Artists are creative people, which means they are not only innovative in their studios, but also in their kitchens. There’s a long history of artists feeling as comfortable in front of the stove as they are in front of an easel, whether they simply enjoy cooking for themselves or hosting elaborate dinners. Discover nine cookbook recipes featuring dishes by celebrated artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Claude Monet, and Georgia O’Keeffe.
1. Steak Tartar by Marcel Duchamp
, from The Artists’ and Writers’ Cookbook
Perhaps one of the most revered artist-inspired cookbooks, The Artists’ and Writers’ Cookbook was published by Contact Editions in 1961. It featured recipes from 70 artists and 80 writers, some of whom volunteered to offer tried and true dishes they make at home, while others took some creative freedom. Man Ray, for example, suggested serving steel ball bearings soaked in machine oil with French bread painted baby blue. Marcel Duchamp found a middle ground for his steak tartare recipe that is partly a performance, but also a genuine recipe.
Let me start by saying, ma chere, that Steak Tartare, aka Bitteck Tartare, also known as Steck Tartare, is in no way related to tartar sauce. The steak I am referring to originated with the Cossacks in Siberia, and can be prepared on horseback, galloping fast, if conditions make it a necessity.
Directions: Chop half a pound (per person) of the best beef available, and carefully shape with art in a bird’s nest. Place it on a porcelain plate of a solid color (ivory is the best fit) so that no pattern disturbs the distribution of ingredients. In the hollow center of the nest, allow two egg yolks to recline. Like a crown surrounding the minced meat nest, place on the edge of the plate in small, separate bouquets:
Chopped raw white onion
Bright green capers
Anchovy curly silver
Parsley fresh
, finely chopped
black olives meticulously chopped in the company of yellow celery leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Each guest, with his plate in front of him, raises his fork and mixes the ingredients with the egg yolks and meat. In the center of the table: pumpernickel Russian bread, sweet butter and bottles of vin rosé.
2. Salvador Dalà fruit cream from
Les Diners
de Gala
While Salvador DalÃ’s paintings often incorporated food, the artist’s enduring claim to fame in the food world might just be his sumptuous surreal dinners hosted with his wife, Gala. So perhaps it’s no surprise that he published a cookbook of his menu items, including dishes from the best French chefs of the time. Les Diners de Gala was originally published by Felicie in 1973 and included 136 recipes along with illustrations by Dalà himself: The volume will be reissued by Taschen this June. The book covers 12 different dishes, including dessert, like this fruit cream.
1 can grape juice (1 pint)1 can apricot juice (1 pint)8 tablespoons semolina31/2 oz
powdered sugar31/2 oz heavy cream7 oz plums with brandy (optional)5 oz heavy cream2 oz powdered sugar Pour the grape juice and apricot juice
into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then throw the semolina into the liquid. Stir with a wooden spoon and boil for 5 minutes.
Add the cream and remove from heat.
When warm, stir to settle the preparation.
Then you can add the plums, cut into pieces.
As children like this dessert very much, you can do without brandied plums if you wish.
Pour into a shallow dish and put in the refrigerator.
Whipping, add sugar to the 5 ounces of heavy cream to make a whipped cream.
If you prepare the whipped cream in advance, put it in a strainer to drain the buttermilk.
When serving, use whipped cream as a garnish.
3. Beetroot gnocchi by Olafur
Eliasson by Studio Olafur Eliasson: The Kitchen
Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson not only produces artwork in his Berlin studio, but also produces lunch. Appropriately named The Kitchen, the studio’s private kitchen, staffed by a female team of chefs, serves vegetarian or vegan dishes to the dozens of workers at a large communal meal shared around a long table each day. “The studio kitchen celebrates the connections between humans, food and the sun as an energy exchange system, as an ecology of giving, taking and sharing,” Eliasson writes in Studio Olafur Eliasson: The Kitchen, a 2016 cookbook published by Phaidon.
The book includes more than 100 vegetarian recipes, including Eliasson’s favorites: a bifun rice noodle salad with peanut sauce. Here is the recipe for 6 or 60 people.
For salad:
2|20
tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted2|20 eggs2 teaspoons|6 tablespoons shoyu soy sauceFreshly ground black pepper2 tablespoons|11/4 cup (300 ml) sunflower oil7 oz (200 g)|41/2 lb (2 kg) smoked tofu, sliced7 oz (200 g)|41/2 lb (2 kg) mixed mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, royal trumpet), choppedSal9 oz (250 g)|51/2 lb (2.5 kg) rice or glass noodles4 tablespoons|21/2 cups (600 ml) roasted sesame oil1|10 cucumber or zucchini, cut into matches1|10 red bell pepper/s, finely chopped1|10 celery stick/s, finely chopped10|41/2 lb (2 kg) cherry tomatoes, quartered2 tablespoons|1 lb 2 oz (500 g) cashew nuts, toasted1|10 coriander or basil cuff/s, chopped1 sprig|1 bunch mint leaves, choppedFor
peanut sauce 4 tablespoons|13/4 lb (800
g) soft peanut butter2 tablespoons|11/4 cup (300 ml) tahini1 tablespoon|5 oz (150 g) brown sugar11/2 tablespoon|1 small cup ( 225 ml) soy sauce, plus more as needed1 teaspoon|3 tablespoons ground chili peppers50|1 lb 2 oz (500 g) roasted peanuts
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over low heat until the seeds take on a round shape. Once the pan heats up, the seeds burn very easily, so be careful! This can be done in a large batch in advance and stored in a dry place for later use.
Beat the eggs with soy sauce and pepper and mix them in a little sunflower oil. Using the same pan, add more sunflower oil and fry the tofu until crispy. Season with pepper and set aside. Cook the mushrooms in the pan with the soy sauce until all the liquid has evaporated.
Boil a large saucepan of water and add a pinch of salt. Turn off the heat, place the noodles in the water and leave on for 1 minute. Drain very well and drizzle with sesame oil. Add cucumber, red pepper, celery, sesame seeds, tomatoes, cashews, eggs, tofu, coriander and mint and mix gently.
For peanut sauce, combine all ingredients. Lose weight with water until you reach the desired consistency. Serve with salad.
