What Claude Monet did with chestnuts, and Frida Kahlo did with strawberries: 5 original recipes from famous artists

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Artists are creative people, which means that they are innovative not only in their studios, but also in their kitchens. Many painters feel as comfortable and inspired at the stove as they do in front of an easel, whether they love to cook for themselves or host gourmet dinner parties. Learn about five exquisite recipes from the cookbooks of renowned artists including Marcel Duchamp, Frida Kahlo, and Salvador Dali in this article.

During the Dutch Golden Age, artists masterfully reflected on their canvases extravagant countertops overflowing with grapes, meat and wine. In the 20th century, food was a traditional staple for the work of Oldenburg and Andy Warhol, who used staples of American cuisine in monumental fast food sculptures and reproductions of soup cans. From the comfort of their own kitchens, some artists also viewed food as another attribute of their art. As Olafur Eliasson once said: “Cooking, like art, is both reactive and creative. It is about being on the move, managing and trusting your feelings, and then connecting and transforming."

1. Frida Kahlo's Strawberry Atole

- 1.5 cups masharina ("dough flour"), - 6 cups of water, - 2 cups strawberries, - 3/4 cup brown sugar.

At Casa Azul (Blue House) in Mexico City, Friela Kahlo often hosted holiday dinners with her husband, artist Diego Rivera. On these noisy days, which she called "días de los manteles largos" (days of the long tablecloth), she served Mexican traditional dishes - tamales, pulque, mezcal and others. Interestingly, Frida loved to cook as much as she loved to write her amazing canvases. In 1994, Calo's stepdaughter, Guadeloupe Rivera, published a memoir of how she lived with the couple while in college.

In her memoirs, Frida Kahlo's recipes often flashed, which were traditionally prepared for big holidays (for example, on Christmas or the Day of the Dead). On October 31, Rivera writes, Casa Azul "gained momentum" in preparation for the Day of the Dead celebrations. The menu for the occasion included both sweet treats (such as pumpkin in syrup) and savory dishes (some of Kalo's favorites are chicken in pipian sauce and tamales in banana leaves). These dishes were accompanied by cups of strawberry atole, a hot corn-based drink often flavored with fruits or spices. To prepare, you need to dissolve the masa-harina flour in 4 glasses of water and leave for 15 minutes. Later, strain. In another bowl, grind the strawberries with brown sugar and 2 cups of water, then drain off the excess water. Next, mix the masa harina and strawberries in a large saucepan and stir constantly until thickened. Frida Kahlo's dish is ready!

2. Steak Tartare Marcel Duchamp

- 300 grams of chopped raw beef, - 2 eggs, - 1 white onion, - bright green capers, - anchovies, - fresh parsley, - black olives, - yellow celery leaves.

In his diaries, Marcel Duchamp wrote: "The steak I am talking about was produced by the Cossacks in Siberia, and it can even be prepared on horseback, if the need arises."This recipe is taken from The Painters and Writers Cookbook (1961), which features 220 recipes from 55 artists, 61 writers, 15 sculptors and 19 poets, including Harper Lee, Irving Stone, John Keats and Man Ray. It is difficult to check if it is possible to make Duchamp's recipe on horseback, but this recipe is really simple, as the artist points out.

Striving for decoration, Duchamp highly recommends serving the dish on a plain ivory plate "so that no pattern disturbs the distribution of ingredients." First, put the beef "nicely in a bird's nest", and put egg yolks in its core. Around the nest in the form of a wreath, you need to form bouquets of onions, capers, anchovies, parsley and chopped olives with celery leaves. “Each guest himself at his own plate mixes the ingredients with egg yolk and meat,” concludes Duchamp. In the center of the table: Russian pumpernickel bread (a type of rye bread), butter and a bottle of rose wine.

3. Salvador Dali's fruit cream

- 1 can of grape juice - 1 can of apricot juice - 8 tablespoons of semolina - 100 grams of powdered sugar - 100 grams of heavy cream - 150 grams of cream with brandy or cognac (optional) - 150 grams of heavy cream - 250 grams of powdered sugar

Salvador Dali became famous not only for his surreal paintings, but also for his sumptuous dinners with his wife Gala. The lavish dinner parties hosted by Dali and his wife and muse Gala are legendary. So it comes as no surprise that he wrote and published a cookbook with their family menu, including dishes from the finest French chefs of the day. The book was published in 1973 and included 136 recipes along with drawings by Dali himself. Illustrations and recipes are accompanied by extravagant reflections of the artist on topics such as conversation at lunch: "The jaw is our best tool for comprehending philosophical knowledge." The book presents 12 different dishes, including the famous Dali dessert - fruit cream.

So, to prepare the dessert, you need to pour the grape and apricot juices into one pan. Bring to a boil, then add semolina to the liquid mass. Stir for 5 minutes over low heat, add cream and remove from heat. When the mass is slightly warm, you need to mix it again and add the chopped plum pieces. Transfer to a shallow dish and refrigerate. Next, you need to beat this mass with plums, add sugar. Whipped cream can be used as a garnish when serving.

4. Chestnut cookies by Claude Monet

- ½ cup unsalted butter, - 1 cup unsweetened chestnut puree, - ¾ cup sugar, - 3 eggs, divided into whites and yolks.

Monet's Rose House in Giverny is best known for its breathtaking gardens, which inspired the artist's famous water lily paintings. However, inside this house keeps something more than the life and work of the artist. The house houses a yellow dining room with Monet's favorite Japanese prints, where the artist enjoyed the dishes prepared by his chef Margarita. Monet started his day with a breakfast of fresh eggs (from domestic chickens) omelet, sausage, toast with jam and tea. After several hours of work, he invited his friends (usually Mallarmé, Valerie, Whistler, Cezanne and Rodin) to dinner at strictly 11:30. Clarity was needed so that Monet could spend the rest of the day painting in the open air while the sun was shining.

Claude Monet's cookbook includes several classic French dishes and treats that the artist and his friends enjoyed over tea. While the green cake with pistachio cream is considered his favorite, chestnut biscuits seem to be especially suitable for the holidays. To prepare it, you need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease 20 muffin tins with oil. Melt butter over low heat, add chestnut puree, sugar and egg yolks (without proteins). Mix everything well. Next, you need to remove the pan from the heat. Beat the egg whites until crisp and add them to the previously prepared mass. Put the whole mass in molds and bake for 20 minutes. The impressionist dessert is ready!

5. Louise Bourgeois French salad with cucumbers

- 6 cucumbers, - 6 tbsp. tablespoons of olive oil, - 2 ½ tbsp. tablespoons of tarragon vinegar, - ½ teaspoon of tarragon, - salt, - pepper, - chopped garlic or green onions.

Bourgeois's approach to cooking was as personal and special as her art. “As a child in France, I was told that cooking is the way to a man's heart,” she recalled in a cookbook at the Museum of Modern Art. “Today I know this idea is absurd.” For many years, Bourgeois was forced to help her sick mother around the house and cooked for her father. Unsurprisingly, during her student years, she avoided culinary pursuits. The bourgeois preferred to eat ready-made food: yogurt and honey with rye bread. However, in the 1960s and 1970s, immersed in the life of the New York avant-garde, she wanted to please her artist friends. “When the galleries closed, we all flocked to my house. I had to feed fifteen people at once,”the artist recalled. After the opening day, Bourgeois served meat, vegetables and white wine to her guests.

Bourgeois's contribution to the Museum of Modern Art cookbook (which also features recipes by her contemporaries Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Warhol and Helen Frankenthaler) is rather modest. For example, to prepare this simple and elegant salad, prepared by the artist as a first course for her hungry guests, you need to place the sliced cucumber strips in a small bowl, sprinkling with salt between the layers. Then cover the bowl and refrigerate for 12 hours. Remove the cucumbers and rinse under cold running water, then pat dry with a towel. To make the dressing, mix oil, vinegar, tarragon, salt and pepper in a bowl. Then pour the cucumber slices with this mixture and mix. You can add ground garlic and green onions to taste. The salad will be even more delicious when served with hot French bread.