With the science fiction action-drama film The Hunger Games opening in theaters this Friday, March 23, fans of the book by Suzanne Collins are keyed-up like Katniss in hopes that director Gary Ross doesn't screw the whole thing up. (Effie's clothes had better be wild enough, dammit.)
And what better way to calm a case of the children-killing-children nerves than with a steaming hot bowl of mushroom soup -- Hunger Games style.
At least that's what Smart Kitchen, the online culinary school based in Scottsdale, thinks. As fans of the novel, they were captivated by its evocative descriptions of food -- specifically, the Training Center Meal -- and got Smart Kitchen chef Eric O'Neill to create his own interpretation of it by using most of the ingredients in a soup.
Read on to for details on O'Neill's Hunger Games soup-tastic creation and to get the recipe.
For those that remember (or see page 76 in the book), the Training Center Meal is where main character Katniss Everdeen eats her fill of mushroom soup, bitter greens, pea-sized tomatoes, noodles in green sauce (Smart Kitchen's guessing pesto), blue grapes, and thin-sliced rare roast beef.
Chef O'Neill interpreted the Training Center Meal concept by placing most of the aforementioned ingredients in a soup and using the noodles in pesto sauce and blue grapes as side and dessert dishes, respectively.
Get O'Neill's The Hunger Games mushroom soup recipe here.
