Feasting on Art

I am very excited to introduce a new monthly feature to Feasting on Art – blogger recipe collaboration. It is a great way to highlight some of the writers and photographers that I follow and who influence my work. Each collaboration will focus on one painting and two recipes – one sweet and the other savory. This week you will have to visit Jamie’s post, Baked ‘Fried’ Apple Pie, for the sweet half of this autumnal German menu. With it being the first week of Oktoberfest I would recommend enjoying the meal with a big stein of lager. Although German cuisine is often thought of as heavy and stodgy, the sauerkraut (German for ‘sour cabbage’) balances the schnitzel, lightened through the inclusion of fresh apple in the breading. Side-note: due to a dust storm (see photo) all of the photographs were shot by candlelight.

Paul Klee, Still Life with Four Apples, 1909
oil and gouache on board, 34.3 x 28.2 cm, Museum of Modern Art, New York City

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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