspa de limão.

Para os bolos com mel e frutos silvestres: acrescentar o iogurte e o mel à mistura seca, juntamente com o sumo de maçã e os frutos silvestres ou passas.

Envolver tudo usando as mãos ou uma espátula de silicone até formar uma bola (usar o mínimo de ‘voltas’, evitar de trabalhar demasiado a massa). Transferir para uma folha de papel de forno e formar um disco de 2-3cm de espessura com a ajuda das mãos ou espátula; usar uma forma de biscoitos para cortar em círculos na massa e dispor num tabuleiro com papel de forno, com 3-4cm de intervalo entre cada um. Levar ao forno durante 20-25 minutos.