J.R.R. Tolkien left a huge legacy behind him. The world that he created and its history, divided into several timelines, are truly amazing. I admire him and I am a big fan of his work. That is why I decided to dedicate this article to the wonderful food that is an integral part of Middle-Earth. Of course, his masterpieces are fictional, but that doesn’t mean that some delicious meals mentioned in the books and movies can’t be made in our world. Shire mushrooms, Beorn’s honey cakes, Sam’s rabbit stew, and even Lembas. All of it can be made with a bit of imagination and the right ingredients. So join me on this adventure and let’s discover Middle-Earth food together!
Here’s what we are going to prepare:
- Honey Cake – to start with something light and breezy
- Mushroom Omelet – to make taste buds tingling
- Famous Rabbit Stew (potatoes are a must) – for the main course
- Salted Pork – another main course if rabbits are too skinny
- Lembas Bread – to snack on it later
- Miruvor – something to wash it all down
Middle Earth Food That Merry Would Approve
The majority of ingredients that we’ll be using are pretty easy to come by. After all, food and drink from Tolkien’s universe are based on British cuisine. Hobbit meals, especially breakfast and famous second breakfast are very similar to the traditional English breakfast. So without further ado, let’s see what can be done to turn our good plain food into stuff worthy of Tolkien’s tales.
Honey Cake Recipe
Inspiration for this is drawn from the Hobbit. Cakes are being served by Beorn to Bilbo and Thorin’s company during their stay with the Beorning. While these delicious cakes are not so mainstream as salted pork or rabbit stew, they are still an important piece in the puzzle called “Middle-Earth themed feast”.
If you can get your hands on a domestic made honey, and If you combine it with some brown sugar, flour, and baking powder, you can easily make a light delight for all sweet tooths in your family.
Mushroom Omelet
Tolkien himself described Hobbits as a race that likes to live a simple life of farming and eating. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that their cuisine is a stuff of legend. Cheese, eggs, all kinds of cakes, jam, honey, mushrooms, bacon, sausages, fresh tomato here and there, and all kinds of other vegetables and fruits are on the everyday diet for your regular Hobbit.
If you have an opportunity to grab a couple of eggs directly from the hen coop and pick some fresh morels from the local forest, your omelet with mushrooms won’t be a lot different than the one Merry and Pippin would make.
Famous Rabbit Stew
Anyone who watched a movie remembers a scene where Gollum and Sam are discussing how rabbit stew should be made. One would just eat the rabbit raw. The other one is longing for some potatoes to throw them in. One is thinking that the rabbit looks delicious. The other one is complaining about how it doesn’t have enough meat.
One thing is sure, with the right herb spices, and a few potatoes you can make a stew that would fill the bellies of a couple of hungry Hobbits.
Salted Pork
If you eat meat, you like pork. It’s simple as that. Now imagine being in a situation in which Gandalf, Gimli, Aragorn, and Legolas found themselves. To be on a road for a long time without a decent meal. If you are a stout fellow like Gimli the dwarf is, just thinking about it could make your mouth drool.
Well, Gimli felt like that when they came out of Fangorn forest and Merry and Pippin were there to tell him that they have been enjoying some tasty food while they were running around chasing them.
To be honest, making salted pork isn’t as easy as it sounds. A lot of care and precision are needed to salt the pork in the right way. Luckily, I’ll walk you through the process in one of the future articles.
Lembas Bread
Tolkien’s diversity allowed him to create a one really special meal (if it can be called a meal). Lembas bread. This pastry is meant to keep a person full even after they eat only one.
…One will keep a traveler on his feet for a day of long labour, even if he be one of the tall Men of Minas Tirith.”
The sentence above is the exact one that Tolkien used to describe Lembas in Fellowship of the ring. Even if you are not much of a baker, you can still make these pastries that are made just like bread is. Few ingredients are used, and the skill level doesn’t have to be high. Rest is just your imagination. Lembas that you are making don’t have to be bland food. You can throw a few slabs of butter in it, sweeten it, spicy it up, or make it sour. It’s really up to you. Whatever you choose, the final product can still resemble the lembas the looks we all saw in movies.
Miruvor
Miruvor is not food. It’s actually an elf-made drink, but I included it on this list because in its essence, Miruvor is wine, and we all know that wine can be made. This is only part of the Middle-Earth feast that I won’t describe in a separate recipe because I am not a winemaker and to give you any advice on that would be silly of me. However, I thought that it would be a good idea to mention this elf drink because there are a few esthetic moves you can pull off to make your guest feel like they are sitting in the house of Elrond.
Middle Earth Food – Final Thoughts
Lord of the rings inspired millions across the world. It’s been doing so for decades and it will continue to do so for the new generations. The inspiration that I got from it was to create delicious Middle-earth recipes as a tribute to Tolkien’s world.
During the course of the next couple of weeks, I will cover each of these meals in separate articles. I’ll provide you with a list of the ingredients and preparation steps so that you can make it for your guests and loved ones.
Even if you are the only person in your social circle that is a fan of Tolkien and his works, I believe that everyone will appreciate some good Hobbit food. On the other hand, if you have close friends that appreciate Middle-Earth as you do, there is nothing wrong to pretend that you are a Frodo and the fellowship for one evening. Imagination is a wonderful thing so let it fly.
If you want to learn how to make delicious meals from this list, stay tuned. A Series of articles about them will be released in the coming weeks. Until then, enjoy your food, even if it’s just good old burgers. Food is one of the most beautiful things that we have in our lives.
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