One of the things that can endear a book to me is descriptions of food. It provides a way to bond with the characters and their world; especially in fantasy books. Even if most of us will never do magic or save the world, we can still eat like our favorite characters. So every other week, OBS is going to share some of our favorite recipes from our most beloved books (with recipe cards)!

When I think of food in books, my mind goes straight to Harry Potter. The books are jam-packed (no pun intended) with food! JK Rowling once said that growing up, she loved reading about what the characters in her favorite books were eating, particularly The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge: “[P]erhaps more than any other book, it has a direct influence on the Harry Potter books. The author always included details of what her characters were eating and I remember liking that”. And so she packed the Harry Potter books with food. Besides the foods that exist only in the Wizarding World (like Pumpkin Juice and Cauldron Cakes) there are a lot of everyday foods too.

These are only the first of many Harry Potter recipes, so don’t worry if your favorite isn’t here, it will come up soon!

Shepherd’s Pie (adapted from Joy of Cooking)

For it to be a true Shepherd’s Pie, it needs to have lamb. I prefer ground beef. When you use ground beef it becomes Cottage Pie, but otherwise it is exactly the same. If you use ground beef you can just brown the meat, rather than cooking it in oil.

Harry’s Favorite Dessert: Treacle Tart (Adapted from Williams & Sonoma’s London cookbook)

“Master has not finished his soup, would Master prefer the savory stew, or else the treacle tart to which Master is so partial?” Deathly Hallows, page 232.

If you would like to make your own pie dough, the Williams & Sonoma recipe is here. But the frozen dough is good, and a lot faster and easier to work with.

Is there a book or recipe you’d like to see? Let us know!