Feasting on Art

I was fortunate to spend the early part of the New Year travelling around the South Island of New Zealand with my grandparents. Under blue skies and surrounded by mountains, I consumed an inordinate amount of quiche. Settled among the meat pies and soggy sandwiches, the towering triangles of vegetable-studded egg always appeared the most appetizing. However, filled with wintry root vegetables, the dish left me longing for fresh and bright summer flavours. Although quiche is typically classified as a French dish, the name is a derivative of the German noun, kuchen, meaning ‘cake.’ This recipe for a quiche filled with sweet semi-dried tomatoes, spindly asparagus and sharp feta is both delicious and aesthetically pleasing. Perched upon a cake platter with a serving knife, the presentation alludes to the etymological origin of the dish.

Paul LaCroix, Still Life with Asparagus and Tomatoes, 1864
oil on canvas, 34.29 x 41.28 cm, Private collection

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The decadence of the holidays coupled with two weeks of vacation has taken a toll on my palette and appetite. Although there is a definite lack of cream and butter-heavy dishes here in the Southern Hemisphere, the oil and fat of barbecued meats and deep-fried delights had me gravitating towards recipes that were light, clean and nourishing. I have been a long-time glutton for the bright green seaweed salads sold at most take-away sushi shops. This version uses reconstituted wakame seaweed, deep green, salty and earthy. The smallest slick of sesame oil cuts through the rice wine vinegar and fresh lemon juice. The brightness of the acid is balanced with the rich umami flavour of the soy sauce and the subtle heat of the dried chili. To welcome the New Year and revitalise an overwhelmed palette wakame seaweed salad just might become an annual tradition.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳), Toto meisho 東都名所 (Famous Places in Edo) / Omori 大森1830-35, woodblock printed by Kagaya Kichibel (加賀屋), 25.4 x 36.7 cm, The British Museum

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From fried oysters to cendol, I consumed a number of delectables while travelling in Malaysia in late October. Our restaurants ranged from street food in Penang to a private beach BBQ on Redang Island. Malaysian food is an exciting blend of Indian, Chinese and Malay cuisines with regional curries and fried noodle courses. I tried a number of new dishes including sea cucumber and overly indulged a few old favorites, especially roti canai. One of the stand-out meals was in Penang at a small Indian restaurant consisting of a few varieties of murtabak (pictured below on the left) along with a table full of curries. Paired with the murtabak was a small bowl of thinly sliced, pickled red onion that brightened the dish and gave it a punch of flavour. This dish can be found in hawker markets around the city, mingling with an assortment of goods from beautiful batik prints to every tropical fruit imaginable.

Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi, façade stone carving (detail right), c.1906
Cannon Street, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

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Dating all the way back to the 16th century, potato salad was brought by the Spanish from the Americas to Europe. Their version was made by boiling potatoes in vinegar or wine – giving the starchy and often stodgy food a light and sour twang. The German variety, also made with vinegar was Americanised in the early 20th century via a generous dressing of mayonnaise (1). With my recipe, I wanted to recall the original tart flavour of the dish layered with sweet and salty ingredients, taking this salad beyond typical cook-out fare. This is my go-to recipe, scrawled on a stained and creased recipe card, copied and saved years ago from a long-forgotten source. The use of fresh dill is a necessity – not only for the taste, but also the smell when it is tossed with the hot roasted spuds.

Cornelius Hankins, Still Life with Potatoes, 1902
oil on canvas, 50.8 x 76.2 cm, Cheekwood Museum of Art

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In the last few weeks of September and the first few of October, the city of Munich holds a festival called Oktoberfest. The calendar is adjusted each year so that the festival will end on the first Sunday of October and this year is the 200th jubilee of the event. Revellers gather and enjoy hearty dishes ranging from sausages to sauerkraut and copious amounts of bier. The event is so popular that cities around the world hold celebrations to mark the occasion. I find that this recipe is best suited for any type of beer and would recommend using your favourite drop, as you are predisposed to already prefer the taste of the soup. I made the version depicted below with a light beer, Pure Blonde to be exact, and instantly wish I had used a stout to capitalise upon it’s sweet caramely flavours. It is also possible to swap the lemon juice with a preferred white wine. I have read other recipes that suggest this is a good way to achieve the light touch from the acidity.

Heinrich Kühn, Still Life with Steins, c.1900
gum-bichromate pigment print, 29.8 x 39.7 cm

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