Witchy Kitchen

Tag: British

  • Cabbage-Stuffed Hot Cross Buns

    Cabbage-Stuffed Hot Cross Buns

    The latest installment in James Wan’s The Conjuring Universe has arrived. The Nun, directed by Corin Hardy (The Hallow), starring Demián Bichir (Alien: Covenant) and Taissa Farmiga (American Horror Story, The Final Girls), is a departure from the usual haunted houses of the franchise and takes us to a Romanian monastery inhabited by a terrifying demon nun. Two nuns up, or a bunch of nunsense? You can read the Nightmare on Film Street Review here.

    No matter your feelings on the movie, the setting is beautiful. From the castle-like abbey to the creepy crypts and underground tunnels, the Romanian architecture and religious iconography create a gorgeously gothic atmosphere.

    This Nun-inspired recipe draws on both Romanian cuisine and religious symbols. The filling is a pumped-up version of a Romanian stewed cabbage dish called varza calita, flavored with garlic, white wine, tomato, herbs, and delicious smoked paprika, which sinfully makes all vegetarian food taste like ham. The buns are similar to German bierocks, but crossed like hot cross buns to evoke our wicked demon nun. The combination of bread and a filling splashed with wine makes these the body and blood of Christ rolled into one – and a recipe every bit as blasphemous as the film. Enjoy!

    Cabbage-Stuffed Hot Cross Buns

    For the dough

    • 1 cup milk
    • 2 tablespoons melted butter
    • 3 tablespoons sugar
    • 1 1/2 ounce package yeast
    • 1 egg, lightly beaten
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 3 1/2 – 4 cups flour

    Lightly warm the milk (not so hot as to kill the yeast), and in a mixing bowl, mix well with butter and sugar. Mix in the yeast and allow to sit for 10 minutes until foamy. Stir in the egg and salt, and 3 cups of the flour. When it pulls together in a shaggy ball, dump on a well-floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, adding flour a little at a time when it becomes too sticky to handle (another ½ cup to 1 cup). You are aiming for a slightly tacky, very elastic dough. Roll into a ball and place in a greased bowl covered with a damp dishcloth to rise for about an hour.

    For the filling

    • 3 tablespoons butter
    • 1 onion, diced
    • 3 cloves garlic, grated
    • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
    • 1/4 cup white wine
    • 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
    • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 1/2 pound sauerkraut
    • 1 tablespoon finely chopped dill
    • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

    Heat butter on medium heat and cook onion until deeply golden. Add garlic and paprika and stir until fragrant, and splash in the wine. Cook until dry, then add tomatoes, salt and bay leaves, and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes are completely broken down and jammy. Add sauerkraut (you don’t need to drain, but pull out with your hands so you don’t take too much of the liquid) and cook until mixture is thick and mostly dry. Remove from heat, stir in dill and parsley, and adjust seasoning if necessary. (Since this is a filling, you want it a little drier and saltier than if it were a side dish).

    For assembly

    • 1 tablespoon milk
    • 3-4 tablespoons flour

    Punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal balls. One at a time, roll out to about 6 inches in diameter and put a couple spoonfuls of the cabbage mixture in the center. Gather the dough around the mixture and pinch together well to seal, then gently roll the whole ball in your hands to shape. Place sealed side-down on a greased baking sheet and continue with remaining buns.

    Allow to rise for 30 minutes. 20 minutes into the rising time, heat the oven to 375°. Brush the balls with milk. For the crosses, whisk together flour with enough water to make a consistency thick enough to hold its shape but thin enough to be piped. Scrape into a piping bag and pipe crosses.

    Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool slightly and serve.

    First published on Nightmare on Film Street.

  • Apple Charlotte

    Apple Charlotte

    I have always thought that there is no more fruitful source of family discontent than a housewife’s badly cooked dinners and untidy ways. -Isabella Beeton

    Though Apple Charlotte never actually got made on Downton Abbey, its absence led to poorly sighted Mrs Patmore’s raspberry meringue, which led to spoonfuls of salt in place of sugar, which led to Sir Anthony Strallan nearly choking and Lady Grantham with one of her Lady Granthamest lines ever: Bring fruit, bring cheese, bring anything to take this taste away!

    I made a recipe from Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, an extensive guide first published in 1861 by Isabella Beeton, and the standard for all English households from the Victorian era onward. Served with a lovely Lady Grey creme anglaise; it’s like Earl Grey but it’s for ladies.

    Apple Charlotte

    Adapted from Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management

    • About 6 large slices bread, crusts cut off and buttered, more if needed
    • About 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced, more if needed
    • 3 pinches of salt
    • zest of one lemon
    • 3 heaping tablespoons brown sugar

    Heat oven to 350°

    Butter a pie pan. Tear large pieces of bread and place in a single layer. Arrange a layer of apple slices on top, then sprinkle with a pinch of salt, a third of the lemon zest, and a heaping tablespoon of brown sugar. Repeat for the other two layers. Gently press down and cover with foil.

    Bake for 45 minutes to an hour (I checked at 45, the apples were cooked but firm, by an hour they were cooked down properly).

    Allow to cool, then overturn on a plate, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve with vanilla ice cream, or creme anglaise (recipe follows).

    Lady Grey Creme Anglaise

    Adapted from Biscayenne

    • 3/4 cup milk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 Lady Grey tea bags
    • 2 egg yolks
    • 1/4 cup sugar

    Bring milk, vanilla and tea bags to a simmer, then remove from heat and steep 10 minutes. Remove tea bags (after squeezing out the liquid).

    Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and sugar until mixture is pale yellow. Pour half the milk mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly. Pour everything back into the sauce pan and reheat over medium heat, constantly stirring, until mixture has thickened. Do not boil. It is ready when it coats a spoon, and you can run your finger over the creme and the trail remains.

    Pour into a bowl placed into a larger bowl of ice and stir until the sauce is cool. Refrigerate to thicken further.

    Recipe for Fiction Kitchen Episode 8: DOWNTON ABBEY in which Diana and Carrie discuss Downton Abbey in its Edwardian glory, including Mrs. Beeton, food styling, frozen gravy, Mrs. Patmore’s dark side, and the best table scraps in Yorkshire.

    Ms Beeton Desserts Downton Abbey

    Illustration from Mrs Beeton’s

    Love apples? Try:

  • Turniphead Cawl

    Turniphead Cawl

    Howl’s Moving Castle is a 1986 fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones and subsequent 2004 Ghibli movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It’s the tale of the young hatmaker Sophie who was cursed with old age, and escapes to Howl’s castle, a steampunk fortress home to several enchanting characters, careening across the countryside. They are tonally different, the book having that very matter-of-face Britishy voice and the movie being soft, strange and meandering, but both very charming and observant. They explore themes of destiny – and the movie dips into pacifism – and a refreshing take on old age, when a person can be at peace with themself and therefore truly free.

    When brainstorming a dish for Howl’s Moving Castle, I thought Welsh Cawl might be a nice choice – is the national dish of Wales from whence hails Howl, and although Sophie hates turnips she has somewhat affectionately named the stalky scarecrow Turniphead. I carved little faces into my turnips, so Halloweeny – keep Halloween in your heart all through the year.

    Recommended, do the meat and broth step the day before so it has time to cool and you can spoon off the fat.

    Turniphead Cawl

    • 1.5 pounds bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
    • flavorless oil
    • salt & pepper
    • herbs (I used several sprigs of thyme and a sprig of rosemary)
    • 2 leeks, trimmed and sliced into half moons
    • 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into half moons
    • 3 medium turnips, peeled, halved, and carved into faces
    • handful parsley finely chopped

    Salt and pepper the meat and heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium high in a large soup pot. Brown in two batches, then add 6 cups water and the rest of the meat into pot, stirring well to scrape up any brown bits. Add herbs, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for an hour.

    Cool completely in the fridge. Scrape off fat and discard. Strain the meat out to a plate, and strain the broth.

    In the soup pot, gently heat 2 teaspoons oil. Add leaks and carrots to the pot and gently stir to coat, cooking several minutes until wilted and soft. Add broth, meat, and turnips. Bring up to a simmer and simmer until turnips are soft and can be easily pierced with a paring knife, 10-15 minutes.

    Arrange in a bowl and serve hot, garnished with parsley.

    Recipe for Fiction Kitchen Episode 49: HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE in which Carrie and Diana discuss the novel by Diana Wynne Jones as well as the Ghibli movie – with fire demon-cooked bacon, luscious cream cakes, magical honey and questionable turnip heads.