Originally published in @buttonhook
Recipes in massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) like Final Fantasy XIV are infamous for being unpalatable, including body parts of fantasy critters, like “sauteed chimera kidneys” or “fried spiderling egg sacs.”
Final Fantasy XIV is unusual, as the recipe list is often mundane and even appetizing. Recipes are based on real-world ingredients and dishes from the cultures that inspired the in-game locations, with a few name swaps like “popoto” for potato or “dodo” for chicken.
Archon loaf is the exception.
The infamous mystery loaf’s name stems from its inventor, an Archon of Sharlayan, famed nation of mages and scholars. Archons are the smartest of the smart, but all that studying left no time for food, so he invented a loaf that would contain a complete nutritious meal in a slice, with an emphasis on nutrition over flavor. It remains a favorite of some students, and reviled by others.
Perhaps the ingredient list explains why: rye flour, carrot, spinach, and . . . herring.
Nonetheless, I’ve been morbidly curious about Archon loaf. Despite its reputation, the idea could work with some tweaking. It’s similar to Finnish kalakukko, another “fish in rye bread” I quite like.
Perhaps as a visual joke, the in-game model resembles an unassuming loaf of brown sandwich bread. Sandwich loaf is a yeast dough however, and I dare not imagine the smell of yeast-fermented herring, so I chose a traditional “quick bread” instead. Think zucchini bread . . . but with fish.
It reeked like a harbor in my kitchen while it baked, but the end result is surprisingly pleasant, though definitely an acquired taste. It’s rich, filling, sweet yet savory, and less fishy than expected; it makes a shockingly acceptable midday snack. I actually ate the whole loaf.
One thing’s for sure, though: after a slice of Archon loaf, you’ll no longer be hungry.
Archon Loaf
makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
Dry
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 dark rye flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Wet
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/4 milk
1 cup carrot, grated (about 2 carrots)
1/2 cup spinach, blanched and chopped (about 1 bunch)
1 can kippered herring, flaked with fork
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grease a 9” x 4” loaf pan.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Combine all wet ingredients in a smaller bowl, including vegetables and fish.
- Gently stir wet ingredients into dry until just combined, and no dry flour is visible. Lumpy is OK.
- Pour ingredients into waiting loaf pan.
- Bake 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in thickest part of loaf comes out clean.
- Cool in pan for 1 hour before removing.
- Slice and serve. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Recipe notes: Archon loaf is infamously bland, so foreigners may be tempted to spice up the recipe by adding some black pepper, dill, lemon zest, or all of the above, though such decadent behavior is frowned upon by the Forum.
