A few months ago, Insight Editions was kind enough to send me a care package with some gaming-themed cookbooks. I began my culinary gaming journey with Overwatch: The Official Cookbook.
Back when Overwatch was the original Overwatch (pre-Overwatch 2 Launch), it was one of my top played games. With the launch of Overwatch 2 and the new Fortnite-style season pass model I have really had a hard time getting back into the game. The gameplay still feels great, but it’s the menus and paywalls that annoy me. Not being able to access all of the heroes in Overwatch 2 just feels wrong.
The original Overwatch was the one game I played where Loot Boxes felt fine. Loot was always cosmetic, and you could purchase most of it (with in-game or real currency), but everyone was playing the same game. Whether you were at Level 5 or Level 100 it didn’t matter. No one was gaining an in-game advantage from any of the items. Items were always a surprise, as opposed to the new model where everyone gets the same loot at each level.
I can continue going on about my beef with Overwatch 2, but I’ll save that for another day. The games of Blizzard (now Activision Blizzard) have always featured great stories and lore (see the Warcraft and Diablo series). I have read most of the Overwatch hero graphic novels, and I watched every Pixar-style animated short film which used to release every couple of months.
That’s just one of the many Overwatch Animated Shorts.
Find more in this Overwatch Lore playlist on YouTube: PlayOverwatch
With such a large roster of heroes, Overwatch is the perfect candidate to receive an official cookbook. Mostly since the heroes of Overwatch come from both real-world locations and fantasy lands.
Over the years, my cookbook collection has expanded to include many books by my favorite chefs (including Food Network Star — Bobby Flay, and the Queen of Sweet Treats — Christina Tosi), as well as some themed cookbooks. Creating a themed cookbook based on a fictional world sounds like an interesting task because the author gets to imagine what kind of meals citizens of this world would eat.
I cooked a few meals from the Overwatch cookbook so far, and I have decided to showcase three different real world dishes in this post (since they came out best). I created one appetizer and two main dishes:
1 | Pão de Quejo (Lúcio)
Baking cheese directly into bread is something we’ve seen done in many countries. The Brazilian Pão de Quejo is one recipe that caught my attention because I’ve made (and enjoyed) its Colombian cousin Pandebono many times before. Both cheese breads are basically the same recipe, with a few slight differences — the flour and cheese choices.
This recipe calls for either tapioca or cassava flour. I went with tapioca because it was much cheaper than its cassava counterpart at my local market. These are a quick and simple party snack to make for guests. The best way to enjoy Pão de Quejo is hot from the oven, but if you have a few leftover make sure to pop them back in the oven, air fryer, toaster oven, or somewhere warm.
Lúcio’s Pão de Quejo:
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups tapioca/cassava flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup finely grated cheddar
1 | Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2 | Combine milk, oil, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to just under a boil, then remove from heat and stir in the tapioca or cassava flour, making sure no dry lumps remain.
3 | Transfer the dough to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Beat the dough with a hand mixer for a minute or so to help it cool down slightly, then beat in the eggs one at a time. When the eggs have been fully incorporated, beat in the cheese until the dough is evenly mixed with a smooth consistency.
4 | Form the dough into golf ball-sized spheres and space them out evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
5 | Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the dough has puffed up and turned golden brown. Let cool for a minute or two before enjoying. Best eaten the same day, preferably while hot and fresh.
2 | Carne Adovada (Cassidy)
This Carne Adovada recipe is an American Southwest dish from one of my favorite Overwatch heroes Cassidy (formerly known as McCree). Cassidy is not my favorite character to play as in Overwatch. I’m actually quite terrible with his six shooter — although I do with I was better with him. He’s one of my favorites because of his voice lines, and the voice behind those lines (Critical Role’s Matt Mercer).
The combination of spices would work just as well with other meats (beef, chicken). In fact, I saved the leftover spice mix for later. I served this pork dish over a Mexican yellow rice, but I can totally see it being the highlight of tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos or any TexMex meal.
Cassidy’s Carne Adovada:
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 diced yellow onion
• 3-4 minced garlic cloves
• 2 1/2 lb pork loin, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 cups chicken stock, divided
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 2 tbsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Salt, to taste
1 | Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and set aside a Dutch oven or large casserole dish.
2 | In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook for a few minutes, until both are soft and golden brown. Transfer the onion and garlic to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Next, brown the pork on all sides in the same frying pan in batches. Add a little more oil to the pan if needed. When all the pork is browned, transfer it to the Dutch oven.
3 | Blend the onion, garlic, 1 cup of chicken stock, spices, honey, and vinegar until smooth, then pour over the pork in the Dutch oven. Add the remaining chicken stock until all the pork is submerged. Cook uncovered for around 2 hours, until the pork is very tender and the sauce has thickened somewhat. Add salt to taste and serve. This recipe is great served over rice.
3 | Beer-Battered Fish and Chips (Tracer)
My third dish was Tracer’s classic British pub meal, Beer-Battered Fish and Chips. I don’t cook enough fish at home, but I do know that fish is always best when it’s fried.
I was inspired to recreate this dish after returning from EPCOT in Walt Disney World, where my friend had let me try his Fish & Chips in the UK. I usually don’t fry much at home, because of the oily mess it leaves all over the stovetop. In this case, I was surprised by the lack of mess from using my large high-walled red cast iron dutch oven pot.
There was no fry recipe included with this dish (it just said “serve with fries”), so instead of baking or frying some frozen fries, I decided to make my hand cut air fryer fries. They paired perfectly with the fried codfish and malt vinegar — as did the leftover Monk in the Trunk Amber Ale (from local Florida brewery Inlet Brewing Company) which I used in the batter.
I had to choose a Tracer dish because she is the original face of Overwatch.
Tracer’s Beer-Battered Fish and Chips:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt, plus more for serving
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 12-oz bottle brown ale or amber beer
• 1 1/2 lbs whitefish (cod), cut into 1 inch strips
• Cornstarch, for dredging
• 2-4 cups vegetable oil
1 | In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients, then whisk in the beer until the batter is smooth. Let sit for about 20 minutes. Fill a small bowl with cornstarch and set aside.
2 | Heat the oil to around 350 degrees F in a frying pan with tall sides. Line a plate with paper towels and set aside.
3 | Dip the strips of fish into the cornstarch, then into the batter. Working with only a couple of pieces at a time, lower the battered fish into the hot oil. Cook on both sides, about 2 minutes total, until crispy and golden brown. Remove the strips and lay them on the paper towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat until all the strips are fried.
4 | Serve with fries, malt vinegar, and a good amount of salt.
*BONUS RECIPE | Ferdi’s Hand Cut Air Fryer Fries (as seen in photos above)
Ferdi’s Hand Cut Air Fryer Fries
• Yukon gold potatoes (cut to your favorite fry shape)
• Olive oil
• Frank’s Red Hot seasoning
• Salt and pepper
1 | Preheat air fryer or oven to 400 degrees F.
2 | Season cut fries with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Frank’s Red Hot seasoning in a bowl, and toss for equal coating.
3 | Place in the air fryer, or on a baking dish in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden (flipping halfway through).
*This BONUS RECIPE is not as detailed because I sort of eyeball it every time.
The three recipes above are the main three I created so far from Overwatch: The Official Cookbook, but I plan to create some of the delectable desserts and dashing drinks. There’s a beautiful Eichenwalde Cake in the Reinhardt section, which I did not fully create yet, but I did use part of this recipe for one of my own creations.
At the time I had been making stacked sheet cakes, using store bought frosting (Betty Crocker/Duncan Hines). I took the heavy cream-based frosting from this recipe and layered it between sheet cakes. It just gave me a different perspective on what the frosting for my sheet cakes can be.
Thanks again to Amanda at Insight Editions for sending this book and a few others.
I’m excited to create and share more recipes from the other books in the near future.
**myVGBC.com was sent Overwatch: The Official Cookbook for review by Insight Editions.
You can check out their other gaming books right here.
***All recipes from Overwatch: The Official Cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel (Insight Editions 2019)
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