Culinary imaginations about a Song of Ice and Fire

I have long since been fascinated by the rich history and lore of the ASOIAF series by George R R Martin, based on which the popular show Game of Thrones was created. Taking inspiration from the wonderfully curated blog Inn at the Crossroads, which re-imagines the kind of food the characters might be eating in the books, both from book-canon quotes by the author and a whole lot of informed imagination, I have come up with my own version of the same. Below, I'll enlist what in my opinion are the foods that are popular in different regions of Westeros, or are loved by particular characters.

A feast in Winterfell:

The feast would begin with a basin of chestnut soup with ryemeal loaves and wheels of aged sheep’s milk cheese to accompany it. Since I imagine the North to be like the Scottish/Norwegian country, albeit colder, it would be followed by mains of hot smoked side of salmon, whole spit roasted elk with root vegetables soaked in its drippings, and bowls of sour cabbage. Steamed suet puddings filled with an assortment of mutton, kidney, liver, mushrooms and oysters would then be brought out and doused in generous ladles of gravy. For sweet treats there would be baked apples stuffed to the brim with honeyed walnuts, lusciously crimson cherry pie and sticky ginger cake with sweet cream. The guests would drink themselves on mulled summerwine brought out for the occasion, fragrant with cinnamon and anise, while the truest of the Northmen would stick only to dark brown beer to quench their thirst.

Dining with Queen Cersei:

I imagine that Cersei likes her food fancy, eclectic and decadent. Her meal would begin with a creamed soup of capon with saffron and slivered almonds, freshly caught oysters and pink shrimp from the bay with lemon, and a salad with berries, crumbled salty cheese and pistachios. Gracing the table would be a roast goose with a sticky apricot glaze on a bed of leeks and wild rice. After a golden pigeon pie laced with spices, sweetgrass and dried fruit, she would end her supper with wine jellies and  marchpane confections. I hope it is very obvious that no meal with Cersei is complete without a goblet or two of rich claret.

Fisherman's meal in the Stony Shore:

The North has a number of fishing villages where I suppose the poorfolk feed on preserved fish a lot. I imagine a typical meal to consist of stews flavored with fish, and bulked up with grains or root vegetables to be more filling. For example, salt cod and clam broth with barley, or smoked haddock soup with neeps and seaweed. Pickled herrings on black bread would be a staple for them too. 

Sandor Clegane's ideal meal:

In my headcanon, Sandor prefers his meals to be unpretentious and substantial, but not peasant-like either. Meat on the bone like ale braised lamb shanks or crispy pork knuckle, served over mashed turnips and kale would be sure to warm the cockles of his heart. Game hens roasted on an open fire would cater to both his Hound persona and his affection for his little bird. All he needs is a side of wholemeal bread smeared with bone marrow to go with it, drowned in a flagon of sour red wine.

Road trip through the Riverlands:

While riding through the woods, Arya and the Hound would have to survive mostly on wood sorrel, strayberries and tree nuts. If they were lucky then they would trap a scrawny hare or two in their snares, or perhaps even a fat wood pheasant. On the occasion they came across a sleepy little village, they could fill up their stocks with foods that would last them long- oatcakes, pickled eggs, brined marrow, potted ham and sharp yellow cheese. Some apples for Stranger and perhaps a skin of weak ale too. 

Dornish lunch with Arianne Martell:

Arianne sits down to her meal in the tower. There is flatbread and tangy goat’s curd, whipped with herbs and garlic. She picks from a lavish spread of aubergines stuffed with browned shallots, pine nuts and raisins, skewers of fiery lamb meatballs cooked on embers, minted chickpea and cracked wheat salad, and river bream stewed with lemons, olives and sweet peppers. She ends her meal with a few of her favorite date and pistachio pastries and a chalice of pomegranate wine.

A typical dinner at Castle Black:

While the Lord Commander might be dining on roasted legs of mutton, stuffed pheasants and spiced pork pies, the average brother of the Night's Watch survives on simpler meals. Bone broth simmered with beets, parsnips and leeks. Salt pork stewed with cabbage and leeks. Boiled beef and carrots. Pottage with mince, offal and oats. Occasionally there might be a ham hock, cheese and egg pie. No matter the dish of the day, numerous loaves of black bread are always present on the table, ready to be slathered with pig's lard and scoffed with ample amounts of bitter beer.

Breaking fast with Arya Stark:

Although Sansa prefers a warming bowl of honeyed oat porage with walnuts and stewed plums, brambles or apples for her morning meal, Arya leans towards something more savory to break her fast. The serving wench usually brings her slices of buttered toast, a couple of coddled duck’s eggs, crumbed mackerel and some kind of meat- crispy black pudding, fried gammon steak or streaky bacon- with a cup of pale lager. But on the days that she has a hankering for something sweet, she shares her shortbread, redcurrant preserves and mint tea with Sansa.

Midday meal in the Red Keep:

I imagine Sansa in her happier days, relishing in the warmth of the Keep and eating from a spread of dainty dishes. Olives green and black, marinated artichokes, crumbled moldy cheese, thin slices of cured ham, wildflower honey and flaky bread along with spiced almonds, plump figs, bloodmelons and Arbor gold wine.

Sansa Stark’s name day supper:

Her meal commences with a warm carrot soup served with cheese bread. In honor of her lady mother, Sansa has asked for trout on a bed of bacon and pease. And in memory of Sandor, his little bird has requested for honeyed quail stuffed with sausage, chestnuts and dried currants, served with buttered wild mushrooms. Finishing the meal are succulent lemon cakes, mead poached pears and amber wine.

A table laid at Highgarden:

The Tyrells would put all the fruits of their spring harvest on display at their table. Sweet pea and basil soup, rolls of soft white bread with saffron butter, salads of fennel borage radish purplebeets and oranges, spinach and cheese galettes, roast capons with red grapes and verjuice, whole suckling pig with crackling skin, venison pie, stewed rhubarb with cream, peach rose tarts, and sparkling pink wine with the essence of elderflower.

Tyrion Lannister's ultimate feast:

Tyrion is a bit of a misfit, but a privileged one at that. I suppose he fancies foods that are erotic, acquired tastes or steeped in wine. He would go with garlic buttered snails for their aphrodisiac nature and spiced boar sausages with sweet mustard as a reference to his own member. Because he can afford it, there would be lamprey pie, roasted game birds, and hare stewed in wine with small onions and mushrooms with sourloaf to soak up the juices. I suspect he doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, but wouldn't mind some baked cheese and medlar jelly washed down with a jug of Dornish strongwine. 

Snacking in Winterfell:

When she is feeling a bit peckish, Sansa sometimes asks her handmaiden to bring some seed bread to eat with creamy ripe cheese, quince paste and sweet icewine. Arya often wanders into the kitchen where she helps herself to chestnuts roasted over the hearth.

Margaery's garden lunch:

Margaery usually eats with her grandmother from an array of small plates laden on their garden table. There is always a pitcher of sweet lavender mead present, along with dishes such as garlic rubbed bread, scrambled eggs with green onions, minted lamb cutlets, spring rabbit stew with asparagus, artichokes and fava beans, or mince crescent pies. The meal however is never complete without scones and some rose petal jam.

Inn at the Crossroads:

Besides his wolf bread and kidney pie, Hot Pie is also known for his beef stew with dumplings. There is always mutton, ham and chicken turning on the spit, for those who can spare more gold than the average peasant. For the poorfolk, pottage simmers on the stove, brimming with bits and ends of meats, vegetables and grains. Ale, bread, hard cheese, boiled eggs and cured sausages are also sold for people to take on their journeys ahead.