Prince Harry Revealed He and Meghan Made a Food & Wine Recipe In 'Spare' — Here's Our Best Guess at Which One
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
We're flattered, truly.
Getty Images; Antonis Achilleos
When Prince Harry’s book “Spare” hit store shelves on January 10, fans, royal followers and the ultra-curious among us tore through its pages to find some rather salacious details of royal life. While we’ll leave most of that up to our friends at People, there was one particular passage that caught our attention. You know, the one on page 287 when Harry admits that he and Meghan are big-time Food & Wine fans, and that one of our recipes was the centerpiece of an early date.
“...I grabbed a basket, walked casually up and down the aisles. Beside the fruit and veg I felt her stroll past me. Actually, it was more a saunter than a stroll. Very saucy. We slid our eyes towards each other, just an instant, then quickly away,” Harry wrote of a secret trip to the grocery store. “ Meg had cut out a roasted salmon recipe from Food & Wine and with that we’d made a list and divided it in two. She was in charge of finding a baking sheet, while I was tasked with finding parchment paper.”
And with that graph, our 15 minutes of royally adjacent fame was over. But it did get us thinking, which recipe did they make anyway?
We only have a few clues: It’s got to include salmon, appeared in the print magazine, and it had to be roasted. We’ll never know for sure which recipe it was (though Harry, Meghan, if you’re reading this, drop us a note, we’d love to know), but we do have a few educated guesses.
Sheet Pan Salmon with Brussels Sprouts
In 2019, chef and cookbook author Klancy Miller shared her recipe for Sheet Pan Salmon with Brussels Sprouts. As Miller wrote, "This recipe combines three simple things that I enjoy and turn to again and again when I’m cooking solo: seafood, an assortment of vegetables, and a mini sheet pan." It's all the things Harry writes about in his novel, which could indicate it as a potential winner. Its only downfall is the timing: By 2019, the two had already wed, and according to Harry, this grocery store dalliance happened in the early days of their relationship. But, it doesn't make the meal any less delicious.
Salmon, Broccolini and Fresh Red Chile Papillotes
Chef and recipe developer Justin Chapple has the best shot at being the owner to the recipe made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Why? For starters, his recipe for Salmon, Broccolini and Fresh Red Chile Papillotes was published back in 2015, just prior to Harry and Meghan meeting and beginning their courtship. And, the recipe calls for salmon, vegetables, and "4 large sheets of parchment paper," a key tool, according to Harry.
Quick-Brined Roast Salmon with Lemon-Garlic Oil
One other potential, royal-approved salmon recipe is the Quick-Brined Roast Salmon with Lemon-Garlic Oil by Kay Chun. This recipe calls for "5-ounces skinless salmon" along with the key parchment paper. And, it was published on January 1, 2017, making it just the right timing for an early date for the two (at the time still secretive) lovebirds.
Roasted Side of Salmon
Finally, we have the Roasted Side of Salmon by Robin Bashinsky, a James Beard Award-winning food journalist and recipe developer. The recipe is a simple one, calling for just six ingredients: water, fine salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and salmon. It would be ideal for a clearly new-to-the-kitchen Harry (who revealed in his book that he needed to ask Meghan what parchment paper was). The only caveat with this one is it was published in November of 2018, several months after they married. Either way, we're sure they'd enjoy making this recipe together now.
