Hippogriff s are powerful and very intelligent creatures who are half-eagle, half-horse. Immensely proud, they cannot be enslaved and choose whether to tolerate the company of wizards or not. This earns them the fierce hatred of black magicians, who have no qualms about turning them into a festive dish. That is, if they can manage to catch them!
Ingredients
- 2¾ oz butter
- 14½ oz freshly executed hippogriff (or 14 oz ostrich meat, cut in pieces)
- 10½ oz black trumpet mushrooms
- 1 onion
- Salt and pepper
- 2¼ oz red currant jelly
- 14 oz Vitelotte (purple) potatoes
- 3½ oz crème fraîche or sour cream
How to Make It
- On a very dark night, preheat the oven to 350°F, then add a little of the butter to a pot and quickly sauté the pieces of hippogriff over very high heat so they are browned on all sides. Note: Save a little butter for step 4.
- Brush the black trumpet mushrooms to remove any traces of soil, then wipe with a damp cloth.
- Peel the onion without crying or whining, and cut it into strips.
- When shreds of dark mist start to wrap themselves around your feet, lay out several large sheets of parchment paper and arrange a few pieces of hippogriff on each of them with some mushrooms and onions. Season with salt and pepper, add a knob of butter, and don’t forget the red currant jelly.
- Ignore the screams that are beginning to rise on this Samhain night, and seal the parcels by folding them on themselves like an accordion, so that all of the lovely aromas are locked in. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
- While the hippogriff is cooking, wash, peel, and cut up the potatoes. Cook for 40 minutes in a large pot of boiling water until a knife easily pierces their flesh. Mash the potatoes and add the crème fraîche or sour cream.
- Serve the hippogriff with the black trumpet mushrooms, the purple mash, and the blood-red sauce.