Shepherd's Breakfast Bake Inspired by the Gothic Classic 'Frankenstein'

Food and drinks are some of the easiest ways — and the most fun— to vicariously experience another culture. When you add a great book to the mix, you've got the makings of a perfect evening. In Food+Fiction, we recommend a delicious read and a related recipe so you can try the taste of different destinations in your own kitchen.

This post is part of our Food+Fiction series.

You know that at SSoP HQ, we believe that travel, books, and food go together like burgers, fries, and milkshakes — they’re all great on their own but are made even better when you enjoy them together. So we’re delighted today to share a guest post by Ella Buchan, co-author of the forthcoming A Gothic Cookbook. This recipe for Shepherd’s Breakfast Bake was inspired by the Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus which, itself, is more than one thing, combining the tropes of travelogue (the descriptions of scenery in Switzerland are particularly lush), suspense novel, and Gothic horror in a story that’s as affecting today as it was when it was published in 1818. — Melissa

Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus is one of the most famous Gothic novels of all time. It’s also one of the most misunderstood. There’s that frequent confusion over who is actually ‘Frankenstein’ — it’s Victor, the creator. And then there’s the mislabeling of the cobbled-together creature as a ‘monster,’ an image reinforced in movies and cartoons.

In Mary Shelley’s novel, though, the creature is an eloquent being who wishes no harm to any human or animal. That is, at least, until he’s so spurned by Victor and every other person who sees his terrifying visage.

He’s also vegetarian, a detail that isn’t underplayed in the novel or one that’s incidental to the themes. Shelley, her husband Percy Bysshe, and particularly their friend, Lord Byron, discussed the ethics of meat-eating and spent periods of their lives following a vegetarian diet.

Frankenstein’s creature is painted, in some ways, as morally superior, particularly when he begs Victor for a female companion and, in return, promises to inflict no further harm: ‘My food is not that of man; I do not destroy the lamb and the kid to glut my appetite; acorns and berries afford me sufficient nourishment.’

While crunching on acorns and foraging berries and roots might not be hugely appealing, the ‘shepherd’s breakfast’ — which the creature ‘greedily’ devours, having unwittingly frightened away its preparer — sounds pretty delicious. It’s a simple platter of bread, cheese, milk, and wine.

This recipe for a breakfast bake takes those humble plate-fellows and turns them into a warm, cheesy, gooey, baked savory bread pudding.

A warning, however: It can serve up to six people as a side but, should you be tempted to dig in a spoon just to try a little, don’t be surprised if you get carried away and end up with an empty dish, a full belly, and hungry guests.

Shepherd’s Breakfast Bake

Serves 4 (6 as a side). Prep 20 minutes. Bake 30 minutes. Adapted from A Gothic Cookbook.

It was about seven in the morning, and I longed to obtain food and shelter; at length I perceived a small hut, on a rising ground, which had doubtless been built for the convenience of some shepherd. This was a new sight to me, and I examined the structure with great curiosity. Finding the door open, I entered. An old man sat in it, near a fire, over which he was preparing his breakfast. He turned on hearing a noise, and perceiving me, shrieked loudly, and quitting the hut, ran across the fields with a speed of which his debilitated form hardly appeared capable. His appearance, different from any I had ever before seen, and his flight somewhat surprised me. But I was enchanted by the appearance of the hut; here the snow and rain could not penetrate; the ground was dry; and it presented to me then as exquisite and divine a retreat as Pandæmonium appeared to the dæmons of hell after their sufferings in the lake of fire. I greedily devoured the remnants of the shepherd’s breakfast, which consisted of bread, cheese, milk, and wine; the latter, however, I did not like. Then, overcome by fatigue, I lay down among some straw and fell asleep. — Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Ella Buchan & Alessandra Pino

Written by Ella Buchan and Alessandra Pino — with illustrations by Lee Henry — A Gothic Cookbook celebrates the role of food and drink in Gothic literature through discussion, recipes, and drawings, with each of 13 chapters dedicated to a particular novel or short story. You can help bring it to publication on Unbound by pledging for a copy of the book, artwork, and other merchandise from cocktail booklets to dinner party kits. Follow @AGothicCookbook on Twitter and Instagram for updates.

Top image courtesy of Dino Reichmuth/Unsplash.