Feasting on Art

As with my previous two recipes, I made these delicate crespelles for my house guests while they stayed the week with me before their travels. After a rather late night where we enjoyed life a bit too much these were the best hangover cure (except for one of us!). Warm and filling the bacon & mushroom ragu would be wonderful over some warm pasta or spooned onto a crusty crostini.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo, The Vegetable Gardener, c.1590
oil on wood, 35 x 24 cm, Museo Civico Ala Ponzone, Cremona, Italy

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I know that this is only my eighth recipe here on Feasting on Art and like the lemon & orange ice cream this risotto has a focus on citrus flavors. If you are familiar with still life paintings then you will know that the majority of them will feature a lemon somewhere on the canvas. Traditionally citrus fruits represented the wealth of the patron commissioning the painting because they were exotic commodities that required a substantial sum of money to acquire. In an era where artists were treated as craftsmen, the lemon became a test for the artist to demonstrate skill in illustrating the different manipulations of light. The paint was carefully applied to depict the lustrous light glowing from within the semi-translucent flesh of the lemon with the delicately cut peel curled in a long tendril showing a complex perspective (example here). These beautiful fruits will in all likelihood be featured many times here at Feasting on Art but like the 17th century artists, the lemon is a challenge for me to keep looking for new fresh and inspired recipes.

Giovanna Garzoni, Still Life with Bowl of Citrons, late 1640s
tempera on vellum, 27.6 x 35.2 cm, J Paul Getty Museum

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