Geek Food Challenge: A Tatooine Repast

To finish our watching of The Mandalorian season 2 in style, Starbat and I decided to make a foray into the world of adventurous cookery. Armed with a copy of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge The Official Black Spire Cookbook and some of our own ideas, we put together a meal fit for an Outer Rim cantina. 


So I don't know if you all have seen these, but as a kid my attention was caught by some Star Wars themed cookbooks. I've never been much a chef or baker, but I was lured by the theming. Unfortunately most of the recipes here aren't terribly inventive, fine for introducing kids to the culinary arts but not really things I would see being at home in the Star Wars universe. 


So I was happy to pick up this most recent cookbook, which has a lot of interesting recipes with some clever twists and accessible to various skill levels. We tried two of these recipes out. The Tatooine Terrine went swimmingly and the Polystarch Bread not so much. I think I can fiddle with my methods to make the bread work, but here's a little about what did.


Appetizers and Sides: Fried Gnocchi and Plantain Chips
Gnocchi is a bit of weird dish, as with some imagination they might be reminiscent of dumplings or even something grub-like. There's a recipe in the book that has a more elaborate recipe with gnocchi, but Starbat figured a simple frying up the gnocchi with a bit of olive oil and rosemary would be fair enough to go with the main course. For something crunchy but a bit different than the typical potato chip, plantain chips are another easy side that offer a nice touch of salty-sweet to the plate. 


Main Course: Tatooine Terrine
This is a dish from the cookbook, for which you'd have to get the book to get the full recipe. However in broad terms is a not-quite-a-stew of mushrooms, eggplant, and lentils with lots of earthy spices and a bit of heat. We added a bit more spice and substituted chicken for the called-for tofu. Although it looks a bit strange it was quite delicious.


Dessert: Starfruit
We threw this together on the fly. The starfruit I picked up from the store was a bit on the tart side, so I garnished it with orange blossom honey and a dusting of cinnamon. 



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