Recipe: The Feast of the Sorceress: A Dinner Party Inspired by Circe by Madeline Miller
Aiaia Mushroom Wraps with Pistachio Pesto and Tahini
Recipes, a Hosting Guide, and Everything You Need to Step Into the World of Aiaia
In Madeline Miller's Circe, the exiled goddess transforms her island of Aiaia into a place of extraordinary power and the kitchen is at the center of it all. She forages wild herbs, tends her garden, grinds roots by hand, and feeds every stranger who washes ashore. Her table is an act of sovereignty.
This week's Fantasy Feast brings Circe's world to life with a plant-forward, Mediterranean-inspired menu designed for sharing: smoky aubergine with charred tomato bread, sun-drenched watermelon salad, chickpea-filled lettuce cups, a color-changing cocktail, and the recipe below is the heart of the feast.
The full menu includes:
Pharmaka Lettuce Wraps: smashed chickpea and tahini cups with herbs and lemon
The Sorceress's Smoky Aubergine with Charred Tomato Bread: fire-roasted baba ghanoush with summer tomatoes and feta on crusty toast
Aiaia Mushroom Wraps with Pistachio Pesto and Tahini: the hearty, plant-based centerpiece (recipe below)
Helios's Watermelon and Tomato Salad: smashed watermelon with cherry tomatoes, sesame, and mint
Circe's Potion: a color-changing butterfly pea flower cocktail that transforms from blue to purple when your guests add lemon
Plus a complete hosting blueprint: atmosphere, decorations, table settings, music, dress code, invitations, and party favors — everything you need to step into Circe's world for an evening.
What Is Fantasy Feasts?
Fantasy Feasts is a weekly series by award-winning cookbook author Jody Eddy, featuring 101 step-by-step plans to host the most unforgettable meals from your favorite books, television shows, and movies. Each feast includes a full menu of original recipes, a hosting guide with atmosphere and décor ideas, and the storytelling that connects the food to the world it comes from. From Tolkien to Miyazaki, Jane Eyre to Lewis Carroll, and Dickens to Dune, there's a feast for every reader, viewer, and gatherer.
New feasts publish every Friday on What's Good Here, Jody's weekly newsletter. Subscribe for free to get every feast delivered to your inbox
From the Menu: Aiaia Mushroom Wraps with Pistachio Pesto and Tahini
The kind of dish Circe might prepare for herself on a good day — when the herbs are fragrant, the sun is warm, and no sailors have yet washed ashore to cause trouble.
Serving Size: 4 Preparation Time: 40 minutes
For the Pistachio Basil Pesto:
1/2 cup (60 g) shelled pistachios
1 cup (25 g) packed fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
Salt, to taste
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or mortar and pestle and blend until you have a rough, vibrant paste. Taste and adjust the lemon and salt. Set aside.
For the Tahini Yogurt Spread:
1/4 cup (60 g) Greek yogurt
1/4 cup (60 ml) tahini
1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
Salt, to taste
Whisk together until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
For the Mushroom Wraps:
4 large portobello mushroom caps
2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
1 tsp (5 g) ground cumin
1 tsp (5 g) ground coriander
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 bunch scallions (spring onions), trimmed
4 wheat wraps (or flatbreads)
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
4–6 radishes, thinly sliced
Crumbled feta cheese
Fresh basil leaves
Method:
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Clean the portobello caps by gently scraping out the gills with a spoon. Slice the caps into thick strips. In a bowl, toss the mushroom strips with the olive oil, cumin, and coriander, and season with salt and pepper. Spread on a lined baking sheet and roast for 20–25 minutes, turning once, until deeply caramelized and tender.
While the mushrooms roast, heat a dry pan over high heat. Char the scallions whole, turning occasionally, until they're softened and blackened in spots, about 3–4 minutes. Set aside.
Toast the wraps directly over a gas flame or in a dry pan until they're lightly charred and pliable.
To assemble: spread a generous layer of the tahini yogurt on each warm wrap. Top with the roasted mushroom strips, charred scallions, sliced red pepper, and radishes. Spoon the pistachio pesto over everything, then scatter with crumbled feta and fresh basil leaves. Serve open-faced for guests to wrap themselves.
GET THE COMPLETE FANTASY FEAST WITH FIVE RECIPES →
Get the Full Feast
This is just one of five recipes in the complete Feast of the Sorceress that also includes a full hosting guide with everything you need to bring Circe's world to life: atmosphere, decorations, table settings, music, dress code, party favors, and four more original recipes including a color-changing cocktail called Circe's Potion.
Fantasy Feasts is a weekly series featuring step-by-step plans to host the most unforgettable meals from your favorite books, television shows, and movies. New feasts every Friday.
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Every Wednesday in my Substack newsletter, What’s Good Here, I share a new, well-tested recipe alongside guides, how-tos, interviews with inspiring people, and stories about what it means to live a good life. Every other Friday I also share five original recipes plus a step-by-step guide to host a Fantasy Feast inspired by your favorite movies, books and television shows.
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