Welcome back, Geeky Gluttons, to another episode of Munchies & Minis!
Munchies & Minis was my tabletop RPG-inspired live cooking show for those just joining us. In this show, I make a snack or meal to pair with a side of dice rolls. You can catch this and all my other previously streamed episodes on Twitch and YouTube. However, new content (Season 5 – Episode 6 and beyond) is in shorter, edited videos on YouTube.
In our last live-streamed video, we made The Happy Hippocampus’s Hot Bites from D&D‘s Volo’s Guide to the Sword Coast. In this episode, we switch systems and cool down with some Sour Cherry Soup inspired by Pathfinder‘s Savage Vine Inn.
Of Branch and Vine
The Savage Vine is an inn in Ustalav’s Cesca, which is mentioned in Pathfinder’s Rule of Fear campaign setting book. Nestled in rolling hills, Cesca is surrounded by orchards, vineyards, and “both real and imagined terrors.” Rule of Fear describes The Savage Vine as so:
Mishea Liessina and her bombastic husband Alvanore keep the most popular stopping place in Cesca for travelers and locals alike. Good food, a warm hearth, communal seating, and artifacts from the Liessina’s days as a vintner characterize the welcoming inn and tap house, as does Mishea’s love of rowdy folksongs and new weird stories. Aside from its exceptional fare and comfortable rooms, little would distinguish the Vine, were it not for the heavy iron bars on its every window and each door’s accompanying sturdy locks and heavy wooden barricades.
Since the book doesn’t mention specific dishes, I chose to base this recipe on the region’s environment and culture. For those unfamiliar with Pathfinder’s setting, Ustalav strongly resembles a gothic horror-styled Romania and Transylvania. So, with that and Cesca’s abundance of orchards and vineyards, I made a Transylvanian Sour Cherry Soup topped with strips of caraway seed pancakes.
This dish first boils sour cherries in red wine and sugar before thickening with egg yolks and cream. I chose to amp up the vineyard flavor by adding raisins and using Zinfandel wine. Now, I recommend an old-vine Zinfandel like Gnarly Head for its port-like flavor. However, if your local store was lacking like mine was in 2021 when I made this video, a cheap, two-dollar bottle of Zinfandel should work just fine.
As for the pancakes? Yes, another Transylvanian dish, traditionally cut into strips and added to soups for texture and sopping up extra liquid. I leave it up to you whether to keep them whole for dipping, though. Either way, don’t skip out on the pancakes. The way the caraway seed pairs with the sour cherry and balances this soup is delightful.
Want to learn how to make some of The Savage Vine’s Sour Cherry Soup for your adventuring party? Watch the video or find out how to get the recipe below!
The Savage Vine’s Sour Cherry Soup
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The Savage Vine's Sour Cherry Soup
Equipment: Stovetop, large saucepan with a lid, 10-inch skillet, two mixing bowls, cutting board, kitchen knife, and spatula.
Ingredients:
Soup:
- Two 14.5 oz cans of pitted tart cherries in water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup red zinfandel
- 1 cup raisins
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup cream
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 3 cups water
- kosher salt
Pancakes:
- 1 egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 Tb caraway seeds
- kosher salt
Instructions:
Make the pancakes:
- Beat the egg and half of the milk in a mixing bowl until blended. To the other mixing bowl, stir in the flour, sugar, caraway seeds, and a pinch of kosher salt.
- Gradually blend the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Once incorporated, stir in the remaining milk. Preheat the skillet for three minutes over medium-low heat.
- Add half a tablespoon of butter to the pan and swirl to coat. Once melted, pour in a 1/3 cup of batter and quickly spread with a spatula to thinly cover the bottom of the skillet. Once browned, flip to brown the other side, then transfer to a cutting board. Repeat with the remaining batter and butter.
- Once cool enough to handle, roll each pancake into a cylinder and slice it into 1/4-inch thick strips. Set aside.
Make the soup:
- Pour the wine, water from the cherry cans, and 3 cups of water into the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat on the stovetop.
- Stir in the cherries, sugar, and raisins and cover the pot. Cover, reduce to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Beat the egg yolks, cream, and spices in a small dish. Continue to stir until thickened.
- Stir in kosher salt to taste, then serve soup in bowls topped with pancake strips.
