‘Bethlehem is a journey that I would share with anybody who wants to know about my city, my city's people, and my city's food,’ says Fadi Kattan of his debut cookbook, Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food. ‘[It’s] a collection of recipes and portraits which deliver a very intimate story… the story of food in Bethlehem directly from the people who make the food.’

Fadi Kattan on ‘Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food’

The Franco-Palestinian chef grew up in the holy city, and was inspired to celebrate the underrepresented culinary history of Palestine. In 2023, he co-founded Akub, a modern Palestinian restaurant located in the heart of London’s Notting Hill, and there he serves up tempting dishes on ceramic restaurant crockery (that's also available to buy) by Nur Minawi – a Jaffa-based third-generation Palestinian ceramicist. Now, one year later, Kattan has curated an archive of recipes that capture the flavours, aromas, and stories of Bethlehem’s rich culinary landscape.

Kattan’s recipe book is an ode to the resilience of community through troubled times. ‘The most challenging part [of creating Bethlehem] was to be able to balance my emotions between the total fascination and love I have for the city and for Palestine, with the pain of living under occupation. I didn't shy away from either. I took on what reality is and tried to transmit this through the book,’ he tells Wallpaper*.

Speaking with local farmers, artisans, and family members, Kattan painted an evocative picture of traditions made in the kitchen through profiles that accompany the recipes. ‘I learned from my grandmother, Julia, the most important tradition is hospitality and kindness,’ he says.

The recipes span from cheese-stuffed grape leaves to tender slow-roasted lamb seasoned with fenugreek and cardamom, and carefully strained labneh (a Middle Eastern yogurt) dusted with nigella seeds. Asked for a favourite, Kattan finds it hard to choose.

‘I love all of them. It just depends on the season, the time, the mood, and the produce available,’ he says. ‘I wanted the recipes to be accessible, and replicable anywhere. I think maybe I'd say one of the recipes I love the most, because it's pure simplicity, is the fig recipe, where you just cut it in four, add some olive oil and sprinkle some milk, and that's it.’

Most importantly, Kattan’s work nods to the unsung heroes championing Palestinian food and community, with the effort to preserve long-held traditions. ‘Traditions are kept alive in spite of everything that's been done to try and erase them… [Our culture] survives because each home, family, and artisan repeats that gesture of our craft of cooking. It's the gesture of making Palestinian za’atar bread or ka’ak (a semolina shortbread pastry). It's the gesture of mixing the tahini with dibis (grape molasses) for breakfast. It's the gesture of soaking the taboon bread in broth and olive oil.’

Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food by Fadi Kattan is available to pre-order, and released in the US on 14 May 2024, and 16 May in the UK. The recipe book is also available from Amazon

We're embracing Christmas cake in the very broadest of terms. For Christmas desserts with a difference – from fabulous French canelés to sublime Sicilian cassata and perky Portuguese pastéis de nata, via trusty coffee and walnut cake – we've raided the recipe archive of Wallpaper’s esteemed entertaining director, Melina Keays. Having devised the delicious, the daring and the downright divine for Wallpaper* photography shoots since the magazine launched, Keays knows a thing or two about cake. Here are the recipes for a few celebratory sweet treats she prepared earlier. Dig in…

CHRISTMAS DESSERTS AND FESTIVE TREATS

Cassata

Cassata recipe, serves 10-12

For the marzipan:

• 80g shelled pistachio nuts
• 80g blanched almonds
• 80g icing sugar
• few drops of green food colouring
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten until frothy (reserve the yolk for the sponge cake)

For the sponge cake:

• 170g plain flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 5 eggs
• 170g caster sugar
• zest of 1 orange

For the filling and syrup:

• 150g caster sugar
• 700g fresh ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 70g dark chocolate, chopped
• 70g candied fruit, chopped
• 2 tbs Grand Marnier

To finish:

• 200g icing sugar
• 1-2 tbs lemon juice
• glacé fruits

To make the marzipan, place the pistachios and almonds in a food processor and chop finely. Add the icing sugar and process well. With the motor running, add the food colouring and enough of the egg white to just bring the mixture to a smooth dough. Wrap and set aside. 

To make the sponge cake, line a 21-24cm springform deep cake tin with baking paper. Heat the oven to 180°C. Put the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, mix well, then set aside. Break the five eggs into another bowl., add the reserved yok, the sugar and the orange zest, then beat on high speed for about 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Fold in the flour mixture and spoon the batter into the prepared tin. Smooth the top, then bake for 30 minutes until well risen and golden, and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack. 

To make the filling, put 100g of the caster sugar in a bowl with the ricotta , vanilla and ground cinnamon and beat well, ensuring the sugar is completely dissolved. Fold in the chocolate and candied fruit, then leave to chill in the fridge. 

To make the syrup, put the remaining 50g of caster sugar in a small pan with 30ml water and bring to a simmer over a medium to high heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat, stir in the Grand Marnier and set aside. 

Cut the sponge cake into 1cm-thick slices across the diameter. Line a 21-24cm cassata mould, tarte tatin tin or pie dish with sloping sides with clingfilm. Roll out the marzipan on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar, to about a 1/2m thickness. Slice the marzipan into strips and use these to line the sides of the cassata mould, smoothing and flattening them where they overlap. Line the base and sides of the cassata mould with cake strips, cutting them to fit. Brush the cake surface generously with some of the syrup. Spoon in the ricotta filling and smooth the top. Cover the ricotta filling with more cake slices and brush with the remaining syrup. Wrap tightly with clingfilm and chill for 2 hours. Combine the icing sugar with enough lemon juice, added gradually, to make a smooth, thick glaze. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Pour the glaze over the cake to cover evenly. Decorate with glacé fruits and chill until set, for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Coffee & walnut cake, and canelés

Coffee & walnut cake recipe

• 180g plain flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 180g unsalted butter, softened
• 180g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tbs instant coffee
• 1tbs instant coffee dissolved in 1tbs boiling water
• 2 tbs plain yogurt
• 60g chopped walnuts, plus walnut halves to decorate
• 2-3 tbs milk

For the coffee icing:

• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 300g icing sugar
• 1 tbs instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbs boiling water
• 2tbs milk

Prepare 220cm shallow round baking tins by lining their bases with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Sift the flour with the baking powder, bicarbonate and salt, and set aside. Beat the butter with the sugar in a large bowl until soft and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a tablespoon of the reserved flour with each egg to prevent curdling. Add the flour, in two stages, making sure each addition is blended in before adding the next. Beat in the coffee mixture, the yogurt, the chopped walnuts, and enough of the milk to achieve a soft ‘dropping’ consistency. 

Divide the batter between the tins, smooth the tops and place in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins until well risen and golden. A toothpick should come out clean. Allow to cool in the tins for 5 mins, then run a knife between cake and tin to release the cakes. Cool on a wire rack. 

To make the icing, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, soft and fluffy. Stir the milk into the coffee and beat one tablespoon into the buttercream. Continue with the rest of the coffee mixture, beating in one tablespoon at a time until you have a light and fluffy icing. 

Spread half on one sponge, then place the second on top and spread, or pipe, with the remaining icing. Decorate with walnut halves.

Canelés recipe, makes 16

• 500ml full fat milk
• 1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthways, both halves still attached at the stalk
• 30g unsalted butter, plus another 30g, melted, to butter the moulds
• 220g caster sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 130g plain flour
• 1 egg and 2 egg yolks
• 3 tbs dark rum
• canelé moulds

Make the batter the day before. Put the milk, vanilla pod, butter, sugar and salt into a heavy pan and slowly bring to just below boiling point. 

Take off the heat, remove the vanilla, scrape out the seeds and whisk these into the hot milk. Reserve the empty pod. Put the flour into a large bowl and pour on a little of the hot milk, whisking away all the lumps. When the batter is smooth, whisk in the rest of the milk. Beat in the eggs and rum. Put the vanilla pod back into the batter.Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Brush the moulds with melted butter and place in the fridge to chill. Heat the oven to 250°C. Discard the vanilla pod. Fill the moulds just over three quarters full with the cold batter and bake for 10 mins at 250°C, and a further 35 mins at 190°C. Invert the moulds onto a wire rack to release the canelés.

Floating islands, and rum babas

Floating islands recipe, serves 4

• 1 litre full-fat milk, plus a little extra
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 300g caster sugar
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cornflour
• toasted flaked almonds

Put the milk, vanilla paste and 50g sugar into a large heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil slowly over a low heat. 

Meanwhile, put the egg whites and lemon juice in a large bowl and whisk into soft peaks. Add 120g sugar and whisk until stiff and glossy. Keep the milk simmering and drop large spoonfuls of meringue mixture into the milk. Poach gently for about 3 minutes, then turn and cook the other side for another 3 minutes. Leave them to drain on a clean cloth. 

Strain the milk into a measuring jug, top up to the 1 litre level, pour back into the pan and return to simmering point. Place the yolks, cornflour and 30g of sugar in a large bowl and whisk until pale and fluffy. Slowly add the hot milk, stirring constantly. Pour back into the pan over a very low heat and stir until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Leave to cool, stirring occasionally. 

To make the caramel, place the rest of the sugar and 3 tbs water in a pan over a low heat and leave to bubble gently until golden. Pour custard into a shallow bowl and float the meringues on the surface. Dribble over caramel, then chill. Scatter with almonds.

Rum babas recipe, serves 6

• 250g plain flour
• 30g caster sugar, plus extra for the moulds
• 70ml milk
• 7g instant yeast
• 2 medium eggs, at room temperature, beaten
• 100g butter, softened
• 250ml double cream, whipped, to serve

For the syrup:

• 250g caster sugar
• 100ml dark rum

Put the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl and stir well. Warm the milk, add the yeast and stir until dissolved. Add the eggs and milk mixture to the flour bowl and stir well, then knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes until smooth. Work in the butter, kneading for 5 minutes until you have a glossy, elastic dough. Place in a large bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for at least 1 hour until doubled in size.

Grease and sugar six 6cm tall dariole moulds. Turn out the dough and knead briefly to knock it back. Divide into six and place in the moulds. Heat the oven to 180°C.

Allow the babas to prove again until almost at the top of the moulds, then bake for 20 minutes until golden. Allow to cool slightly before carefully releasing from the moulds and placing on a wire rack. 

To make the syrup, put the sugar, rum and 200ml water in a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave until just warm. Place the babas in a bowl, split in half and pour over the syrup. Serve with whipped cream.

Pithivier

Pithivier recipe, serves 8

• 140g unsalted butter, softened
• 140g caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 2 tbs dark rum
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 140g ground almonds
• 20g plain flour
• 1 tbs double cream
• 500g butter puff pastry

Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until pale and fluffy. Beat in two of the eggs, one at a time, then the rum and zest. Fold in the almonds and flour.

In a clean bowl, beat the remaining egg with the cream to make an eggwash. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Cut the pastry into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Place the smaller piece on a lightly floured surface and roll into a circle about 28cm in diameter, then transfer to the baking sheet. Roll out the larger piece of pastry to the same diameter. 

Spread the almond mixture onto the pastry on the baking sheet to within 3cm of the edge. Brush the exposed pastry with eggwash, place the second pastry circle on top and press the edges firmly together. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 200°C. 

Take a flat plate, approximately 25cm in diameter, and centre it on top. With a small sharp knife, cut the exposed pastry to create a scalloped border. Glaze evenly with eggwash, then score the surface lightly with curving diagonal lines. Bake for 25-35 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve warm.

Bolos de arroz, and pastéis de nata

Bolos de arroz (rice cakes) recipe, makes 8

• 200g rice flour
• 60g plain wheat flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 100g butter, at room temperature
• 180g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• juice and zest of 1 lemon

Grease eight cupcake tins and line the sides with 20cm x 5cm strips of baking paper. Heat the oven to 180°C. 

Mix the flours, baking powder and salt and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the lemon juice and zest, then the flour mix. Spoon the batter into the tins (about two-thirds up to the top of the paper edge) and sprinkle with more sugar. Bake for 25 minutes until well risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Pastéis de nata (custard tarts) recipe, makes 12

• 4 egg yolks
• 110g white sugar
• 2 tbs cornflour
• 100ml single cream
• 300ml milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 long strip lemon zest, taken from an unwaxed lemon with a peeler
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 250g puff pastry

Place the yolks, sugar, cornflour, cream and milk in a heavy-bottomed pan and whisk to combine. Add the cinnamon and lemon zest and place over a low to medium heat. Bring the mixture slowly to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth thick custard. 

Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. When cold, remove the cinnamon and lemon zest. 

Roll out the pastry to an approximate 15cm x 30cm rectangle. Roll this rectangle tightly into a cigar from the short end. Cut the cigar into 12 pieces. Flatten each round with the palm of your hand and then roll out thinly to a diameter of approximately 10cm. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with the rolled-out spirals. 

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Spoon the custard into the pastry shells and bake for 20-25 minutes until puffed and golden.

Spiral biscuits

Spiral biscuits recipe, makes 18

• 170g plain flour, plus 40g
• ¼ tsp salt
• 150g cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 40g cocoa powder
• 50g icing sugar
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• hundreds and thousands

Put the 170g of flour, salt and butter into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to the texture of fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, egg and vanilla paste and process until the dough comes together. 

There will be approximately 480g of dough. Remove half (approximately 240g) from the processor and set aside. Add the remaining 40g of flour to the half that remains in the processor and pulse until the dough comes together. Remove and wrap in clingfilm. 

Place the reserved dough and the cocoa powder in the food processor and pulse to a smooth dough. Wrap in clingfilm and place both doughs in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes. 

Roll the plain dough out on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 25cm long and 20cm wide. Do the same with the chocolate dough, then lay one on top of the other. Lightly roll the surface once or twice with the rolling pin just to press them together. Straighten the edges, and carefully roll up the rectangle from one of the short edges to make a tight spiral. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Heat the oven to 170°C. Line two trays with baking paper. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and cut neatly into 18-20 slices. Place these on the baking trays, spaced about 3cm apart. Place in the hot oven for 18-20 minutes until only just beginning to turn golden. Remove from the oven and place on wire racks to cool. 

Mix the icing sugar with enough of the lemon juice to make a loose paste. Pour the hundreds and thousands into a shallow bowl. Spread icing onto the edges of the biscuits, dip into the hundreds and thousands, and leave to set. 

For more than 60 years, Pasadena-based artist Helen Pashgian has toyed with the limits of optical perception and material perfection. A pioneer of California’s Light and Space movement, she is best known for hyper-polished spherical sculptures that trap light and radiate colour. The resulting objects are optically majestic – featured recently in a solo exhibition at Site Santa Fe, and in the seminal show ‘Light & Space’ at Copenhagen Contemporary – and lessons in perception. 

In a major Art Icon profile earlier this year, the artist told us that making art was like a ‘divine itch’ (W*276). For her Artist’s Palate recipe, it was an oven-related design glitch that came between Pashgian and her original idea of meringue. The artist kept us eagerly waiting while she ‘recalibrated her oven’ to fine-tune the recipe. When the oven wouldn’t play ball, the artist herself recalibrated with an innovative summer corn dish that she learnt from her grandmother at age ten – it’s quick, easy, and sharpened with a kick of jalapeño jack cheese. ‘This works great for a barbecue. The quick cooking retains the flavour of the fresh corn,’ she says of the dish, which falls ‘somewhere between eating a corn soufflé and corn on the cob’.

Helen Pashgian’s recipe for summer corn (serves 4)

4 white corn cobs
3-4 tbsp butter 
3-4 tbsp cream 
grated cheese, such as sharp cheddar or jack (I prefer jalapeño jack from Trader Joe’s, which gives it a slight kick)
salt and pepper, to taste

Method

With a sharp paring knife, scrape down the corn cobs to remove the kernels and add them to the top of a double boiler set over a pot of simmering water. Add the other ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted and totally absorbed into the mixture. Serve in small bowls.

INFORMATION

A version of this article appears in the October 2022 Legends Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

lehmannmaupin.com

For those of us facing wintery weather, we thought it was about time we dipped into the Wallpaper* archives to revisit this delicious selection of hot drink recipes. Easy to make and instantly comforting, these winter warmers – both alcoholic and non-alcoholic – are guaranteed to make getting through this dark, chilly season a little more bearable. Warm blackcurrant cordial with a tot of vodka, anyone? Cheers!

Apple warmer

Ingredients: 4cl calvados, 10cl, 3 cloves, 1 tsp clear honey

Method: Put all the ingredients into a saucepan and heat without boiling. Strain into a heatproof glass. 

Milk & honey

Ingredients: 20cl milk, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1-2 tsp clear honey

Method: Place the milk and cinnamon in a saucepan and heat slowly without boiling, whisk the milk if you like to create froth. Alternatively, steam the milk using a cappuccino machine. Pour into a heatproof glass and stir in the honey. 

Whisky toddy 

Ingredients: 6cl whisky, juice of half a lemon, honey to taste, 7cl hot water 

Method: Put the whisky, lemon juice and honey in the glass and top up with the hot water. Stir and serve.

Café royale 

Ingredients: 6cl shot cognac, 2 tsp sugar, strong hot coffee, double cream 

Method: Pour the cognac into a glass, add the sugar, then top up with hot coffee to approximately one-and-a-half inches from the top of the glass. Stir well. 

Black Russian 

Ingredients: 6cl blackcurrant cordial, 5cl vodka, hot water 

Method: Put the cordial and vodka in a glass, top up with hot water and serve. 

The high-concept installations of Marguerite Humeau intertwine myth and modernity. Drawing on the work of palaeontologists, anthropologists, linguists and more, she conjures up alternate universes: her breakthrough exhibition, ‘FOXP2’ at the Palais de Tokyo in 2015, imagined elephants, rather than humans, possessing the gene linked to the development of vocal cords, and thus becoming the dominant species; while her 2018 show ‘Ecstasies’, at the New Museum, reenacted a speculated scene from 150,000 years ago, when early female humans first encountered psychoactive ingredients. 

She selected white truffle ravioli for our Artist’s Palate series to coincide with the installation of a new sculpture at the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Sculpture Park in Guarene, Italy, Rise, which reenacts the first cross-pollination between a male and female grapevine plant. The accompanying explanation is characteristically Humeau: ‘White truffles’ ripening, harvest, entire cycle of life is connected to the moon – the best time to find them is during the crescent moon of October, approximately from the first quarter onwards. Sage is an ancient herb that symbolises immortality [...] it has also been traditionally used to repulse evil spirits – we need sage more than ever right now!’

Pair the dish with a glass of biodynamic wine, made in accordance with moon phases, and you have a meal that is laden with both flavour and meaning: ‘an attempt to connect ourselves to the cosmos, and rethink about our place in the universe and the ecosystems in which we evolve’, says the artist.

Marguerite Humeau’s recipe for white truffle ravioli

For the ravioli

300g pasta flour
3 eggs, plus 1 extra egg for sealing the pasta
1 tbsp olive oil

For the filling

½ cup grated Parmesan
½ cup grated mozzarella
½ cup ricotta
1 tsp white truffle oil

For the sage butter 

Butter
Sage leaves, cut into strips
Grated parmesan

Method

Place the flour, eggs and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until combined. Knead to form a smooth dough, then wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl. Beat the extra egg in a bowl. Roll your pasta out in a pasta machine until you have two thin, long strips that are about 3in wide. Place one strip on a lightly floured work surface and brush with the beaten egg. Place a teaspoon of the filling, about 2.5in apart, all along the pasta strip, then place the other pasta strip on top, stretching the dough over the filling to join the pasta strip on the bottom and pressing gently around each ball to push out all the air and seal it tightly, then cut into individual ravioli with a pastry cutter and set aside while you make the sage butter. Melt some butter in a pan on a medium heat, then cook the sage for about 10 minutes until it is crispy and the butter is slightly browned. Cook the ravioli in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes, until the pasta is just cooked, then drain well. Serve the ravioli sprinkled with grated parmesan and sage leaves.

INFORMATION

parcoarte.fsrr.org

The history, culture and use of edible flowers is explored in a fragrant new tome from Phaidon, Edible Flowers: How, Why, and When We Eat Flowers. Author Monica Nelson has joined forces with photographer Adrianna Glaviano on the definitive guide, which pairs recipes with personal essays and striking imagery of flowers, in environments from urban gardens to wild meadows. 

‘The research was really nothing but a delightful journey of surprise,’ says Nelson. ‘Every flower I wrote about had a fact that revealed something new, either about the history of a place or the people that ate it or a herbal property. My favorite flowers to write about were ones that gave me a view into the indigenous culture of the Americas, like dahlia, sunflower, marigold – flowers that made the ‘old to new world’ trade routes and became iconic to other cultures; like sunflowers to Arles/Van Gogh, or marigold to Diwali in India.’

Catching her favourite flowers in bloom proved a challenge that took Nelson around the world. To capture okra’s single-day of bloom, she travelled to a Savannah, Georgia, community garden, for example.

Chefs, artists and writers, including Fanny Singer, Julia Sherman, Loria Stern and Laila Gohar, have contributed personal essays to the book, which takes a close look at 100 different flowers, organised alphabetically. ‘The proposal was written to include “flower eater” essays and recipes from contributors,’ Nelson adds. ‘The book would not function without them. The contributors are from a variety of disciplines and from around the world. I learned about so many new flowers from them and also let some of the contributions function as the flower entry itself, like for banana flower and mahua.

‘For the “flower eaters”, I left the call to writers very open-ended, and there are moments that range from political to cultural to very sweet and personal. The recipes are very accessible and written in casual paragraph form and often in the first person. The tone of these makes flowers seem really easy to bring into your life.’

As well as reference notes, the book gives an insight into each flower’s taste as well as its traditional and suggested uses. With such a wealth of information, where does Nelson think we should begin? ‘A beginner should always start with curiosity! Search every flower you come across with the added search term “edible?”. There are also pre-packaged flowers shelved near the fresh herbs at some stores.

‘You can start by treating edible flowers as you would cilantro or parsley – just sort of tossing over a cooked dish like rice, pasta, a cheese board, or in a salad as a bit of garnish. By eating them this way you’ll start to understand the flavour profiles and how they mix with other flavours, and then you’ll start thinking about the peppery quality of nasturtium and how to incorporate it into cooking.’

INFORMATION

Edible Flowers: How, Why, and When We Eat Flowers is published by Monacelli

monacellipress.com

Tequila aficionados will know that for a truly delicious cocktail, there are only a few brands that fit the bill, and if you want to get the most out of the ingredients you are pairing it with, well then you’d best be using a molcajete and tejolote, or mortar and pestle. 

Lucky then, that one of the most respected names in the industry, Maestro Dobel, has launched a limited-edition tejolote set just in time for tequila season. 

The molcajete and tejolote

The brand commissioned the burgeoning architecture studio Pedro y Juana, winner of the 2019 MoMA and MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program, to reimagine this pair of traditional Mexican instruments. The resulting design is a ‘small sculpture’ that is an homage to ancient Mexican architecture and tequila culture. Its circular, pyramid shape visually echoes the archaeological site in Jalisco known as Los Guachimontones.

Jalisco is also the hometown of Maestro Dobel and the birthplace of tequila itself, where 200,000 years ago Tequila Volcano erupted and laid the ground for the growth of blue agave. The Maestro Dobel tejolote is made from basalt (volcanic rock) sourced from the region of the volcano and crafted by renowned local stonemason Juan Fraga. 

Only 30 editions of this particular design exist, so few people will get to try it out. Still, we recommend investing in your choice of molcajete and tejolote as a handy piece of kit for summer gatherings, for use in preparing the ingredients for sweet cocktails, like the margarita recipe below, as well as savoury dips. 

Maestro Dobel’s Peppered Berry Margarita

Ingredients: 

1 strawberry
2 blackberries
1 whole lime
½ tsp pink peppercorns
5 mint leaves
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp pomegranate molasses 
50ml Maestro Dobel Humito
ice
coupette (half-rimmed with pink Himalayan salt) 

Method:

• Crush fresh berries and lime in base of molcajete, then crush the peppercorns.
• Gently press mint leaves into the mixture and then add the agave nectar and pomegranate molasses
• Empty the contents into a cocktail shaker.
• Add the tequila to the shaker and fill up with ice. 
• Shake hard and fine strain into a coupette glass.
• Garnish with pomegranate pods and mint sprig. 

INFORMATION

maestrodobel.com

Wimbledon is here and that means tennis, of course, but for the more gastronomically inclined it also means something more important – strawberries and cream.  

Whether you’re watching the championships or just having a picnic in the park, our strawberry custard tart is an alternative take on the traditional game-time snack. It’s an easy-to-make treat that is perfect served up with a cool glass of champagne courtesy of Veuve Clicquot. 

Discover the sweet summer recipe below or, for those chefs who like a challenge, try this other strawberry cake recipe from celebrated pastry chef Cédric Grolet. 

Strawberry custard tart

Ingredients (serves 8)

200g plain flour
2 tbs icing sugar
1/4 tbs salt 
100g cold, unsalted butter, cubed
2 eggs
1/2 vanilla pod
2 egg yolks 
90g sugar
2 tbs cornflour
250ml whole milk
120ml double cream
2 punnets of strawberries
3 tbs redcurrant jelly

Method 

• Put the flour, sugar, salt and butter into a processor and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. 
• Beat 1 egg with 11 tbs cold water and add to the moving processor until the dough forms. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins. 
• Preheat the oven to 180°C. 
• Roll the dough to fit round, 28cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Press the dough into and up the sides of the tin. 
• Prick the base and chill for 10 mins. Line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. 
• Bake for 8 mins, remove the beans and parchment, and bake for a further 8 mins. Allow to cool. 
• For the custard, scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and place in a bowl. Add the other egg, yolks, sugar and cornflour, and whisk well. 
• Put the milk and cream on a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Pour onto the egg mixture, whisking as you do, then pour it all back into the pan. 
• Heat the mixture gently, stirring with a wooden spoon until it starts to thicken. Cook for another minute. 
• Place a disc of baking parchment on the surface of the custard and allow to cool completely. 
• Spoon the custard evenly into the tart shell and smooth out the top. Slice the strawberries and arrange them on top of the custard. 
• Put the redcurrant jelly into a pan with 1 tbs of water, heat gently, stirring until the jelly melts. Cool a little, then brush over the surface of the tart. 

Here at the virtual Wallpaper* entertaining desk, we are quenching our thirst with this ruby red beverage. Whether it be enjoyed on the street next to Milan's Bar Basso or simply from the comfort of your living room, give this classic Negroni recipe a try.

Negroni

Makes 1

Ingredients
25ml London dry gin
25ml Campari
25ml vermouth
rosso orange slice, to serve

Method
Measure the spirits into a jigger. Stir well, pour over ice in a glass and serve with a slice of orange.

INFORMATION

Recipe by Melina Keays, Entertaining Director

Flowers Sushi

Ingredients
2 cups short-grain white rice
2 tbs Japanese rice vinegar
2 tbs mirin
1 tsp sugar
1⁄2 tsp salt
natural pink and blue food colouring
7-10 nori seaweed sheets
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned into long thin strips
1 large avocado, peeled and sliced lengthways into strips

Method
Put the rice into a lidded cooking pot and cover with cold water. Swirl and stir with your fingers, then slowly drain off the water. Do this repeatedly until the water runs clear.

Pour away all the excess rinsing water. Add 2 1⁄2 cups water and leave the rice to soak for 30 minutes.

Place the pot over a medium to high heat, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Put the lid on the pot and cook for 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat, leaving the lid on to allow the rice to steam for another 15 minutes.

Put the rice vinegar, mirin, sugar and salt into a small pan and place over a medium heat. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring, until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Remove from the heat.

Divide the rice evenly between three bowls. Divide the sushi vinegar between three bowls and add pink and blue food colouring to two of them. Pour the pink vinegar over one of the bowls of still warm rice and mix gently until evenly combined. Repeat with the blue and the plain vinegars.

Take three sheets of nori and cut each with scissors, lengthways, into four strips. Take one strip and, with lightly dampened hands, place blue rice along the middle and then roll it up carefully, so the rice is enclosed in nori. Repeat with the rest of the blue and the pink, so you are left with six slim ‘petal’ rolls of each colour.

Take a whole nori sheet and place it on a sushi rolling mat. With lightly dampened hands, spread a thin layer of the plain rice over the nori, leaving a 2cm gap across the long edges, top and bottom. Place a blue petal roll across the centre of the plain rice. Place avocado on either side, and carrot along the top of the blue petal roll. Place two more blue petals on either side of the carrot strips and carefully roll the whole thing up as tightly as possible.

Repeat with the other blue ower roll, and the pink rolls. Slice the rolls into sushi pieces of about a thumb’s width.

INFORMATION

Recipe by Melina Keays, Entertaining Director

Summertime is almost upon us and as lockdown rules are still in full swing across most of the globe, those of us who are lucky to have an outdoor space are turning our minds to al-fresco dining. What better to celebrate the warmer weather than firing-up the barbecue with this burger recipe with an Asian twist.

Black Sesame Chicken Burgers

Method

On a chopping board, slice 1 large skinless chicken breast horizontally and diagonally, across the grain of the fibres, into four flat slices.

Whisk an egg white with ½ tsp salt in a bowl until frothy. Sprinkle ½ cup sesame seeds over a plate.

Dip each piece of chicken in the egg, shake off the excess, then lay it over the sesame seeds to coat both sides.

Put a frying pan (or grill) over a medium flame and add a thin layer of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken pieces for about 8 minutes, turning once, until cooked through and crisp.

Serve in toasted burger buns with lettuce and tomato slices.

INFORMATION

Recipe by Melina Keays, Entertaining Director

If you're itching to try other iterations of Italy's favourite sauce, then you're in luck. With pesto, the possibilities are endless, and our Rocket and Walnut Pesto is no exception.

Rocket and Walnut Pesto

Ingredients

50g shelled walnuts
120g or 2 generous handfuls of wild rocket leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
50ml walnut oil
juice of ½ lemon
salt and pepper
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
100ml (approx) virgin olive oil

Method

Place the walnuts in a dry frying pan and toast gently over a medium flame for a few minutes until they begin to smell nutty and fragrant. Shake the pan and don’t let them burn. Allow to cool.

Put the rocket, garlic and walnut oil into the bowl of a food processor and grind to a rough paste.

Add the nuts, lemon juice, a teaspoon of salt and a good grinding of black pepper, and continue to process.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the Parmesan and half the olive oil. Mix well and add more olive oil until you have a loose paste.

Adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.

Serve tossed with spaetzle (a German soft egg noodle) or pasta.

INFORMATION

Recipe by Melina Keays, Entertaining Director

Straight from our October 2015 edition of Smallpaper*, we've picked out this fun-sized recipe that offers a unique way to elevate everyone's favourite breakfast ingredient, the humble egg.

Egg Flowers in Toast

Ingredients

1 thick slice of bread
Butter, at room temperature
1 egg
2 frankfurter sausages
Baby tomatoes and baby corn, to serve

Method

Butter the bread generously on both sides. Press out a cavity in the centre of the slice using an 8cm flower-shaped biscuit cutter. Reserve the bread flower.

Break the egg into a small bowl.

Heat a non-stick pan over a medium fame and place the bread and the cut-out flower in the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes until golden, then flip over.

Tip the egg into the cavity. Press lightly at the edges of the flower, until the white begins to set, to prevent the white from spreading outside the toast. Cook until the egg is just set.

To make the frankfurter flowers, bring a small pan of water to a simmer. Slice one sausage lengthways, and make a series of cuts halfway across the width, about 1/2 cm apart, on the whole length of each half-sausage.

Cut the other sausage into 3cm lengths and this time make vertical cuts, halfway down the length of each piece, to form the ‘flower petals’.

Place the sausage pieces in the simmering water for 2 minutes until they have curled into flowers.

Assemble the plate, surrounding the egg toast and cut-out flower toast with sausage flowers using halved tomatoes at their centres, and baby corn as leaves. 

INFORMATION

Recipe by Melina Keays, Entertaining Director

Hugh Hayden’s first show in London, at Lisson Gallery, is an ode to Southern food: invented on plantations, intertwined with the history of slavery, and an inextricable part of American culture. The Texan sculptor's meditation on identity and diaspora includes hand-carved tables and chairs adorned with branches and thorns, cast iron skillets overlaid with African masks, and a video piece showing him cooking and eating bacon. For our recipe series, he offers a twist on his mother’s quintessentially Southern cornbread, refined through three months of ‘internet sleuthing and weekly recipe trials’. ‘I call it a pudding because it’s thick and moist, yet doesn’t need a spoon.’ 

‘This spin on a cornbread recipe gets you the ideal texture – neither too moist nor too dry. I think using a cast-iron skillet gets the best result. You can adjust the amount of sugar to your desired sweetness. It tastes best when it has had time to cool to room temperature, but warm is also nice,’ says Hayden.

Ingredients

110g butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup soured cream
1 egg, beaten
200g creamed corn
400g canned sweetcorn, drained
240g Jiffy corn muffin mix
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together.
Mix in the soured cream and then the beaten egg.  
Mix in the creamed corn and then the corn kernels.
Gradually sprinkle over the corn muffin mix and stir, but don't overdo it.  
Fold in the cranberries.
Pour the mixture into a buttered cast-iron skillet, then bake for 55-65 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes, then cut into squares.

For a more savoury version, you can replace the dried cranberries with 1/4 cup each of caramelised onions, jalapeños, cheddar cheese and/or crispy bacon bits.

A version of this article originally featured in the April 2020 issue of Wallpaper* (W*253) – on newsstands now

INFORMATION

‘American Food’, 11 March - 2 May, Lisson Gallery. lissongallery.com

Satisfying our cravings for umami (the fifth taste sensation), miso can add a rich, savoury baseline to cakes, cookies and ice cream, as we recently sampled in New York (OddFellows’ miso cherry ice cream), London (Honey & Co’s apple and miso cake with butterscotch) and Paris (Mokonuts’ miso sesame cookies).

Inspired by the salty sweet combo, Wallpaper’s entertaining director Melina Keays created her own sweet miso concoctions, which we then staged on and around recent Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Mathilde Philipponnat’s tableware, which finds inspiration in the work of Fauve painter Maurice de Vlaminck. The French designer takes the oversimplified lines, feisty outbursts of colour, and visible brushwork of her muse, dragging his artwork Nature Morte (1909-11) from the canvas and into a characterful collection of tableware where ‘functional objects would be as alive as those in the paintings’, as she puts it.

This is one of a three-part Stories project, which also gives physical life to the artwork of Jean-Siméon Chardin and Jan Groover. Philipponnat models individual pieces using software before casting them in either earthenware slip or terracotta clay. Finer details are attached by hand, the terracotta imprinted with a piece of textile, mirroring the criss-cross grains of de Vlaminck’s brush motions. Next in the pipeline is a collection inspired by Giorgio de Chirico.

INFORMATION

mathildephilipponnat.com

December 2018 Entertaining Special issue (W*237)

Mushroom dischi volanti

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, then drain and set aside, reserving a cupful of the cooking liquid. Heat a large pan over a medium flame. Add the oil and the garlic and cook for a minute, stirring to prevent the garlic from browning, Add the mushrooms, season well with salt and pepper, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 8 minutes. Add the cooked pasta to the pan with two tablespoons of the reserved cooking liquid, the crème fraîche, and half the grated parmesan. Toss well together, season if necessary and serve with the remaining parmesan scattered on top.

Pappardelle with wild boar ragù

Season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat half the oil in a heavy pan or casserole over a medium to high flame. Fry the meat until nicely browned on all sides, then remove from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the same pan and fry the pancetta for a few minutes until nicely browned and the fat rendered. Add the onion and carrots, then cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft and golden. Add the garlic, juniper and bay leaves, then cook for another couple of minutes. Return the meat to the pan and add the wine, chopped tomatoes, purée and thyme. Bring to a simmer, then cover loosely with a lid and cook for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling, salted water, then drain. Gently toss the pasta and sauce together and serve with grated parmesan.

Crostini toasts, edamame and rocket crostini and mozzarella and tomato crostini

Heat the oven to 180°c. Brush the bread slices lightly with oil on both sides. Arrange on a large baking sheet and place in the hot oven for 12-15 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and lightly rub each piece with the garlic clove.

For the edamame and rocket crostini:
250g edamame beans
1 small garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tbs olive oil
juice of ½ lemon
large handful of wild rocket leaves, chopped
2 tbs grated parmesan
salt and pepper

Cook the edamame beans in boiling, salted water for 3-5 minutes until just tender. Drain and cool. Place in a food processor with the garlic and process to a rough paste. Transfer to a bowl, then add the olive oil, lemon juice, rocket and parmesan, and mix together well. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adding more lemon juice if necessary. Spread on the crostini toasts and serve.

Makes 8-10
For the mozzarella and tomato crostini:

3 red or green tomatoes (or both), thinly sliced
2 mozzarella balls, thinly sliced
salt and black pepper
olive oil
fresh basil leaves

Place a tomato slice on a crostini toast, followed by a mozzarella slice, then another tomato slice. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with oil. Add a basil leaf to serve.

Panforte

Line the base and sides of a 21-23cm shallow, round baking tin with edible rice paper. Put the nuts in a large frying pan and toast over a medium flame for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until they are fragrant and just beginning to turn golden. Heat the oven to 160°C. Place the nuts and dried fruit in a large bowl. Sift in the 120g of flour and the cocoa, then add the spices, salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Stir well to combine. Put the sugar and honey in a pan set over a medium flame and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat a little and allow the mixture to bubble for a few minutes, then pour it over the nut mixture and mix thoroughly. Spoon into the tin and level the surface with a spoon. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of flour and press down, using the base of a heavy jar, to make the surface flat. Bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool, then dust with icing sugar. Serve in slices.

Negroni

Measure the spirits into a jigger. Stir well, pour over ice in a glass and serve with a slice of orange.

Risotto Milanese with scallops

Melt the oil and half the butter in a large heavy pan set over a medium flame. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until soft and golden. Meanwhile, put the stock and the saffron in another pot and bring to a simmer. Add the rice to the onion and stir well. Pour in the wine and stir until almost completely absorbed. Add a ladleful of the simmering stock and stir gently until almost completely absorbed. Continue in this way for about 25 minutes until all the stock has been added, or until the risotto is soft and creamy but still with a little bite. Stir in the rest of the butter and the parmesan. To cook the scallops, first season them with salt and pepper. Place a large heavy frying pan over a medium to high flame. Heat the butter and oil and cook the scallops for about 2 minutes on each side. Do this in two batches, if necessary, to avoid crowding the pan. Spoon the risotto onto plates, place the scallops on top and serve immediately.

Chicken paillard

Place each chicken breast between two sheets of baking paper, then bash and flatten the meat until it is about ½cm thick. Put the garlic in a pestle and mortar with half a teaspoon of salt and crush to a paste. Add the thyme leaves and pound into the garlic paste. Add the lemon zest and juice, olive oil and a good grinding of black pepper, and mix well. Place a flattened chicken breast in a wide, shallow dish, pour over some of the marinade, then turn the chicken so that both sides are well coated. Place another piece of chicken on top and continue in the same way with the chicken and marinade until it is all well coated. Cover and chill for a couple of hours. Heat a pan over a high heat and cook each piece of chicken for 1-2 minutes on each side.

Romanesco with chilli and garlic

Cook the romanesco florets in a large pan of boiling, salted water for 3-5 minutes until just tender, then drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pan set over a medium flame. Add the garlic and chilli, then cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add the romanesco and toss in the hot oil for another 2 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper and squeeze over the lemon juice.

Cassata

To make the marzipan, place the pistachios and almonds in a food processor and chop finely. Add the icing sugar and process well. With the motor running, add the food colouring and enough of the egg white to just bring the mixture to a smooth dough. Wrap and set aside.

To make the sponge cake, line a 21-24cm springform deep cake tin with baking paper. Heat the oven to 180°c. Put the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, mix well, then set aside. Break the five eggs into another bowl, add the reserved yolk, the sugar and the orange zest, then beat on high speed for about 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Fold in the flour mixture and spoon the batter into the prepared tin. Smooth the top, then bake for 30 minutes until well risen and golden, and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack.

To make the filling, put 100g of the caster sugar in a bowl with the ricotta, vanilla and ground cinnamon, and beat well, ensuring the sugar is completely dissolved. Fold in the chocolate and candied fruit, then leave to chill in the fridge. To make the syrup, put the remaining 50g of caster sugar in a small pan with 30ml water and bring to a simmer over a medium to high heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat, stir in the Grand Marnier and set aside.

Cut the sponge cake into 1cm-thick slices across the diameter. Line a 21-24cm cassata mould, tarte tatin tin or pie dish with sloping sides with clingfilm. Roll out the marzipan on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar, to about a ½cm thickness. Slice the marzipan into strips and use these to line the sides of the cassata mould, smoothing and flattening them where they overlap. Line the base and sides of the cassata mould with cake strips, cutting them to fit. Brush the cake surface generously with some of the syrup. Spoon in the ricotta filling and smooth the top.

Cover the ricotta filling with more cake slices and brush with the remaining syrup. Wrap tightly with clingfilm and chill for 2 hours. Combine the icing sugar with enough lemon juice, added gradually, to make a smooth, thick glaze. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Pour the glaze over the cake to cover evenly. Decorate with glacé fruits and chill until set, for at least 2 hours, or overnight. §

As originally featured in the December 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*237)

Camille Henrot is capable of many things: explaining the creation of the universe in 13 minutes (as she did in Grosse Fatigue, which stole the show at the 2013 Venice Biennale); taking over the entire Palais de Tokyo (2017); and even designing a capsule fashion collection (last year, in collaboration with cashmere label Parenti’s). She is, however, ‘very bad at using technological kitchen utensils’, which is why her gâteau Manon doesn’t require an oven.

The recipe is inherited from her great-grandmother Marie-Thérèse, nicknamed Manon, who lived until the age of 104. Says the New York-based French artist, ‘I like that it uses industrial biscuits with a sophisticated shape, only to crush them into pieces for a cake that, in the end, looks very simple.’

Ingredients
200g dry biscuits, such as Leibniz
200g sugar
200g soft butter
2 eggs
1 cup of strong coffee

Method
Grind the biscuits into small pieces, then add the sugar and butter and mix well. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, and the coffee, little by little. Blend for 20 minutes. Put buttered greaseproof paper in a mold, and pour in the cake mix. Garnish, if desired, with whipped cream and caramelised almonds, then leave in the fridge to set.

A version of this article originally featured in the December 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*249)

INFORMATION

camillehenrot.fr

Whether in charcoal-on-newsprint drawings or monumental sculptures, William Kentridge is a master of narrative, shining light on turbulent histories through hauntingly expressive forms. To mark a pair of retrospective shows in his native South Africa, we invited him to share his favourite dish, which comes with an appropriate dash of drama. Of the sole Véronique, an invention of the great Auguste Escoffier, Kentridge says, ‘In my childhood, when this was being prepared, it was always a sign of a grand dinner party. More recently, I have tried to make it, but it has never matched my memory of how it looked then.’

Ingredients
Serves 2

2 Dover or lemon sole, skinned and filleted
Salt and black pepper
10g butter
150 ml fish stock
150 ml vermouth or dry white wine
150ml whipping cream
100g seedless green grapes, each sliced in half

Method
Heat the oven to 180c. Season the fillets with a sprinkling of salt and a grinding of black pepper and roll them up as tightly as possible. Lightly butter a shallow ovenproof dish and place the fillets in it. Dot with pieces of butter. Pour the fish stock and vermouth around the fish, cover the dish with a piece of foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until just cooked.

Carefully strain the cooking liquid into a saucepan and cover the fish with the foil. Replace in the oven to keep warm. Bring the cooking liquid to a boil over a high heat and boil until reduced to about 100ml. Pour the cream into the pan and return to a simmer. Stir in the grapes and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Remove the fish from the oven and arrange on serving plates. Pour over the sauce and serve.

A version of this article originally featured in the October 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*247)

INFORMATION

‘Why Should I Hesitate?’ is showing from 24 August – 23 March at Zeitz MOCAA and Norval Foundation, Cape Town. zeitzmocaa.museum; norvalfoundation.org 

Whether in fashion or food, Giorgio Armani likes to square his perfectionist vision with a healthy dose of tradition. His Emporio Armani restaurants and cafés, now present on three continents, serve up Mediterranean and Italian fare, elevated in presentation while authentic in flavour. Headlining the menu at the recently renovated Milan location (pictured) is this saffron risotto. ‘It’s one of the most classic Milanese dishes, made more fragrant and tasty thanks to the surprising addition of scallops and thyme,’ he explains. Just the thought of this dish, enjoyed at the ground-floor bar under the glow of Mr Armani’s signature ‘Logo’ lamp, has us hankering for our next sojourn to the Italian fashion capital.

Ingredients
80g carnaroli rice
10g chopped shallots
30ml extra virgin olive oil
50ml white wine
1 litre vegetable broth
300ml light fish broth
1/2g saffron pistils
Salt
300ml orange-infused water
10g orange zest
5ml fresh lemon juice
20ml fresh orange juice
10g Parmigiano-Reggiano
10g butter
3g chopped fennel
2 scallops
1g thyme
40ml creamy cherry tomato sauce

Method
Toast the rice with the shallots and 10ml of the oil; blend with the wine. Add broth, saffron and salt. Continue cooking, adding more broth and orange-infused water to cover the rice. When cooked, add the lemon juice and the orange juice. Cream with the Parmigiano-Reggiano, butter and 20ml oil. Rest for 2 minutes. Add the fennel.

Season the scallops with thyme and oil. Sear the scallops and place them in the centre of the dish of risotto. Then create small dots with creamy cherry tomato sauce. §

As originally featured in the September 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*246)

ADDRESS

Emporio Caffè & Ristorante
via Croce Rossa 2
Milan

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Environmentally-minded culinary explorers are diving deep to find alternatives to our standard veg. In some cultures, seaweed is a staple, but it is currently inspiring chefs globally to find new ways to put it on plates.

Not only is the growth of sea greens sustainable, the plants are often full of vitamins, essential minerals and protein, and they can pack a briny, umami-filled punch, making them gastronomic gold to the plant-based chef.

Kelp noodles, which are gluten- and grain-free, are gaining traction in the allergy-afflicted West, while sea plants such as dulse, kombu, Irish moss and samphire are working their way into breads, salads, broths, and evendesserts (leave it to the neo-Nordics to come up with dulse ice cream, an invention of Copenhagen’s Nordic Food Lab).

Pork buns are given a salty injection with seaweed at London’s On the Bab, and plankton is worked into risotto at London’s Boro Bistro. And, while seaweed butter is being used to season bread and potatoes, it is also worked directly into pasta at New York’s High Street on Hudson, where you can enjoy seaweed bucatini served with lobster coral. Dive in. 

Set in his distinctive typeface, Lawrence Weiner’s recipe for a Californian diner sandwich bears all the hallmarks of his conceptual wall texts – built from modest elements, poetic in its expression and universal in its appeal. Three cherished staples of American food (creamy peanut butter, crispy bacon and crunchy iceberg lettuce) are heaped atop one another for an unexpected mix of textures and flavours. Wash it down with a neat malt whiskey.

Ingredients
Smooth peanut butter
Strip bacon
Red peppers (dried)
Thinly-sliced habaneros
Iceberg lettuce
Salt & black pepper
Thinly-sliced white bread (not toasted)

Method
Firstly put the peanut butter on the bread then put the crushed dried red peppers
And freshly fried strip bacon (2 to 3 pieces)
A tranch of iceberg lettuce
A little bit of salt & black pepper
& some thinly-sliced habaneros on the top
& serve it with a neat malt whiskey

A version of this article originally featured in the July 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*244)

Icelandic performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson believes in the redemptive qualities of melancholy – for his video piece ‘God’, he filmed himself as a 1950s cabaret act, with an orchestra and pink satin curtains in the background, singing the words ‘sorrow conquers happiness’ on and on. Likewise, his more recent work, ‘A Lot of Sorrow’ saw indie-rock band The National play their ballad ‘Sorrow’ continuously for six hours at MoMA PS1, until its mournful mood gave way to a surprising exuberance. His recipe of choice, unsurprisingly, finds comfort and uplift in nostalgia. This eggs florentine comes from his favourite recipe book as a child – ‘the colours, the visual vibrance, the yellow and white eggs on green spinach and pasta underneath always enchanted me,’ he recalls. ‘For the ones who like the tang of nutmeg and soggy spinach with their red wine, this is the perfect dish for a Friday night.’

Ingredients
Serves 4
230g spaghetti
60g butter
900g fresh spinach or 340g frozen spinach
A little nutmeg
4 eggs
1 tbsp oil
Salt and pepper

Method
Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and toss with half the butter.

If using fresh spinach, wash it carefully first. It is frozen, allow it to thaw then drain and squeeze dry.

Cook the spinach until wilted, then sprinkle with nutmeg and finely ground pepper.

Place the spaghetti on a warm serving plate with a layer of spinach on top.

Fry the eggs in the remaining butter with a little oil so they don’t burn.

Put the eggs on top of the spinach and serve hot.

A version of this article originally featured in the June 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*243)

INFORMATION
‘Death is Elsewhere’ is on view until 2 September. For more information, visit The Met Fifth Avenue website

ADDRESS

The Met Fifth Avenue
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

From geodesic pavilions in the Pacific Ocean to the ranch-style Mirage house in the Palm Springs desert, Doug Aitken has deployed mirrored architecture to magnificent effect. This February, the American artist installed a new version of Mirage in the snow-capped mountains of Gstaad, Switzerland, ‘bringing the idea of the American West into contact with the European landscape’. Its awe-inspiring Alpine views are the perfect match for the artist’s favourite dish, cheese fondue. ‘I like performance and action foods, with highs and lows, and brief moments where it all comes together,’ he says.

Ingredients
½ clove garlic
1lb (450g) Gruyère cheese
8oz (225g) Emmentaler cheese
1½ cups (⅜l) dry white wine
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1½ tablespoons (2cl) kirsch
2 to 3 turns of a pepper mill
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Method
Before its first use, an unglazed clay fondue pot should have a mixture of milk and water cooked in it to season it. Glazed ceramic or enameled cast iron can be used without seasoning.

Rub the inside of the pot with cut surface of garlic.

Coarsely grate the cheese and mix them in the pot.

Add wine, lemon juice, and cornstarch and stir over medium heat until cheese melts (this should be done on the kitchen range).

The lemon juice is important, as it gives a flavourful tang and encourages the cheese to melt quickly.

Stir with a wooden spoon in a figure eight motion to keep the cheese from getting stringy.

Stir in kirsch, pepper and nutmeg, and cook a bit longer until mixture is smooth and creamy.

Transfer the pot to the burner on the table, where the fondue can simmer.

To serve
Spear bite-size cubes of bread on a fork and dunk into the cheese. Stir until bread is well coated, then remove while rotating fork to keep cheese from dripping. Careful – the cheese is hot!

The cheese fondue should continue to cook lightly during the entire meal. An experienced fondue eater stirs the cheese each time he dips a piece of bread; in this way the fondue will stay creamy right down to the bottom.

Important
Measure cornstarch carefully. Four level teaspoons weigh ⅓oz (10g), but if heaped high can weigh almost ½oz (12g).

As originally featured in the May 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*242)

INOFRMATION

For more information, visit the Doug Aitken website

Ceramic pot, £850, by Abigail Simpson, from Willer. ‘Rock Stacking’ candle holder, £130, by Tom Dixon, from Amara. ‘Crockery White’ jug, £140; posy vase, £40, both by Max Lamb, from 1882 Ltd. ‘Geir’ marble weight, by Broste Copenhagen, £60; ‘Rock Stacking’ tealight holder, £75, by Tom Dixon, both from Amara. Pyrite cluster, £1,400, from Dale Rogers Ammonite. Poppy seed vase, £270, by Akiko Hirai, from The New Craftsmen. ‘Mystone Ceppo di Gre’ tiles, £43 per sq m, by Marazzi. Interiors: Matthew Morris. Food: Olivia Bennett

Improvisation is central to the work of US artist Sarah Sze – her installation, Triple Point, for the US pavilion at the 2013 Venice Biennale, integrated locally scavenged objects such as rocks, paint cans, cups and even a sleeping bag. Her endive boats are similarly adaptable; for example, the fish sauce and green chillies can be replaced with olive oil and lemon. Says Sze, ‘Mixing them feels like merging different places, memories and moods, and seeing and tasting how each affects the other.’

Ingredients
juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (any neutral oil will do)
2 teaspoons fish sauce (Thai or Chinese will do)
1-2 Thai chillies, finely sliced (depending on spice tolerance)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 red bell pepper, diced into 1/2cm cubes
1 cucumber, peeled and diced into 1/2cm cubes
2 spring onions, diagonally sliced into 1/2cm pieces
2 avocados, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
1/8 cup mint, finely chopped, plus extra leaves to garnish
1/8 cup coriander, finely chopped, plus extra leaves to garnish
1/2 cup salted roasted peanuts, crushed
4 endives, outer leaves removed to create the boats
black sesame seeds, to garnish

Method
In a small bowl, mix together the lemon juice, oil, fish sauce, chillies and sugar. In large bowl, mix together the chopped vegetables, herbs and crushed nuts. Add the liquid mixture and gently toss. Divide the mixture between the endive leave boats. Garnish with black sesame seeds, and coriander and mint leaves.

As originally featured in the April 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*241)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Sarah Sze website

Like the man himself, Takashi Murakami’s favourite food is a national treasure. ‘Sushi is a symbol of Japanese culture, and can now be enjoyed anywhere in the world,’ he says.

Contrary to his outré aesthetic, his favourite variety, tuna nigiri, is as orthodox as it comes. The artist’s opinion on flowers, a recurring motif in his artwork, is more ambivalent. ‘Their smell, their shape – it makes me feel almost physically sick, and at the same time I find them very “cute”,’ he says.

Ingredients
Sushi rice
Rice vinegar
Sugar
Salt
Fresh sushi-grate tuna, thinly sliced

Method
Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then place in a pan with almost double the amount of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes until tender and the water absorbed. Leave until cool enough to handle.

Combine the rice vinegar with some sugar and salt in a pan and cook over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool, then stir into the cooled rice, stirring until it dries and becomes sticky.

With a wet hand, grab a handful of rice and shape it into an oval form. Lay a slice of tuna on top and press down gently. §

A version of this article originally featured in the March 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*240)

As the flavour profiles of cocktails become more complex, and ingredients lists start to sound like three-course meals, techniques are developing to bring more culinary raw materials into a liquid state.

One such method is fat-washing, which has become a way to beef up beverages without texturally clogging the palate. Bringing all the comforting, rich savour of butter, coconut, peanut butter, bacon fat or foie gras into a glass, the technique pays dues to the perfume industry and its age old methods for extracting aroma from oil with alcohol.

It entered the drinks industry around 2007 when Don Lee, or New York cocktail bar PDT, put butter-washed rum and coke together for his Cinema Highball. Essentially, a fatty ingredient is added to a spirit and then frozen so that the hard layer of fat can be skimmed off and the remaining spirit retains he flavour.

Federico Pasian and his team at London’s Quaglino’s are experimenting with techniques such as coating the inside of a bottle with coconut butter for a Negroni, so that the liquid in contact with the solid butter acquires creaminess and aroma, while at The Roosevelt Room in Austin, Texas, the Silver Meadows cocktail features foie gras-washed St Germain.

Our favourite cocktail fat, however, remains butter. Pairing perfectly with rum, lemon, apple and spices, cocktails such as the Baked Apple (with brown butter bourbon, sherry, apple butter, spices, Amaro, orange liquer and bitters), served at The Bonnie in Astoria, New York, are top of our wishlist this season.

As originally featured in the December 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*237)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the PDT website, the Quaglino’s website, The Roosevelt Room website and The Bonnie website

Third wave coffee is infiltrating the drinks cabinet. Irish brand Black Twist has recently launched a spirit called Hard Coffee, cold brewing finely ground coffee in Irish whiskey to create a drink with less sweetness and more character. Says founder Conor Coughlan, ‘It can be used to create a range of coffee cocktails that go beyond the Espresso Martini.’

His recommendations include Irish Cold Brew Martini (adding Irish whiskey, stout and whipped cream) and Cold Brew Spritz (adding Aperol and tonic water). And it’s not just whiskey getting a new coffee hit. Faith & Sons has made a coffee gin and Patrón a coffee tequila, Chase has created an espresso vodka, while Australian brand Mr Black blends cold brew coffee with 14 distilled botanicals. §

As originally featured in the September 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*234), and shot inside London's Royal Opera House, which has been newly reconfigured by Stanton Williams.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Black Twist website, the Faith & Sons website, the Patron Tequila website, the Chase Distillery website and the Mr Black website

Leandro Erlich’s interactive installations have included an illusory swimming pool that allows visitors to walk underwater thanks to a well-placed layer of glass, and a pair of escalators seemingly knotted like a pretzel. The Argentine artist is soon to take over a stretch of Miami Beach with 100 car-shaped sand sculptures, then let the public claw them apart. His take on the asado (the classic Argentine barbecue) has a similarly participatory element, requiring a merry band of helpers, a roaring fire, a string of sausages, bread rolls, and a chimichurri prepared by his collaborator Raùl. To ensure the chimichurri doesn’t spill, the sandwich is best enjoyed, much like Erlich’s art, with the head tilted 90 degrees back.

Culinary author Sylvia Gabet’s account of the preparation
The Argentine asado is elsewhere called a BBQ party. For Leandro Erlich, the national dish of his country is a natural continuity of his work, happening in his studio, on the top floor, where there are replicas of his major pieces, such as Swimming Pool. For Leandro Erlich, the asado is a social and interactive act that makes sense.

To prepare a good asado, you first need to bring together people: encounters are what make human beings progress. You need an open space – Leandro likes that – to make a fire. Bring nice local meat to the grill: a particularly tender piece called colita de cuadril and sausages like Argentine chorizo are good. Then we need a specialist in embers and fire to ensure perfect cooking (at Leandro’s studio, it's Raùl, one of his collaborators), a table with rolls split in half, salad, tomatoes and his famous chimichurri. In terms of implementation, it is not too complicated.

Raùl’s chimichurri
Serves 8

Mix together 1 bunch of parsley, 1 bunch of coriander, 2 garlic cloves, 1 red onion, juice of 2 lemons, 2 tsp red wine vinegar, 4 pinches of pepper (chili, paprika or what you have at home), salt and 30cl of virgin olive oil.

When the meat is cooked, everyone serves themselves. It is informal and friendly: make a small sandwich with a lettuce leaf, a slice of tomato, one or two thin slices of meat and 1 tbsp of the famous chimichurri, while discussing with Raùl the composition of the sauce, for example. You close the sandwich, and then the best way is to throw your head back, even to lie down completely, so that the sauce does not flow out of the sandwich onto your clothes: you have to change your point of view, turn 90°, as in a work by Leandro Erlich. Then you taste one of those gustatory wonders that make you say to your neighbour, with a small sigh, ‘That's good, isn’t it?’

Thank you Leandro, Raùl, Ester, Anouk and the rest of Erlich’s team for sharing this delicious moment.

A version of this article originally featured in the January 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*238)

INFORMATION

Sylvia Gabet’s most recent book, What are we eating tonight? Special Kids is published by Editions de la Martinière. For more information, visit Leandro Elrich’s website

One beautiful evening in Venice, German artist Katharina Grosse came across a small restaurant called Alla Vedova (at the widow’s). Thinking immediately of Emilio Vedova, the late Venetian painter who had seen abstraction as a gateway to political freedom, Grosse imagined being invited to his table. ‘We had a lot of Venetian specialities that night, but nothing was like the dark purple-black inky, velvety linguine.’ The aftermath bore a delightful resemblance to Vedova’s work – energetic, expressive brushstrokes on largely monochrome canvases. The linguine ‘left traces everywhere on the plate, the paper tablecloth, my tongue and my teeth,’ recalls Grosse. ‘Eating squid ink pasta is as if biting into the sea at night.’

Ingredients

3 free-range egg yolks
2 free-range eggs
3 sachets squid ink
250g/9oz ‘00’ flour

For the lobster and chilli topping:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
2cm/1in fresh ginger, finely chopped
200g/7oz lobster meat
25ml/11fl oz white wine
1 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Method

For the squid ink pasta, whisk the egg yolks, whole eggs and squid ink in a bowl to combine.

Place the flour in a food processor and, with the motor running, add the liquid until it forms a dough.

Remove from the processor and knead gently to bring the dough together. Wrap the dough in cling film and set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll out the rested pasta dough through a pasta machine, gradually reducing the thickness until it is rolled to the thinnest setting. Then cut into the shape of your choice (linguine and spaghetti work well).

For the lobster and chilli topping, heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the garlic, spring onions, chilli and ginger and gently fry for about a minute, without browning.

Add the lobster and heat through. Add the white wine and simmer until a volume of the liquid is reduced by half.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and drop in the pasta. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then drain and add to the lobster mixture. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve immediately in shallow pasta bowls, topped with the chopped parsley and basil.

As originally featured in the December 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*237)

INFORMATION
For more information, visit Katharina Grosse’s website

Twenty-five years since Rirkrit Tiravanija doled out free green curry to a voracious crowd at Manhattan’s 303 Gallery, food remains key to the Thai conceptual artist’s practice. He has partnered with gallerist Gavin Brown on a restaurant in upstate New York, chef Dalad Khambu on Berlin eatery Kin Dee, and fellow artist Tobias Rehberger on a food stall at Frankfurt’s Kleinmarkthalle. His twist on a Negroni substitutes Carpano Antica Formula vermouth for Campari. Topped with gin, ‘in sufficient quantity to ensure its dominance over the other ingredients’, Tiravanija’s creation ‘has excellent effects on the imagination. I’ve no idea how or why; I only know that it works.’

Ingredients
1.5 oz. gin
1 oz. Carpano Antica Formula vermouth
1 oz. Cinzano Rosso (sweet vermouth)
1 twist lemon peel
1 twist orange peel 

As originally featured in the November 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*236)

From the Technicolor skateboard ramp at the heart of the Palais de Tokyo in 2012 to the seven monumental stage curtains at this year’s Art Basel Hong Kong, German artist Ulla von Brandenburg’s work is always theatrical. ‘Sweet Feast’, a new project for London’s Whitechapel Gallery, was inspired by a 1973 exhibition of European sweets that was abruptly halted when a group of children devoured the exhibits. Mobilising 100 primary school pupils, von Brandenburg has created a video re-enactment of the event as a discussion of Britain’s changing relationship with the EU. Her contribution to our artist’s recipe series is naturally a sweet treat – orangettes, made from whole discs of orange rather than just the peel. Dig in.

Ingredients
1 orange
70g sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp brandy
100g plain chocolate

Method
Wash the orange, then poke a number of holes in it with a bamboo skewer. Put in a pan with some water and set over a medium heat. When it begins to simmer, reduce the heat and boil for 2 minutes. Adjust the heat so that it is boiling steadily.

Drain the water away, then return the orange to the pan with fresh water and set over a medium heat. Repeat as above.

Once the orange has been boiled twice, return it to the pan with more water and leave it for about an hour to remove the astringency.

Slice the orange into 5mm-thick rounds, then arrange them in a large pot and add half the sugar, the lemon juice, brandy and 150ml water. Set over a medium heat. Once it starts to simmer, cover with foil, reduce the heat and continue to simmer for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat. Remove the foil to add the remaining sugar, then replace the foil and set aside to cool.

Once cool, set over a medium heat again. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. Then repeat this step. If there is any juice left after the second boil, simmer it a bit more. The orange slices should start to turn transparent but be careful not to boil too much.

Preheat the oven to 100C. Dry the slices on a drying rack. Line a baking tray with baking paper, then arrange the slices on the tray and bake for 40 minutes, turning halfway. The slices should now be dehydrated, sparkly and transparent. Transfer them to the drying rack and leave to cool. Roughly chop the chocolate, then place in a glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water and allow to melt, stirring well. Carefully coat half the orange slices with chocolate, then place on a sheet of baking paper and put in the fridge for 20 minutes to cool and harden.

As originally featured in the October 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*235)

INFORMATION

‘Ulla von Brandenburg: Sweet Feast’, in partnership with Le Prix Marcel Duchamp, is on view at Whitechapel Gallery from 21 September 2018 – 31 March 2019. For more information, visit the Whitechapel Gallery website

ADDRESS

Whitechapel Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High Street
London E1 7QX

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Few designers have been as bonded to a specific colour as Christian Louboutin. His soaring stilettos are distinguished by their vivid red undersides, a feature created in 1993 using an assistant’s nail polish and ubiquitous ever since. As his empire grew, so the same shade of red (a precise Pantone) made its way on to men’s shoes, baby shoes, fragrance packaging and, naturally, became a nail polish. A quarter of a century on, Louboutin’s claim to the colour has even been affirmed by the EU’s highest court, which ruled that the brand had exclusive rights to using it on the sole of any shoe, regardless of shape. Not surprisingly, the footwear maven’s favourite dish, salmorejo, takes on a similar hue. He calls this chilled concoction of tomatoes and bread ‘the image of sunrise; of hot and long days’.

Ingredients
200g baguette, torn into chunks
12 tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 red peppers, deseeded and finely chopped
20ml sherry vinegar
160ml extra virgin olive oil
jamon serrano and hard-boiled eggs, to serve

Recipe
Place the baguette chunks in a bowl and cover with boiling water and clingfilm. In a different bowl, do the same with the tomatoes, garlic and peppers. Leave both bowls to stand for an hour.

After an hour, squeeze out the bread and pour away the soaking liquid. Drain the tomato mixture, reserving some of the soaking water. In a blender, whizz together the bread, tomato mixture, vinegar and olive oil until super smooth. Add a little of the reserved soaking water if necessary.

Season with salt and serve with a drizzle of olive oil, some diced jamon serrano and and crumbled hard-boiled eggs.

As originally featured in the September 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*234)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Christian Louboutin website

Everyday objects laden with metaphor, linear objects drooping against walls, and mirror images with deliberate imperfections lend a hallucinatory quality to the works of Alicja Kwade, unsettling our understanding of science and the meaning of reality. In happy contrast, her dish of choice is a simple green papaya salad. ‘The first time I made it was during an artist residency for L’Association Martiniquaise pour l’Art Contemporain in Martinique,’ she says. ‘Their small boathouse is the most beautiful place on earth I know.

Ingredients

Green papaya
Chilli
Garlic clove
Lime
Coconut oil (or another neutral oil)
Salted peanuts

Recipe

Grate the green papaya flesh, chop the chilli finely, crush or cut the garlic, and mix them with the juice of a lime. Add some oil and sprinkle some chopped peanuts on top. §

As originally featured in the July 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*232)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Alicja Kwade’s website

The original recipe for Joana Vasconcelos’ fruit cake, part of her Treats sculpture series, is not for the faint of will. Taking two months to make, it requires 879 plastic sand moulds, in the shape of strawberries, grapes, pears and pretzels, a stainless steel frame comprising 24 hoops and 52 sticks, and the services of an architect, a carpenter and two assistants. Fortunately, for those of us who prefer our patisserie on a more manageable scale, there’s an edible version that can be prepared in a matter of hours. ‘Serve your fruit cake outside, on a sunny day, or inside, with strong illumination,’ says the artist.

Joana Vasconcelos’ fruit cake

You will need

20cm gint cupcake mould, which comes in three pieces
Small pineapple- and pear-shaped cookie cutters (or your choice of shapes)

Ingredients

1 tbs butter, melted
350g plain flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
340g unsalted butter, softened
340g caster sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla paste
2 tbs yogurt
6 tbs milk

For the buttercream:
150g unsalted butter, softened
300g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
2-3 tbs milk

350g fondant icing
Red, yellow and green food colouring gel
Approx 80g mini pretzels

Method

Brush all three pieces of the cupcake mould lightly with melted butter (the dome-shaped ‘filling’ section will be used as a mould for the cherry on top of the cake).

Preheat the oven to 170C.

Measure the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate and salt into a bowl, mix well, and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add two of the eggs and a tablespoon of the flour mixture and beat until the egg is fully incorporated. Add another two eggs and another tablespoon of flour and beat. Add the remaining eggs and the vanilla paste and beat, then beat in the rest of the flour mixture. Finally, beat in the yogurt and the milk to loosen the mixture to a dropping consistency.

Spoon the batter into the cake moulds, smooth the tops and place in the oven. After 20-25 minutes, check the smallest mould by inserting a skewer in the centre of the cake – if done, it should emerge clean, so remove from the oven. After 40-50 minutes, check the medium-sized mould, and the largest mould after 60-70 minutes. Leave the cakes to cool completely in their moulds on a wire tray.

Make the buttercream by beating together the softened butter and the icing sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and gradually add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the buttercream is of a soft but firm consistency. Set aside.

Divide the fondant icing into three pieces, one approx 150g and the other two 100g each. Take the large 150g piece, flatten it slightly and place a large blob of green colouring gel in the centre. Fold the icing over the colour, then knead the colouring gel through the icing with your hands until the colour is even. Repeat the process with the other two pieces of fondant and the red and yellow colours. Roll out the green fondant and press out pear shapes with the cookie cutter. Make apple shapes with the yellow icing.

Stack the cakes, one on top of the other, to make the cupcake shape. Trim them as required, shaving off slivers until you have the desired shape. Stick the middle section to the base with buttercream. Roll out the remaining red fondant to a circle large enough to cover the dome-shaped cake for the cherry on top. Wrap the ‘cherry’ in the red fondant and set aside.

Using a palette knife, spread buttercream evenly over the stacked base and middle sections. Press pretzels onto the lower part of the base section. Press the pears and apples onto the middle and upper sections. Finally, put the cherry on the top of the cake.

The original recipe for Joana Vasconcelos’ Fruit Cake, part of her Treats sculpture series

Ingredients

1 artist
1 sketchbook
1 Bic ink pen
1 architect
1 carpenter
2 assistants
24 stainless steel hoops
52 stainless steel sticks
94 red plastic sand moulds (strawberries)
87 white plastic sand moulds (grapes)
299 green plastic sand moulds (pears)
399 yellow plastic sand moulds (pretzels)

Duration: 2 months

Method

Observe how cooks bake and decorate their dishes.

Draw your own version of a cupcake.

Have the architect transform your sketch into a design, to scale.

Have the carpenter create 24 stainless steel hoops and 52 sticks.

At the studio, assemble the inner structure to support the sand moulds.

Order a set of different plastic sand moulds.

Layer by layer, colour by colour and shape by shape, attach the sand moulds with the sticks. Start with the base, attaching 399 pretzel plastic sand moulds. It should be 1,257m high. Then add a 60cm layer of 299 green pears, then 30cm of 87 grapes, and finally approximately 59cm of 94 red plastic sand moulds of strawberries.

Clean and polish.

Either serve your Fruit Cake outside, on a sunny day, or indoors, with strong illumination.

A version of this story originally featured in the June 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*231)

INFORMATION
A site-specific installation by Joana Vasconcelos is on view at Jupiter Artland from 12 May – 30 September. For more information, visit the Jupiter Artland website

Mundane materials, from wood scraps to soft toys, have been transformed into distinctly Brazilian furniture in the hands of Humberto and Fernando Campana. Appropriately, the Paulistano brothers serve up a double dose of local culture for this month’s recipes. Humberto offers us bacalhau à Gomes de Sá (salt cod), like their grandma used to make, while Fernando opts for beef brochette with mushrooms, potatoes and béarnaise sauce, an off-the-menu dish from São Paulo restaurant La Casserole. ‘It combines a staple of French cuisine with the everyday food of the Brazilian Sertão,’ he says. Shown here in deconstructed form, their dishes are proof that, like the best furniture, great food can come from humble origins.

Fernando Campana’s beef brochette with mushrooms and béarnaise sauce
Recipe by La Casserole

Ingredients (serves 4)
20g fresh tarragon, well chopped
280ml white wine vinegar
120g shallots, chopped
250g unsalted butter
6 egg yolks
600g beef tenderloin, cut into 4cm cubes
2 tomatoes, sliced
100g mushrooms, sliced
8 precooked small onions
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Put the tarragon, vinegar, shallots and 80ml water in a small casserole and reduce over a very low heat until you have approximately 30ml.

Clarify the butter by melting it in a small saucepan over a low heat. When it starts foaming, remove from the heat and wait a few minutes, then pass the butter through a fine sieve and discard the solids.

Beat the egg yolks with a little water, then stir into the tarragon reduction. Pour the mixture into a bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly, adding the lukewarm clarified butter very slowly until the sauce has thickened, increased in volume and appears shiny. Add some fresh tarragon leaves and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To prepare the brochettes, thread metal skewers with beef cubes, tomatoes and mushrooms. Put an onion on each end and season with salt and pepper. Preheat the grill to high, then reduce the setting to medium and grill the brochettes for 3-4 minutes on each side so the beef is rare and the vegetables al dente.
  
Humberto Campana’s bacalhau à Gomes de Sá

Ingredients
500g desalted cod
3 medium-sized potatoes
Olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
Chopped scallions
2 large tomatoes, peeled and deseeded
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
12 pitted black olives
Salt and black pepper

Method
Flake the cod into small pieces, removing any bones. Set aside.

Boil the potatoes in their skins, then drain, peel and slice. Set aside.

In a frying pan, heat some olive oil over a medium high heat for a few minutes. Add the sliced onion and cook until golden brown. Then add the cod and scallions and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a medium ovenproof casserole dish with a teaspoon of olive oil. Spread half of the cod mixture over the base of the dish. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Arrange half of the potatoes, tomatoes, eggs and olives over the cod. Spread the other half of the cod over the potatoes. Spread the other half of the potatoes, tomatoes, eggs and olives over the cod. Drizzle with oil, then bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden.

As originally featured in the May 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*230)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Campana Brothers website and the La Casserole website

Tomás Saraceno likes to say that he ‘lives in and beyond the Planet Earth’. The Argentine artist’s lofty ambitions are evident in his Aerocene sculptures, which become buoyant thanks to the heat of the sun. Applying this technology, he launched the world’s first solar-powered flight in 2015, bringing mankind ever closer to the dream of Icarus. More recently, Saraceno’s work has taken on an interstellar dimension, using images of faraway galaxies to challenge our conceptions of space and time. He reminds us that what we see in the night skies is a very ancient image. ‘We, earthlings, are always convicted to watch the past.’ Happily, the past abounds with wonderful things – including this chocolate nut cake recipe, passed on to Saraceno by his grandmother.

Ingredients
250g whole hazelnuts
200g butter, cubed, plus some more for greasing
200g dark chocolate 6 eggs, separated
200g caster sugar
3 tbsp hazelnut liqueur, amaretto or orange juice

Topping
150g chocolate spread

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Put the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast them in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes, giving the pan a shake halfway through, until they are golden brown. Watch them carefully so that they don’t burn. Remove and leave them to cool for a few minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C. Butter a 23cm spring form cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.

Place 200g of the hazelnuts in a food processor and blend them until they are fairly finely ground. If you blend the nuts to the consistency of fine breadcrumbs, they should work a treat, but leave a few coarser pieces to add texture. Set the remaining 50g hazelnuts aside.

Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set it above a pan of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally, and as soon as nearly all the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the pan and continue to let the chocolate melt in the residual heat.
Stir in the ground hazelnuts and leave the mixture to cool for 5 minutes.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together with an electric hand-whisk for at least 5 minutes until pale and creamy, then stir into the chocolate mixture until thoroughly combined. Wash and dry the beaters well.

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form – they are ready when you can turn the bowl upside down without the eggs sliding out. Do not over whisk.

Working quickly, stir the hazelnut liqueur, amaretto or orange juice into the chocolate mixture to soften. Add a couple of tablespoonfuls of the whisked egg whites and stir until thoroughly combined, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 35 – 40 minutes, or until the cake is well risen and firm.

Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin for 30 minutes. Undo the spring clip and invert the cake on to a serving plate, then peel off the lining paper and leave it to cool completely.

When the cake is cold, spread it with the chocolate and hazelnut spread and sprinkle with the hazelnuts that you set aside – these can be whole or chopped, whatever you prefer.

As originally featured in the April 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*229)

INFORMATION

Tomás Saraceno is at MAAT in Lisbon, 21 March – 27 August. For more information, visit Tomás Saraceno’s website

Almost five decades after he burst onto the fashion scene with Japanese-inspired, audaciously patterned textiles, Kenzo Takada continues to draw inspiration from his home country – last year festooning Roche Bobois’ ‘Mah Jong’ sofa in kimono-like jacquard patterns, and developing cushions and vases to match. Like the designer himself, his recipe is the pride of Japan. ‘I love miso soup,’ he declares. ‘It’s a mix of complexity and simplicity. It is easy to eat, and can accompany many foods, or simply be served with a bowl of rice.’

Ingredients
Takada’s take on the classic includes tofu, mixed seaweed and spring onion.

As originally featured in the March 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*228)

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Kenzo website

The skies have a strong hold on the imagination of American artist Spencer Finch, who once hand-painted 2,983 squares of paper in varying shades of blue to approximate the colour of the heavens on the day the Twin Towers fell. A permanent fixture of New York’s 9/11 memorial, Trying To Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning is perhaps Finch’s most viewed artwork to date. However, that accolade may soon pass to A Cloud Index, a commission for the Crossrail station at London’s Paddington, to be unveiled in December 2018. A 120m-long glass canopy stretching above the concourse will be printed with cloud formations in the tradition of English landscape paintings. Like Finch’s contribution to our recipe series, it’s the perfect antidote for a dull wintry day. Of these cookies, which his great aunt Edna used to serve on Christmas Eve, Finch says, ‘They are not too sweet and not too chocolatey, but rich and wonderful.

Ingredients

4 egg whites
1/2 lb creamed butter
1/2 lb sugar
1/2 lb ground blanched almonds
1/2 lb grated sweet chocolate
1/2 lb + 2oz flour

Method

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Mix together all the other ingredients and fold in the egg whites. Brush each cookie with egg wash and bake at 350°F for 12 minutes.

As originally featured in the January 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*226)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Spencer Finch’s website

In the two decades since she won the Turner Prize, Gillian Wearing has placed family at the heart of her work, such as her series of self-portraits in which she dons eerily realistic silicone masks resembling her own relations. So it comes as no surprise that Wearing has selected a hearty family dish for us. ‘My favourite dinner when I was a child was my mother’s vegetable soup,’ she says. The original recipe called for lamb, but having been vegetarian for many years, she finds this meat-free variation ‘fills that nostalgic food gap’.

Ingredients

Onion, leeks, olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, red lentils, potatoes, vegetable stock, black pepper

Method

1. Slice the onion and leeks and fry them in olive oil for a few minutes. When softened, add the garlic and cook for a further minute.

2. Wash the red lentils and add to the other ingredients.

3. Roughly cut up the potatoes; they can still be in their skins. Add to the pan.

4. Pour in vegetable stock (for further flavour you can use two stock cubes).

5. Simmer for about 35 minutes until the lentils and potatoes are cooked.

6. Season with black pepper.

NB this is not a liquidised soup.

As originally featured in the December 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*225)

INFORMATION

‘Family Stories’ is on view until 7 January 2018. For more information, visit the National Gallery of Denmark website

ADDRESS

National Gallery of Denmark
Sølvgade 48-50
1307 Copenhagen

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The famously peripatetic Swiss artist Not Vital has worked in such locations as Beijing, Rio, Agadez and Bataan, but maintains close ties with his native Engadin, an Alpine valley famed for its wintry charms. This is evident from the subjects of his sculpture (snowballs encased in glass, a marble sled, an outsized cow’s tongue in stainless steel), his faithfully monochrome palette, and his eponymous foundation, dedicated to preserving the cultural assets of the region. It’s only natural that Vital would give us a traditional dish of grated potatoes, bacon and salsiz sausage. Its name, plain in pigna, means ‘full in the oven’ in his native Romansh. On the use of butter, he offers some sage advice: ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself, it’s one of the most important components.’

Ingredients
600g raw potatoes, roughly grated
50g Salsiz, diced to small pieces
50g bacon, diced to small pieces
100g butter
1 tbsp white flour
1 tbsp corn flour
Salt
Muscat pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Butter an iron gratin dish and mix in all the ingredients.
The dish should be filled to at least 3cm.
Bake the plain in pigna in the oven for about one hour.
Serves 4

INFORMATION

‘Not Vital, Univers Privat’ is on view until 19 November. For more information, visit the Bündner Kunstmuseum website

ADDRESS

Bündner Kunstmuseum
Bahnhofstrasse 35
7000 Chur

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Bernar Venet’s Corten steel sculptures have created dramatic statements at Versailles, Nice, New York and, most recently, in the grounds of Cliveden in Buckinghamshire. Their elegant forms reflect a lifetime of careful study. ‘They take 65 years to consider, then it’s eight minutes to build the maquette, and up to three months to make them,’ he says. His oeuf caviar is equally considered: two elementally similar yet visually opposite ingredients, arranged in perfect harmony. It’s his dish of choice at the Michelin-starred Les Gorges de Pennafort, run by his friend Philippe Da Silva and located near Venet’s art foundation in Provence. Venet is fond of the dish’s simplicity. ‘It’s quick and visually sober, like my artwork.’

Ingredients
1 egg
Caviar

Method
Very gently cook an egg over low heat, with a little butter that has just begun to melt in a frying pan. Ensure that the yolk remains soft and not overcooked.

To avoid unsightly little points on the surface, do not season the egg (in particular the yolk) with salt.

To finish, encircle the egg with a crown of caviar. The caviar will provide the salt.

As originally featured in the October 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*223)

INFORMATION

Venet is at Cliveden until 15 October, and Frieze Masters, 5-8 October. For more information, visit the Cliveden website, BlainSouthern website, and Frieze website

‘Fred’ desk, £5,760, by Roberto Lazzeroni, for Poltrona Frau. Glasses, £125, by Cubitts. Imporium pen, £325, by Mario Bellini, for Lamy. ‘Anmut Platinum’ plate, £26, by Villeroy & Boch, from Harrods. ‘Goa’ fork, €11, by Cutipol. Notebooks, from a selection, by Hieronymus. ‘Tizio’ light, £250, by Richard Sapper, for Artemide. Winsor & Newton inks and pen, part of set, £250, from Linley. ‘Phi’ scissors, £25,by Hay, from SCP. Fossilised ammonite, £350, from Dale Rogers Ammonite. ‘Soda’ fabric in Wine, £60 per m, by Kirkby Design. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Maud Eden

Manolo Blahnik is perhaps the high-kickingest shoemaker of our time. So it’s fitting he’s being feted in an upcoming film, the most hotly anticipated fashion documentary since Dior and I. It promises an intimate portrait of the designer, including the tale of how, growing up in the Canary Islands, Blahnik used sweet wrappers to craft shoes for the lizards in his garden. His contribution to our artist recipe series, a bread and butter pudding, comes with an expectedly elegant twist. It’s made from two-dayold brioche and layered with raisins soaked in either rum or marsala wine.

Ingredients
8 slices of 2 day old, brioche
400ml double cream
100g salted butter
8 eggs
50g caster sugar
20g golden raisons
1 teaspoon pure vanila pod
Nutmeg
3/4 tablespoons of Rum or Masala wine

Method
Soak the raisons in a small amount of rum or masala for 20 minutes.
Grease your baking dish with a small amount of the butter.
Spread the softened butter on the sliced brioche and then cut into triangles.
Sprinkle half the raisons in the base of the dish.
Layer the buttered sliced brioche into the dish.
Sprinkle the remaining raisons and the Rum or Masala over the top.
In a small bowl beat until frothy the eggs and sugar together with the vanilla, fold in the cream and whisk carefully until smooth.
Pour the cream/egg/sugar mixture over the layers of brioche and leave to soak for 45 to 60 minutes.
Grate some nutmeg and sprinkle a teaspoon of caster sugar on the top and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top is golden.

As originally featured in the September 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*222)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Manolo Blahnik website

British artists Langlands & Bell have worked together for four decades, producing quietly provocative works ranging from monochrome sculptures to an interactive animation of Osama bin Laden’s house (which earned them a Turner prize nomination in 2004). Like their partnership, their recipe of choice is an ingenious pairing – this time between gurnard, a prehistoric-looking fish, and patacones, fried slices of bananas or plantains. ‘It’s based on meals we have eaten in Cartagena, Colombia, where fish and bananas of many kinds are regularly eaten together,’ they explain. Often prepared at Untitled, a modernist summer retreat of their own design in the Kent Weald, the dish is served with typographic napkins – a housewarming gift from architect Amanda Levete – and best paired with ‘a light beer, a dry Biddenden’s cider, or a Sauvignon blanc’.

Method

This recipe can be prepared by two people making one part each, or by one person if the patacónes are prepared beforehand and cooked while the fish is in the oven.

Gurnards are sustainable, prehistoric-looking fish with firm white flesh and subtle flavour that combines very well with other ingredients. We prefer them whole because it’s easier to check their freshness, because they look great and the head and bones contribute a lot of extra flavour to the liquor or juice of the dish. Ask your supplier to scale, gut, and clean the fish removing the fins, but leaving the head and tail on. Keep in a cool place until you have prepared the vegetables.

Braised gurnard
Serves 6
100ml olive oil
100g unsalted butter (we prefer goats’ butter because its lightness combines well with fish)
2 medium onions, medium sliced
4-5 sticks celery, cut into 3cm pieces
2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced into 2cm pieces (a firm waxy potato such as Nicola is best)
2 large carrots, cut into 2cm pieces
3 bay leaves
1.5kg whole gurnards
sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
2 glasses dry white wine
1 large pinch saffron

Use a large heavy oven-proof dish with a lid (we use a large white Le Creuset casserole).
Put on the stove over a low heat with the oil and butter and add the vegetables and bay leaves.
Gently turn the vegetables in the oil and butter and allow to soften in the heat for 10 mins without browning them.
Season the fish with salt and pepper and place in the pan with the vegetables.
Add the wine and the saffron, cover the dish and heat gently to a simmer. Then put the casserole into a medium preheated oven and cook for 30-40 mins depending on the size of the fish.
Once cooked, the fish can be easily lifted out and separated from the bone or served whole individually with the vegetables.

Patacones
Serves 6
3 green plantains (platanos verdes) or 6 good-sized green bananas
500ml sunflower oil
300ml heavily salted water (put 1 tbs salt in 300ml warm water, stir vigorously, and leave to cool)
sea salt
a small handful of coriander leaves, washed and loosely chopped
4 limes, cut into wedges

To peel the plantains, cut off stalk part and run the point of knife blade lengthways along the seams of the banana at skin depth to split apart and remove. Separating the skin from the flesh can be a slightly fiddly operation but it’s worth it. Beware, bananas have a tendency to stain permanently.

Cut the peeled plantains or bananas diagonally into 1cm-thick slices and gently ‘half-cook’ in batches in the hot oil in a deep frying pan or shallow saucepan for about 5 mins until slightly softened. The oil should be bubbling, but don’t allow the bananas to brown.

Remove each batch of bananas from the oil once ‘half-cooked’ and set aside on kitchen paper to cool slightly.

As soon as you can handle the cooling slices individually, crush each one under the blade of a large knife on a breadboard so that they split apart slightly but don’t beak into pieces.

Dip each slightly crushed slice of banana into the heavily salted water and set aside for 10 mins on folded kitchen paper to dry while you ‘half-cook’ the rest. When all the bananas have dried off to the touch, cook again in the oil until light golden brown in colour (about 3-4 mins).

Sprinkle with sea salt and the chopped coriander and serve everything on large white plates with lime wedges and hot chilli sauce on the side.

As originally featured in the July 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*220)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Langlands & Bell website

Twelve months after the Brexit vote, mandarins in Downing Street and Brussels are tackling the question: ‘What now?’ Mark Titchner – the 2006 Turner Prize nominee behind installations comprising existential koans like Why is there something instead of nothing? – may have the answer. He turned to John Dee, Elizabeth I’s advisor, who used an obsidian mirror to peer, or ‘scry’, through time. ‘We are trying to discern the post-Brexit future with a reflective “scrying bowl” of yeast extract,’ says Titchner. ‘Which is probably higher tech than what the Tories are planning!’

Ingredients

Cream crackers
Yeast extract

To make the yeast extract:

A litre of brewer's yeast (top fermentation from a brewery)
Sea salt
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 turnip, diced
1/2 celery stick, diced

Method

1. Wash the yeast. Put the top fermentation into a jar full of water. Eventually, the yeast will settle to the bottom of the jar. Pour off the water, and fill the jar again with fresh water. Do this several times to wash the yeast.
2. Put a litre of the washed brewer's yeast with a little salt, in a bain marie. Simmer at blood heat, 30 to 40ºc for ten hours or overnight.
3. Then simmer this mixture at 50 to 60º c for 2 to 3 hours.
4. Boil at low temperature 90ºc for half an hour.
5. Filter though coffee papers or a sieve and cheesecloth
6. Let it cool for a day or so. It separates further.
7. Filter again.
8. You then want to convert it to a paste. This is best achieved by putting it in a large flat pan and carefully, gently simmering. 
9. Meanwhile, boil up all the vegetables until they are cooked. Strain off the liquid and incorporate into the paste. 
10. Let the mixture reduce into a smooth, tar-like texture. Do not allow it to burn.

The entire process takes about ten days.

11. Apply the home-made yeast extract with a knife or spatula, thickly to a dry cream cracker. Do not use butter or margarine. The yeast extract should be applied thickly to form a smooth, brown reflective surface.

As originally featured in the June 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*219)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Mark Titchner’s website

In the world of Japanese artist and designer Tokujin Yoshioka, glass chairs suddenly disappear when wet, and swirling clouds turn out to be drinking straws. His work defies definition, a legacy perhaps of the 20-odd years he has spent working with Issey Miyake. But there is warmth and wonder in his work, as witnessed in ‘S.F_Senses of the Future’, his collaboration with LG at this year’s Salone del Mobile. Whet your appetite with his favourite treat, wagashi, Japanese sweets that have evolved into an art form.

Ingredients
Rich in fibre, wagashi are made from vegetable-based ingredients. Various ingredients are used, including a variety of flours and sweeteners.
 
Method
The principle element of wagashi is an, a bean paste made of beans and sugar. In particular, azuki beans are a defining ingredient, without which wagashi can hardly be conceived.

Its hearty flavour is paired with a reddish colour, a particularly potent combination as red is believed to ward off disaster and disease.

The beans are cooked with sugar, then mashed, and finely strained to produce a smooth azuki bean paste called gozen an (or koshi an). If some of the solid bits of the beans are left intact, it becomes a whole azuki bean paste called ogura an (or tsubu an).

These two pastes are the mainstay of wagashi, while other beans, such as the white azuki beans and the white kidney beans, are used to produce a white bean paste called shiro an.

As originally featured in the May 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*218)

INFORMATION

The installation is on view until 9 April. For more information, visit the Tokujin Yoshioka website

ADDRESS

Via Tortona, 27
Milan 20144

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Through sculpture, photography and painting, French artist Xavier Veilhan transforms the mundane into something arresting. His 2009 sculpture of steel horses galloping across the cobblestones of Versailles displays not just a firm grasp of history and drama, but also of anatomy and the physics of motion. This sense for the transformative is also evident in the kitchen. His crouton omelette is based on nothing more than day-old bread and yet it is, he says, ‘the most comforting, the kind of dish you prepare on Sunday evenings when there’s nothing left in the fridge’. Nothing except imagination.

Method

Not only easy to make, but also very heartening to savour!

Heat on medium heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan.
Flip in the dry bread croutons.
Once the croutons become a crispy golden brown, add the battered eggs.
Add some parsley.
Make sure to serve the omelette moist and juicy!

This dish is very compatible with truffles.

As originally featured in the April 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*217)

INFORMATION

Xavier Veilhan will represent France at this year’s Venice Biennale. For more information, visit Xavier Veilhan’s website

Dutch photographer Viviane Sassen has never been one for conventions. Her career is remarkable for its restless energy, especially in its blurring of the lines between fashion photography and art. Her images offer glimpses of unguarded moments in the lives of her subjects – backs are often turned as if to protect a secret or the attention has been diverted to something happening off-camera. As we noted in our piece on Sassen’s ‘Pikin Slee’ (W*192), a moving documentary of a village in the Suriname rainforests, she ‘approaches her subjects almost like a sculptor who knows that light and shadow can create spaces’. Ironic, then, that one of her favourite dishes of artichokes and vinaigrette – always eaten on her birthday – is filled with such sunny flavours. ‘Don’t forget to eat the hearts,’ she says.

Method
Cook the artichokes till the outer leaves can easily be pulled off. For the vinaigrette, mix 1 unit of mustard, 1 unit of mayonnaise, a little bit of curry powder and ketchup, 1 unit of white wine vinegar or lemon, and 3 units of olive oil. For each person, take one hard-boiled egg and mash it; then mix this into the vinaigrette.

As originally featured in the March 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*216)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Vivienne Sassen’s website

Conrad Shawcross’ oeuvre – an out-of-the box blend of engineering ingenuity, precision mechanics, hardcore science and philosophy – sears both memory and imagination like the after image of a lightning strike. Who can forget the moment in 2003 when Charles Saatchi snapped up the-then 26-year-old’s mechanical rope installation The Nervous System for £26,000? It’s such a surprise, then, to discover how downright homey Shawcross’ culinary tastes are. His venison stew calls for preferably roadkill, though even here, in his parsing of the law, he is unable to disguise his bent for precision. ‘While it is illegal to take a deer you have hit with your own car,’ he says, ‘you can pick up deer that has been killed by others. It’s important to avoid bad meat, so only use meat you find when there is a frost’.

Ingredients
1-2 cups vegetable oil
large cubes of venison - vary amount dependent on number at table
deuce of red onions (two), diced
1 fresh red chilli, diced
a brace of garlic cloves (two), diced
1 glass of merlot
a few cups of chicken stock, ideally freshly made a few days before
a skein of carrots, sliced
1 bay leaf  
2 large handfuls of porcini mushrooms, sliced
a few sprigs of thyme
pinches of salt and pepper
juniper berries
2 bottles of Guinness
214 new potatoes

Method
In a large cauldron, heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil till very hot. Brown the venison cubes in batches. Set aside each batch on a warm plate while you work on the next batch.

In the same cauldron, add more vegetable oil and sweat the onions, chilli and garlic. Add merlot and a few cups of stock.

Add carrots, bay, mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper, and bring to the boil.

Add meat and juniper berries. Add Guinness until the liquid just covers the meat.  

Lower heat, put the lid on, and simmer for 3-4 hours.  

Ideally, the stew will be cooked a day or two before the meal and gently reheated two hours before serving. Add the potatoes an hour into the reheating time, so that they’re not too soft.

The sauce should not be too runny, so reduce until thick. Alternatively, add a teaspoon or two of cornflour to thicken.

Serve with blanched kale and garlic.

As originally featured in the January 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*214)

John Baldessari has long incorporated elements of consumption into his work. Sometimes this has manifested itself in a figurative sense, such as his early 1967 piece A Two-Dimensional Surface Without Any Articulation Is A Dead Experience, in which he allowed his words to be painted by sign-painters. Sometimes the artist has approached the idea in a literal way – perhaps best exemplified by his Cremation Project, in which he burnt all his paintings from 1953 to 1966 and baked the ashes into cookies, which were displayed with a recipe. This provocative display of metarealistic gastronomy has been toned down in Baldessari’s contribution to the Wallpaper* dining digest. His recipe is a homey amalgam of familiar tastes and textures, proving once again that, even at 85, Baldessari still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Ingredients
3 tbs olive oil
2 rashers of bacon
3 eggs
2 large handfuls of fresh spinach
A wedge of pre-cooked polenta

Method
Heat a medium-sized, non-stick skillet over a medium flame. Add olive oil, and fry bacon till crisp. Set aside on kitchen paper. Next, using the same oil, fry the eggs till cooked to desired consistency. Meanwhile, in a medium-sized pot of boiling, salted water, cook spinach till just tender for a scant minute. Season to taste, and assemble.

As originally featured in the December issue of Wallpaper* (W*213)

Leandro Erlich’s interactive installations have included an illusory swimming pool that allows visitors to walk underwater thanks to a well-placed layer of glass, and a pair of escalators seemingly knotted like a pretzel. The Argentine artist is soon to take over a stretch of Miami Beach with 100 car-shaped sand sculptures, then let the public claw them apart. His take on the asado (the classic Argentine barbecue) has a similarly participatory element, requiring a merry band of helpers, a roaring fire, a string of sausages, bread rolls, and a chimichurri prepared by his collaborator Raùl. To ensure the chimichurri doesn’t spill, the sandwich is best enjoyed, much like Erlich’s art, with the head tilted 90 degrees back. For the recipe, click here.

Linen napkins, £13 each, by The Conran Shop. ‘Eat.it’ spoon, £24, by Wiel Arets for Alessi. ‘Bloom’ salt cellar with spoon, £35, by Helle Damkjær, for Georg Jensen, from Amara. ‘Manhattan’ bowl, £60, by Georg Jensen. ‘Haversham’ fabric in Feather Grey, £30 per m, by Romo. Photography: Benedict Morgan. Interiors: Olly Mason. Food: Liam Baker. Writer: TF Chan

Twenty-five years since Rirkrit Tiravanija doled out free green curry to a voracious crowd at Manhattan’s 303 Gallery, food remains key to the Thai conceptual artist’s practice. He has partnered with gallerist Gavin Brown on a restaurant in upstate New York, chef Dalad Khambu on Berlin eatery Kin Dee, and fellow artist Tobias Rehberger on a food stall at Frankfurt’s Kleinmarkthalle. His twist on a Negroni substitutes Carpano Antica Formula vermouth for Campari. Topped with gin, ‘in sufficient quantity to ensure its dominance over the other ingredients’, Tiravanija’s creation ‘has excellent effects on the imagination. I’ve no idea how or why; I only know that it works.’ For the recipe, click here.

‘Glass Family’ glassware, from £6 each, by Jasper Morrison, for Alessi. ‘Revolution’ glassware, from £71, by Fferrone, from WallpaperSTORE*. ‘Essence’ carafes, £71 each, by Alfredo Häberli, for Iittala; ‘Tokio’ jugs, £28 each; ‘Tube’ jug, £14, both by Ichendorf Milano, all from SCP. ‘Grande Concrete Look’ floor tiles in Crete, €87 per sq m, by Marazzi. Photography: Baker & Evans. Interiors: Olly Mason. Food: Iain Graham. Writer: TF Chan

One beautiful evening in Venice, German artist Katharina Grosse came across a small restaurant called Alla Vedova (at the widow’s). Thinking immediately of Emilio Vedova, the late Venetian painter who had seen abstraction as a gateway to political freedom, Grosse imagined being invited to his table. ‘We had a lot of Venetian specialities that night, but nothing was like the dark purple-black inky, velvety linguine.’ The aftermath bore a delightful resemblance to Vedova’s work – energetic, expressive brushstrokes on largely monochrome canvases. The linguine ‘left traces everywhere on the plate, the paper tablecloth, my tongue and my teeth,’ recalls Grosse. ‘Eating squid ink pasta is as if biting into the sea at night.’ For the recipe, click here.

‘Aarne’ cocktail glass, £29, by Göran Hongell, for Iittala, from Skandium. ‘Tourron’ dinner plate, £25, by Jars; ‘Broadway’ fork, £10, by A for Amara, both from Amara. Photography: Philippe Fragnière. Interiors: Olly Mason. Entertaining Director: Melina Keays. Writer: TF Chan

From the Technicolor skateboard ramp at the heart of the Palais de Tokyo in 2012 to the seven monumental stage curtains at this year’s Art Basel Hong Kong, German artist Ulla von Brandenburg’s work is always theatrical. ‘Sweet Feast’, a new project for London’s Whitechapel Gallery, was inspired by a 1973 exhibition of European sweets that was abruptly halted when a group of children devoured the exhibits. Mobilising 100 primary school pupils, von Brandenburg has created a video re-enactment of the event as a discussion of Britain’s changing relationship with the EU. Her contribution to our artist’s recipe series is naturally a sweet treat – orangettes, made from whole discs of orange rather than just the peel. Dig in. For the recipe, click here.

Marble platter, £51, by Serax, from Amara. ‘Stop’ bookends, from £87, by Philipp Mainzer, for E15, from Viaduct. Eames chair, £125; Prouvé chair, £195, from the Miniatures Collection, by Vitra Design Museum, from Vitra. ‘Norr’ floor tiles, price on request, by Mirage. Fabrics, by Villa Nova and Romo. Photography: Philippe Fragnière. Interiors: Olly Mason. Entertaining Director: Melina Keays. Writer: TF Chan

Everyday objects laden with metaphor, linear objects drooping against walls, and mirror images with deliberate imperfections lend a hallucinatory quality to the works of Alicja Kwade, unsettling our understanding of science and the meaning of reality. In happy contrast, her dish of choice is a simple green papaya salad. ‘The first time I made it was during an artist residency for L’Association Martiniquaise pour l’Art Contemporain in Martinique,’ she says. ‘Their small boathouse is the most beautiful place on earth I know.’ For the recipe, click here.

‘Unity’ quarter circle trays, £35 each, by AYTM. ‘Binic’ lamp, £132, by Ionna Vautrin, for Foscarini. ‘Giro’ fork and knife, £10 each, by UNStudio/ Ben van Berkel, for Alessi. Photography: Baker & Evans. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Liam Baker. Writer: TF Chan

Almost five decades after he burst onto the fashion scene with Japanese-inspired, audaciously patterned textiles, Kenzo Takada continues to draw inspiration from his home country – last year festooning Roche Bobois’ ‘Mah Jong’ sofa in kimono-like jacquard patterns, and developing cushions and vases to match. Like the designer himself, his recipe is the pride of Japan. ‘I love miso soup,’ he declares. ‘It’s a mix of complexity and simplicity. It is easy to eat, and can accompany many foods, or simply be served with a bowl of rice.’ For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: archive print, from the Kenzo S/S86 menswear collection. ‘Krenit’ bowl (seen digitally enhanced), £30, by Herbert Krenchel, for Normann Copenhagen, from Skandium. Photography: John Short. Interiors: Matthew Morris. Food: Liam Baker. Writer: TF Chan

The skies have a strong hold on the imagination of American artist Spencer Finch, who once hand-painted 2,983 squares of paper in varying shades of blue to approximate the colour of the heavens on the day the Twin Towers fell. A permanent fixture of New York’s 9/11 memorial, Trying To Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning is perhaps Finch’s most viewed artwork to date. However, that accolade may soon pass to A Cloud Index, a commission for the Crossrail station at London’s Paddington, to be unveiled in December 2018. A 120m-long glass canopy stretching above the concourse will be printed with cloud formations in the tradition of English landscape paintings. Like Finch’s contribution to our recipe series, it’s the perfect antidote for a dull wintry day. Of these cookies, which his great aunt Edna used to serve on Christmas Eve, Finch says, ‘They are not too sweet and not too chocolatey, but rich and wonderful.’ For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Tangram’ crystal bowls, price on request, by Jan Čtvrtník, for Moser. ‘Pietra di Vals Grigio’ tiles, price on request, by Marazzi. Photography: John Short. Interiors: Olly Mason. Food: Peta O’Brien. Writer: TF Chan

In the two decades since she won the Turner Prize, Gillian Wearing has placed family at the heart of her work, such as her series of self-portraits in which she dons eerily realistic silicone masks resembling her own relations. So it comes as no surprise that Wearing has selected a hearty family dish for us. ‘My favourite dinner when I was a child was my mother’s vegetable soup,’ she says. The original recipe called for lamb, but having been vegetarian for many years, she finds this meat-free variation ‘fills that nostalgic food gap’. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: concrete bowl, £114 for set of three, by Stephan Schulz, for Helena Leba Softes, from Twentytwentyone. ‘Rundes Modell’ spoon, £126 for set of six, by Josef Hoffmann, for Alessi. ‘Bahama CS’ fabric, £102 per m, by Nya Nordiska. Photography: John Short. Food: Iain Graham. Writer: TF Chan

Bernar Venet’s Corten steel sculptures have created dramatic statements at Versailles, Nice, New York and, most recently, in the grounds of Cliveden in Buckinghamshire. Their elegant forms reflect a lifetime of careful study. ‘They take 65 years to consider, then it’s eight minutes to build the maquette, and up to three months to make them,’ he says. His oeuf caviar is equally considered: two elementally similar yet visually opposite ingredients, arranged in perfect harmony. It’s his dish of choice at the Michelin-starred Les Gorges de Pennafort, run by his friend Philippe Da Silva and located near Venet’s art foundation in Provence. Venet is fond of the dish’s simplicity. ‘It’s quick and visually sober, like my artwork.’ For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: red granite plate, £87, by Willer. ‘Terrazzo’ platter, £69, by Serax, from The Conran Shop. Dinner fork, £15, by Louise Campbell, for Georg Jensen. ‘Mystone Bluestone’ tile in Grigio, from £41 per sq m, by Marazzi. Photography: Felicity McCabe. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Maud Eden. Writer: TF Chan

Manolo Blahnik is perhaps the high-kickingest shoemaker of our time. So it’s fitting he’s being feted in an upcoming film, the most hotly anticipated fashion documentary since Dior and I. It promises an intimate portrait of the designer, including the tale of how, growing up in the Canary Islands, Blahnik used sweet wrappers to craft shoes for the lizards in his garden. His contribution to our artist recipe series, a bread and butter pudding, comes with an expectedly elegant twist. It’s made from two-dayold brioche and layered with raisins soaked in either rum or marsala wine. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Fred’ desk, £5,760, by Roberto Lazzeroni, for Poltrona Frau. Glasses, £125, by Cubitts. Imporium pen, £325, by Mario Bellini, for Lamy. ‘Anmut Platinum’ plate, £26, by Villeroy & Boch, from Harrods. ‘Goa’ fork, €11, by Cutipol. Notebooks, from a selection, by Hieronymus. ‘Tizio’ light, £250, by Richard Sapper, for Artemide. Winsor & Newton inks and pen, part of set, £250, from Linley. ‘Phi’ scissors, £25,by Hay, from SCP. Fossilised ammonite, £350, from Dale Rogers Ammonite. ‘Soda’ fabric in Wine, £60 per m, by Kirkby Design. Photography: Felicity McCabe. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Maud Eden. Writer: TF Chan

British artists Langlands & Bell have worked together for four decades, producing quietly provocative works ranging from monochrome sculptures to an interactive animation of Osama bin Laden’s house (which earned them a Turner prize nomination in 2004). Like their partnership, their recipe of choice is an ingenious pairing – this time between gurnard, a prehistoric-looking fish, and patacones, fried slices of bananas or plantains. ‘It’s based on meals we have eaten in Cartagena, Colombia, where fish and bananas of many kinds are regularly eaten together,’ they explain. Often prepared at Untitled, a modernist summer retreat of their own design in the Kent Weald, the dish is served with typographic napkins – a housewarming gift from architect Amanda Levete – and best paired with ‘a light beer, a dry Biddenden’s cider, or a Sauvignon blanc’. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: neon circle, £325, by Steve Earle, for Kemp London. ‘Split A’ table, £2,230, by Nendo, for Marsotto Edizioni, from Twentytwentyone. Photography: John Short. Interiors: Olly Mason. Food: Peta O’Brien. Writer: TF Chan

Twelve months after the Brexit vote, mandarins in Downing Street and Brussels are tackling the question: ‘What now?’ Mark Titchner – the 2006 Turner Prize nominee behind installations comprising existential koans like Why is there something instead of nothing? – may have the answer. He turned to John Dee, Elizabeth I’s advisor, who used an obsidian mirror to peer, or ‘scry’, through time. ‘We are trying to discern the post-Brexit future with a reflective “scrying bowl” of yeast extract,’ says Titchner. ‘Which is probably higher tech than what the Tories are planning!’ For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Dauville Charcoal’ small plate, £42 for set of four, by Canvas Home, from Amara. Horn butter knife, £11, by Hornvarefabrikken, from SCP. Photography: John Short. Lifestyle: Emma Moore. Food: Peta O'Brien. Writer: Daven Wu

In the world of Japanese artist and designer Tokujin Yoshioka, glass chairs suddenly disappear when wet, and swirling clouds turn out to be drinking straws. His work defies definition, a legacy perhaps of the 20-odd years he has spent working with Issey Miyake. But there is warmth and wonder in his work, as witnessed in ‘S.F_Senses of the Future’, his collaboration with LG at the 2017 Salone del Mobile. Whet your appetite with his favourite treat, wagashi, Japanese sweets that have evolved into an art form. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Invisible’ table, £345, by Tokujin Yoshioka, for Kartell. Photography: John Short. Interiors: Matthew Morris. Food: Peta O'Brien. Writer: Daven Wu

Through sculpture, photography and painting, French artist Xavier Veilhan transforms the mundane into something arresting. His 2009 sculpture of steel horses galloping across the cobblestones of Versailles displays not just a firm grasp of history and drama, but also of anatomy and the physics of motion. This sense for the transformative is also evident in the kitchen. His crouton omelette is based on nothing more than day-old bread and yet it is, he says, ‘the most comforting, the kind of dish you prepare on Sunday evenings when there’s nothing left in the fridge’. Nothing except imagination. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Joy No.3’ tray, £70, by Claudia Raimondo, for Alessi. Pan, £95, by Barnaby Tuke, for Crane Cookware. Table, £820, by Fritz Haller, for USM. ‘Namasté’ plate, £92 for three, by Jean Marie Massaud, for Kartell, from Amara. Fork, ‘41’, by Koichi Futatsumata, for Valerie Objects. ‘Easy’ tools, from £8, by Cecilie Manz, for Rig-Tig, from Skandium. Writer: Daven Wu

Dutch photographer Viviane Sassen has never been one for conventions. Her career is remarkable for its restless energy, especially in its blurring of the lines between fashion photography and art. Her images offer glimpses of unguarded moments in the lives of her subjects – backs are often turned as if to protect a secret or the attention has been diverted to something happening off-camera. As we noted in our piece on Sassen’s ‘Pikin Slee’ (W*192), a moving documentary of a village in the Suriname rainforests, she ‘approaches her subjects almost like a sculptor who knows that light and shadow can create spaces’. Ironic, then, that one of her favourite dishes of artichokes and vinaigrette – always eaten on her birthday – is filled with such sunny flavours. ‘Don’t forget to eat the hearts,’ she says. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Les Brothers’ mirror, £375, by Paolo Cappello, for Miniforms, from The Conran Shop. Marble bowl, £16, by Broste Copenhagen,= from Goodhood. ‘Highland Falls 4’ matt emulsion, £24 per 2.5 litres, by Dulux. Photography: Philippe Fragniere. Interiors: Olly Mason. Food: Matthew Ford. Writer: Daven Wu

John Baldessari has long incorporated elements of consumption into his work. Sometimes this has manifested itself in a figurative sense, such as his early 1967 piece A Two-Dimensional Surface Without Any Articulation Is A Dead Experience, in which he allowed his words to be painted by sign-painters. Sometimes the artist has approached the idea in a literal way – perhaps best exemplified by his Cremation Project, in which he burnt all his paintings from 1953 to 1966 and baked the ashes into cookies, which were displayed with a recipe. This provocative display of metarealistic gastronomy has been toned down in Baldessari’s contribution to the Wallpaper* dining digest. His recipe is a homey amalgam of familiar tastes and textures, proving once again that, even at 85, Baldessari still has a few tricks up his sleeve. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Crockery’ jug, £75, by Max Lamb, for 1882, from SCP. Silver plate, £105, by Zanetto, from Harlequin London. Spoon, £65 for six-piece cutlery set, from Native & Co. ‘Lucio’ fabric in Steel, £48 per m, by Anthology, for Harlequin. Photography: John Short. Writer: Daven Wu

Given Michael Riedel’s punchy way with graphics and repeated forms, experiments in multiple media and the satellite acolytes and collaborators in his orbit, comparisons with Andy Warhol are inevitable. At his huge studio in Frankfurt he hosts a weekly communal dinner for artists, dancers, musicians, art collectors and designers, so his recipe is for a rewardingly fertile dinner party starter. ‘I like the idea of alphabet soup because, in my work, I use words in a way that have lost their original purpose,’ he says. ‘I’m producing text, but I’m not expecting anyone to read it. Eating alphabet soup is like putting words back into your mouth. It’s like reading backwards in a random order.’ For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Scandia’ spoon, £8, by Kaj Franck, for Iittala, from Skandium. Charger, £85, by Jaune de Chrome. ‘Embassy’ champagne saucer, £12, by David Mellor. ‘Colombina’ placemat, £32, by Doriana and Massimiliano Fuksas, for Alessi. Dom Pérignon Vintage 2006 limited edition, £155, by Michael Riedel, from Harrods. Photography: John Short. Interiors: Olly Mason. Food stylist: Peta O’Brien. Writer: Stephen Armstrong

The famously peripatetic Swiss artist Not Vital has worked in such locations as Beijing, Rio, Agadez and Bataan, but maintains close ties with his native Engadin, an Alpine valley famed for its wintry charms. This is evident from the subjects of his sculpture (snowballs encased in glass, a marble sled, an outsized cow’s tongue in stainless steel), his faithfully monochrome palette, and his eponymous foundation, dedicated to preserving the cultural assets of the region. It’s only natural that Vital would give us a traditional dish of grated potatoes, bacon and salsiz sausage. Its name, plain in pigna, means ‘full in the oven’ in his native Romansh. On the use of butter, he offers some sage advice: ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself, it’s one of the most important components.’ For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Caja Caja’ bowls, price on request, by Anna Torfs, from Harlequin London. Gratin dish, £70, by Le Creuset. ‘Odeon’ form, £11, by David Mellor Design. Photography: Felicity McCabe. Interiors: Matthew Morris. Food: Ian Graham. Writer: TF Chan

In 1996, when Wallpaper* was born, a teenage Daniel Arsham was, he recalls, busy ‘listening to hip hop and taking a lot of photos on a Pentax K1000’. Two decades on, his witty experiments with structures encompass architecture, art and performance spaces. He is co-founder of the art/architecture studio Snarkitecture, while his works in sculpture and in set design for leading contemporary dancers have been shown around the world. ‘I’ve exhibited and worked in Japan for years,’ he says. ‘My wife is half Japanese. It’s my favourite place on earth. One of my favourite dishes from Japan is cold soba. The summers there can be quite hot and this dish is served cold. I like to make it even colder.’ For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Dolomyth’ block, price on request, by Alcarol, from Mint. ‘Matrix’ bowl, €30, by Bartek Mejor, for Vista Alegre. Pyrite clusters, prices on request, from Dale Rogers Ammonite

Sir Paul Smith has built a global empire and one of Britain’s most successful fashion brands through hard work, creativity and making the ordinary extraordinary. He takes the same approach to his favourite dish. While resolutely British, it is anything but ordinary and is tricked up with a twist – in this case, the world’s most famous sourdough and Echiré butter. ‘I’m not much of a cook but I do love classic, simple dishes. My recipe for beans on toast is exactly that. I’m close to the Poilâne family and always visit their bakery when I’m in Paris. They make the best bread in the world, so you start there and work up – perfect French butter combined with Heinz baked beans and a dash of HP sauce.’ It’s Paul Smith at his best – combining the best of British with international flavours. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Swirl’ rug, £4,939, by Paul Smith, for The Rug Company. ‘Signature Stripe II’ dinner plate, £105, by Paul Smith, for Thomas Goode. Photography: John Short. Food stylist: Jennifer Joyce. Writer: Paul McCann

That offal (in this case, chicken livers served rare) appears in contemporary taxidermist Polly Morgan’s favourite recipe should not be much of a surprise. For the artist’s work includes, among the stunning coiled snakes on plinths and members of the finch family slumped around picture frames, Myocardial Infarction (2013), featuring five lovebirds feasting on a resin heart, its blood dripping down a white display stand. After all, someone whose freezer may, at times, contain four years’ worth of garden birds, a cormorant and a chimp, and who knows how to skin a baby giraffe, is unlikely to be fazed by a hint of pink in the middle of her chicken livers. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Touch Me’ rug, £195 per sq m, by Stepevi. ‘Mami’ small bowl, £16.50, by Stefano Giovannoni, for Alessi. ‘Whitework No. 30’ Irish linen cocktail napkin, £65, by Gayle Warwick. Photography: Stephen Lenthall. Interiors: Benjamin Kempton. Entertaining director: Melina Keays. Writer: Paul McCann

Ron Arad’s home town of Tel Aviv is host to any number of top-notch couscous shacks, and depending on your chef’s Maghreb heritage, the couscous will be as fine as sand or plump as nuts. However, despite these examples of what is possible, Israeli home-cooked chicken and couscous often includes packet stock powder that is salty enough to act as an emetic. Not so the famously hat-wearing designer’s recipe. He sticks to one chicken, the peel from one-and-a-half preserved lemons, saffron and olives, plus some herbs and spices. No stock powder. The tagine takes just over an hour. To do his homemade preserved lemons properly takes at least three weeks. You may want to plan ahead. Or buy a jar. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Red or White’ glass, £80 per pair, by Ron Arad, for Nude. Tagine, £175, by Le Creuset. Photography: John Short. Interiors: Matthew Morris. Food: Peta O'Brien. Writer: Paul McCann

Andreas Gursky, whose photographic landscapes famously take in the Rhine, rave culture and North Korea’s Arirang mass games, is as meticulous in the digital transformation of his art as he is in the creation of his mayo. He cooks his sole simply: in butter in a cast-iron pan. His vegetables are just steamed broccoli and boiled potatoes. But the devotion goes into the mayonnaise. An egg yolk, sea salt, mustard and good quality olive oil are mixed by hand, then he swaps to a lighter oil so the mayo isn’t too ‘olivey’. All whipped up in his Herzog & de Meuron-designed studio-apartment. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: Gurksy’s sole in-situ on ‘USM Haller’ modular shelving, £1,676, by USM. Interiors: Evelina Kleiner. Food: Lotten Sundgren. Photography: Carlk Kleiner. Writer: Paul McCann

In the seven years that this page has recorded the recipes of the world’s leading artists and designers, this is the first time we’ve heard from a creative polymath whose wide range of endeavours actually includes a book of recipes. In 2005, art-fashion colossus Karl Lagerfeld published The Karl Lagerfeld Diet, which was notable for including quail and wine and for the honesty of its author, who admitted he lost weight to look good in clothes designed by Hedi Slimane. It was a bestseller in France, where they also like to look good in clothes. For his favourite recipe of stuffed peppers, Lagerfeld follows the strictures of his diet book and the focus is on lean protein and plenty of vegetables. And if you really want to do things the Lagerfeld way, have your personal chef prepare the dish for you. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Vertigo’ round tray £1,195; rectangular tray £1,145, both by Christofle, from Thomas Goode. ‘Mini Papilio’ armchair, £1,008, by Naoto Fukasawa; ‘P60’ ottoman, £1,022, by Antonio Citterio, both for B&B Italia. Champagne coupe, £92, by Karl Lagerfeld, for Orrefors. Gloves, sunglasses and rings, from Chanel archive. Clutch, £125, by Karl Lagerfeld. Cufflinks, from £450, by Dior Homme. Necklace, £15,703, by Shamballa Jewels. Rings, from £195, by Chrome Hearts. ‘Mimi Stripe’ wallpaper, £34 per roll, by Harlequin. Photography: Gustav Almestål. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Henrietta Clancy. Writer: Paul McCann

Prem Sahib is having a moment. Last year, just two years after leaving London’s RCA, he had a solo show at the ICA. Meanwhile, his club night collaborations with artists George Henry Longly and Eddie Peake have earned him a place on the kind of mover-and-shaker lists that the London media adores. His artworks exude a cool minimalism with fleshy undertones, from pressed puffer jackets in seeming embrace to studded tiles pierced like skin. Cool and fleshy are also apt words for his favourite recipe. His version of steak tartare is influenced by his Polish-Sikh heritage and includes tinned sardines rather than anchovies (a holdover from Communist era austerity?) and chopped ogórek kiszony, better known outside Poland as a gherkin. He also likes a few drops of Maggi seasoning sauce. Piquant, cool and fleshy, just like the best club nights. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘TAC Gropius’ small plate, €29, by Rosenthal. Eco-Soft Deluxe pillow, £300; pillow case, £30, both by Hästens. ‘Majestic’ carpet in Antique Silk, £100 per sq m, by Brintons. Photograph: Gustav Almestál. Interiors: Matthew Morris. Writer: Paul McCann

Among the sculptor Tom Sachs’ cultural appropriations, remixes and samplings (such as a McDonald’s on wheels, a cardboard Chanel chainsaw and an Unité d’Habitation cut from foamcore), space exploration, in its Cold War pomp, has remained a constant. In 2007, his exhibition ‘Space Program’ included a scale-model lunar landing module and a mission control with dozens of video monitors. His sculptural borrowings are never quite perfect, so that he can show his working – and get to place a vodka bar in the Lunar Excursion Module. His take on a Baked Alaska, the Fiery Re-entry Descent Dessert, is proof we should ask more space-obsessed sculptors for their fave recipes. He suggests Sara Lee all-butter pound cake to form the insulation tiles and has Bacardi 151 providing the pyrotechnics. Best served wearing Tyvek space mittens. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Sunny Day’ plate, €30, by Thomas, from Rosenthal. Photography: John Short. Entertaining director: Melina Keays. Interiors: Matthew Morris. Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

As the president of the design firm that bears his family’s name, Alberto Alessi has been the force behind the company’s most recognisable creations. Since taking the helm in 1970, he has enlisted an impressive roster of big-name designers to conceive tableware under the Alessi name. Under his tenure, it is now possible for anyone to own a piece by Ettore Sottsass, Naoto Fukasawa or Philippe Starck, whose quirky, humour-infused creations have come to define the company’s reputation. One can only imagine how the name for Alessi’s self-professed ‘ass-burning’ chicken recipe came about. Made with Mexican dried black peppers and doused in sweet wine, it exemplifies Alessi’s daring approach to design and a taste for the good life in every bite. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Tau’ tray, £148, by Kristiina Lassus; ‘PlateBowlCup’ soup bowl, £5.50, by Jasper Morrison; ‘Tonale’ beaker, £8.50; carafe, £19, both by David Chipperfield; condiment set (salt, pepper and toothpicks), £67, by Ettore Sottsass, all for Alessi. Photography: Gustav Almestål. Entertaining director: Melina Keays. Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

Few artists have explored the possibilities of colour as comprehensively as Venezuelan Carlos Cruz-Diez. A pioneer of the kinetic and op art movements, he has dedicated his 60-year career to dissecting the notion of colour through experiments with different wavelengths of light. His extensive output ranges from paintings and sculptures to installations and even pedestrian crossings. Now aged 92, Cruz-Diez reveals a love for fundamentals by sharing his menu for a week's worth of comforting soups. With a different colour for each day of the week, he proves himself to be a purist through and through. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: a week of coloured soups, clockwise from top right: Monday, spinach; Tuesday, cream of squash; Wednesday, pea; Thursday, strawberry gazpacho; Friday, black bean; Saturday, Venezuelan celery; Sunday, red cabbage.'Krenit' bowls, £73 each, by Herbert Krenchel, for Normann Copenhagen, from Skandium. 'Nolly' table, £538, by Evangelos Vasileiou, for Ligne Roset. Photography: John Short. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

There’s no doubt that Ralph Lauren is an arbiter of classic American style, and now the same can be said about classic American cuisine, too. Since opening The Polo Bar in New York City at the end of last year, Lauren has been responsible for one of the hottest tables in town. Many of the restaurant’s comforting yet elevated dishes, such as Maine lobster roll, crab cakes and a well-laden corned beef sandwich (Mr Lauren’s personal favourite), have been vetted by the designer himself. No surprise then that the restaurant’s eponymous brownie is Lauren’s dish of choice to share. Made with decadent Valrhona chocolate and topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce, it embodies the wholesome yet indulgent ethos that the iconic designer stands for. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: Sunglasses, £130; ‘Ricky’ zip-around wallet, £550, both by Ralph Lauren Collection. Polo hat and all tableware, from The Polo Bar, New York. Photography: Junichi Ito. Producer: Michael Reynolds. Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

Since 2009, in a tribute to Artists' Cookbook, published by MoMA in 1977, our back page has been dedicated to the favourite recipes of the world's greatest artists. For our Salone extravaganza, we invited James Cropper and Baddeley Brothers to create some recipe cards, and tasked luxury leather expert Moynat with crafting a sophisticated case to display the collection. Its bespoke case, made from slate grey leather, is inlaid with a blue leather asterisk, using Moynat's exceptional expertise.

Photography: John Short. Writer: Rosa Bertoli

Wildlife is a recurring ingredient for Italy-born, Alaska-based multimedia artist Paola Pivi – from the feather-festooned polar bears that took up residence in Galerie Perrotin’s New York space for its opening in 2013 to the taxidermy wildcats, llamas and birds that appear in other of her sculptures and installations. Her preferred dish, a simple yet decadent pasta recipe, does something just as transformative with sea urchins. Pivi favours the Italian version, with fewer ingredients than its Anglo-Saxon rivals. Sea urchin, pasta, seasoning, done. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: 'Naturofantastic’ plate, £70, by Marco Antonio Noguerón, for Lladró, lladro.com. ‘Colombina’ fish fork, £9, by Doriana & Massimiliano Fuksas, for Alessi, alessi.com. Photograpy: John Short. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Lucy-Ruth Hathaway. Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

Turkey is a land of many delights, but for the conceptual artist Sarkis, who unveils a new installation, Respiro, at the Turkish pavilion during the Venice Biennale (May to November), it doesn’t get much better than sütlü iskembe çorbasi, roughly translated as milk tripe soup. Made using beef tripe and served with a vinegary garlic sauce, the soup is traditionally regarded as a hangover remedy. Sarkis admits that he only makes it once a year, to help recuperate from the New Year celebrations. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: '#41’ bowl, $385, by Jason Miller, from The Future Perfect. Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Food: Liza Jernow. Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

Coffee and rice may seem unlikely culinary partners, but in the unconventional mind of architect/designer Gaetano Pesce, they are a perfect match – for breakfast. It’s no surprise that this risotto al caffé recipe is of Pesce’s own devising. Like his imaginative works that blur the boundaries of design and art, this dish articulates (and perhaps satisfies) both sides of his Italian-born, New York-based character. ‘The recipe doesn’t pretend to be sophisticated or upscale,’ he says. ‘I never published it; it is something I thought of in the 1970s and at that time I tested it with very good results.’ For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Sessantuna’ table, £19,020, by Gaetano Pesce, for Cassina. Large resin bowl, £700, by Gaetano Pesce, for Meritalia, from Mint. 'Pompidou' bowl, €350, by Gaetano Pesce, from Noleggiocose. ‘Allegro’ fork, €9, by Herdmar. Photography: Gustav Almestål. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Val McArthur. Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

Born in London to a British mother and Japanese father, Simon Fujiwara has consistently used autobiographical truths to hash out issues of identity, sexuality and politics in his immersive installations. Now based between Berlin and Mexico City, the artist has chosen a recipe for deep-fried oyster tacos that brings together the best of two worlds. Like his work, this hearty dish is a heady mix of cultural references and ambiguous origins. ‘I generally don’t like fusion food, especially involving Japanese cuisine, but the purity of Japanese food is itself a myth. Over the centuries it has been influenced by foreign foods,’ explains Fujiwara, who also holds great admiration for Mexico’s diverse gastronomy. Enjoy while hot. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: 'Modulor’ table, €1,400, by Claesson Koivisto Rune, for Skandiform, from Kinnarps. ‘Fia’ carafe, £60, by Nina Jobs, from Design House Stockholm. ‘Vertigo’ silver tray, €290; ‘Vertigo’ cup, €94, both by Andrée Putman, for Christofle. ‘Albi’ serving spoon, €179, by Christofle. ‘Kaiser Idell‘ table lamp, €419, by Christian Dell, from Fritz Hansen. ‘849 PopLine’ ballpoint pen, £22, by Caran d’Ache. ‘Trend’ sandwich tray, £48, by Thomas, for Rosenthal. Photography: Gustav Almestål. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Elisabeth Johansson. Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

Dries Van Noten’s green thumb is no secret. The Belgian fashion designer has famously credited gardening as his way of dealing with the stresses of the fashion industry, and he has the plot to prove it. His flower-filled, 60-acre estate, located 20 miles outside of Antwerp, is tended to all year round, whether he has a collection to create or not. Van Noten’s favoured recipe – a reviving summer lemonade made with plenty of rose petals from the garden – reaps the fruits of his labours. Sumptuous, delicate and a little offbeat (it involves no lemons), the drink is the perfect embodiment of Van Noten’s artistic, nature-driven aesthetic. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: 'Mille Nuits Candy Box’, £1,550; ‘Harmonie’ highball, £160, both by Baccarat, from Harrods. Stirrer, £19, by Ettore Sottsass, for Alessi. ‘Fantasy’ pitcher, €120, by Vista Alegre. ‘Forenza’ fabric in Palm, £57 per m, by Romo. Coat; skirt, prices on request, both by Dries Van Noten. Photography: John Short. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

British artist Allen Jones is best known for his pop-fetishist sculptures. His fantasy evening out imagines familiar names from the art world in alluring new combinations: ‘For a Goode night out, Dine at Bower House in Scottland. As an aperitif, try our Ramos Fizz, a little beauty. Or drink Beau de l’aire from our Wells in Skye. Start with Eggs Gauguin spiced with some Vargas sauce, followed by Boeuf Waddington, either rare or with a pinch of salt. Try our Rubens sandwich with a César salad on the side. Finish with František cupcakes or a Baselitz Blitz cocktail. Have a Kapoor Weiwei tea or a Mucha coffee. Light entertainment is provided by Frank Stella, who will tell you all the tittle Tuttle. Similar arrangements are available at the Bell Inn near Jones Beach.’ For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: 'Bresson’ coffee table, £2,900, by Rodolfo Dordoni, for Minotti. ‘Ca’ d’Oro’ plate, £78, by Sieger by Fürstenberg, from Thomas Goode. ‘Touch Me’ rug, £195 per sq m, by Stepevi. Shoes, £375, by Jimmy Choo. Photography: Gustav Almestål. Interiors: Benjamin Kempton. Entertaining Director: Melina Keays

Vik Muniz’s trademark style is to make art out of non-art materials. Over the years this has included food, so we were intrigued to see what edible masterpiece the Brazilian artist would send us. He says, ‘Although the unlikely combination of cheese and goiabada (guava paste) may sound like an eccentric gastronomic experiment, Romeu e Julieta, as Brazilians call it, is one of the most popular working-class dishes in the country. As a child, I always thought that Shakespeare’s characters were, in fact, inspired by this dubious communion between briny cheese and sweet goiabada. Just remember that Juliet is the goiabada and Romeo is the cheese.’ For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: 1950s jacaranda table, £1,250, from Silvia Nayla. ‘Saturne’ vodka glass, £103, by Ercuis, from Harlequin. ‘Cosmopolitan Mesh Gold’ plate, £98, by Meissen, from Harrods. Shotgun toothpicks, £100 each, from William & Son. ‘Romeo’ fabric, £64 per m, by Nya Nordiska. Photography: Gustav Almestål. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Marie-Ange Lapierre

It’s tempting to see Daniel Buren’s oysters and truffle, presented here, as a comestible manifestation of his most celebrated artistic forms. The components themselves are rare and exquisite - what the French artist describes as a ‘paradisiac surprise’ - and consist simply of a couple of oysters covered with a gill of black truffle. Accessorise as you see fit. In this case, we’ve chosen crushed ice carried in a translucent raft of coloured glass vessels, a nod to Buren’s 2012 Excentrique(s) installation at Paris’ Grand Palais. The artist filled the Beaux-Arts masterpiece with a layer of coloured lenses, filtering visitors’ views of the structure. It’s lucky that there’s an ‘r’ in the next few months and the Périgord season is fast approaching, although picking up the bill will be the biggest challenge for this sybaritic snack.

Pictured: 'Cup' bowls, €24 each, by Ichiro Iwasaki, for Discipline. Photography: Stephen Lenthall. Writer: Jonathan Bell

Couture’s go-to design artisan, Pierre Hardy produces shoes for his own eponymous label and a neat line in graphic bags and other accessories. He has overseen jewellery at Hermès for the past decade, and created shoe designs for the brand and for Balenciaga under Nicolas Ghesquière’s tenure as creative director. But Hardy is, very much, an artist. He studied fine arts at Paris’ École Normale Supérieure and worked as a fashion illustrator before being spotted by Dior. He still teaches at a Parisian art school. Last year, Wallpaper* gave him a Design Award for his travel sprays (Best New Grooming Product, W*167). While so typically French in the breadth of his talents, Hardy traces his ancestry specifically to Corsica. And hence his choice of recipe, a traditional Corsican chestnut-flour fritter. It must be served with brocciu, or Corsican sheep’s cheese, which of course we knew. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: Boots, £745, by Pierre Hardy. 'Colours' dessert plate, £20, by Vista Alegre. 'By' dessert knife, £79; 'By' dessert fork, £68, both by Christofle, from Harrods. 'Feature' wallpaper, £85 per sq m, by Carlucci, for JAB Anstoetz. Photography: Gustav Almestål. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Georgie Besterman

French multimedia artist Philippe Parreno (W*176) orchestrates his exhibitions (such as last year’s critical smash at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris) like an immersive performance of film, objects and sound. The dish he has sent us is a harder sell. ‘It is made from veal spleen stuffed with pork, veal fat, stale breadcrumbs, cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and parsley. Sounds disgusting but it’s fantastic,’ he maintains. ‘The recipe comes from a book, a collection of Jewish-Spanish North African recipes, that was made for me by my late mother. These are very old recipes – you wouldn’t find them in modern cookbooks, as people just don’t eat like this anymore. My mother included sayings from her grandmother on the pages facing each recipe. It’s morbid. My mother is dead, my great-grandmother is dead and the recipes are not cooked anymore. A book of death!’ Still, don’t let us put you off. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: 'Albi’ silver-plated underplate, £388, by Christofle, from Harrods. Photography: John Short. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Maud Eden

Cindy Sherman is the conceptual portrait photographer with herself as sole subject, lauded by Billy Bragg in Cindy of a Thousand Lives. At once photographer, model, make-up artist, hairdresser, stylist and wardrobe mistress, she’s also a dab hand with a ball of potato and flour. ‘This step is more complicated to explain than it is to execute,’ she warns when describing how to use a floured fork to make her gnocchi crescent-shaped and ridged – the better to catch extra sauce. Her images of film-noir starlets, porn models, hitchhikers, clowns, socialites and Old Master milkmaids all require viewing rather than explaining. They can be funny and grotesque, disturbing and nostalgic – and frequently sunburned. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Hesperide’ make-up table and stool, €5,227, by Carsten Gollnick, for Schönbuch. ‘L’Aube Veilleurs de Nuit’ tumbler, £175, by Saint-Louis, from Luxury Living. ‘Domo Gold’ plate, £35, by Vista Alegre. ‘Clear 3-drawer 20’, €74, by Nomess Copenhagen, from Harrods. ‘Diva’ fabric (background), £73 per m, by Nya Nordiska. Photography: John Short. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Nicolas Ghirlando. Writer: Paul McCann

We love Tobias Rehberger. We love the colours. We love the stripes. We love the bold graphics and hurtling shapes. We love the seasick-inducing over-stimulation of our senses and we love his new exhibition, ‘Home and Away and Outside’, at the Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt. (Although you may need an aspirin to get through the first room, inspired by nautical camouflage.) Clearly, the German-born, Golden Lion-winning sculptor and installation artist loves his grandma, whose pork neck with caraway seeds and dumplings is as German as a ß. His grandma would cook for large groups of people but never eat with the rest of them – she liked to serve up and fall asleep in a corner to the sound of her family eating her food. So now we love his grandma too. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ’Chess’ table, £675, by Front, for Moooi, from Harrods. Espresso cups, €115 for six-piece set, by Tobias Rehberger, for Illy. ‘Sol Y Sombra’ cereal bowl and dessert plate, £42 each, by Christian Lacroix, for Vista Alegre. ’Berlin’ bowl, £116, by Meissen. ‘Extension’ coffee table, £2,760, by Alexandre Gaillard, for Roche Bobois. 'Cutt’ fork and knife, €1,500 for five-piece set, by Thomas Feichtner, for Wiener Silber Manufactur. Photography: Beate Sonnenberg. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Writer: Paul McCann

Swiss-American artist Christian Marclay is the coolest person to advocate a silky smooth combination of Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois in quite some time. Marclay, who has won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, had solo shows from LA to Seoul, and guest-edited W*151, is a sort of sound surrealist. He juxtaposes appropriated movie clips, images of instruments and musicians to make audio-visual collages. Having once made art from an accordion, with 7m bellows, making fondue hip again should be a cinch. Don’t forget to rub your caquelon with garlic. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: 'Matégot Kangourou’ table, £269, by Mathieu Matégot, for Gubi. ‘Initiales Parallèles’ dessert plate, £64, by Puiforcat, from Harrods. Pinch pot, £16, by Ian McIntyre, for Another Country. Mont d’Or cheese, £16 per 500g; Gruyère, £27.50 per kg, both from Jeroboams. Fondue set, £90, by Emile Henry, from Divertimenti. ‘Series 4’ French horn, £2,820, by Paxman. ‘Shuffle’ playing cards, by Christian Marclay. Fendant Balavaud Grand Cru, Jean-René Germanier, £23, from Alpine Wines. ‘Château Baccarat’ wine glass, €75, by Baccarat. ‘Oak Silver Grey’ flooring, £28.50 per sq m, by Parador. Photography: Gustav Almestål. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Writer: Paul McCann

There’s a lot more substance to the work of Rick Owens than there is to his favourite dish. In fact, the fashion designer admits it's not fattening at all, ‘because it's mostly air’. The art school dropout has gone from pattern-making courses at LA Trade-Technical College to the catwalks of Paris by giving rock stars (and those who want to look like them) something to wear to gallery openings - usually something asymmetrical in leather, wool and dark grey. A kind of couture goth, with the physique of a Californian gym bunny, Owens has a slouchy style that belies his impeccable tailoring and technical skills. His favourite dish has an altogether more elusive quality. He instructs us to ‘have a neighbour’ make us some fresh whipped cream with egg whites and then serve it in an art nouveau bowl by George Hoentschel, floating on dry ice and sprinkled with sugar. In a first for this series, he also specifies the spoon you should eat with – a Josef Hoffman ‘round model’ - and a musical accompaniment – Monserrat Caballé.

Pictured: Bowl, price on request, by George Hoentschel, from Jason Jacques Gallery. ‘Rundes Modell’ tablespoon, £106 for set of six, by Josef Hoffmann, for Alessi. ‘Dark Coffeecube in Scrapwood’ table, $4,251, by Piet Hein Eek, from The Future Perfect. Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Writer: Paul McCann

Since bursting onto the art scene in the late 1970s, the feminist British artist Linder (full name Linder Sterling) has pulled no punches when it comes to portraying a woman’s sexual prowess. Her reviving Ayurvedic elixir is just as potent. The main ingredient is shatavari – otherwise known as ‘she who possesses 100 husbands’ – a herbal aphrodisiac said to impart the reproductive strength to cater to as many partners. Sterling brews the root, or its powdered form (right), with a gold ring, believed to improve stamina and strengthen the heart, and organic rose petals. Finished with organic honey, the arousing tonic can be enjoyed hot or cold, and is best served with a partner, of course. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: Artwork, by Linder. Gold ‘Infinity’ band, £525, by De Beers. ‘Perfection’ tumbler, £62, by Baccarat, from Thomas Goode. ‘Mono-a’ gold-plated spoon, €385 for a five-piece set, by Mono. ‘Solid Colors 409 Latte’ laminate, from £30 a sheet, by Abet Laminati. Photograpy: John Short. Interiors: Matthew Morris. Food: Maud Eden. Writer: Pei-Ru Keh

The great thing about Juergen Teller’s photography is the intimacy he captures, even with the celebrities that, by rights, should be so distant from us. Whether it’s Victoria Beckham in a bag or Kate Moss in a wheelbarrow, Teller’s images tease us with the sense that they are our famous friends, too; larking about for our lens. But much of this is artifice. They are not his friends and nor is his favourite dish something he is likely to whip up chez Teller. Given the 26 egg yolks, liquorice extract and tobacco leaves, it seems much more likely that he has it made for him by chef Antonio Guida in the two Michelin-starred kitchen of Tuscan bolt-hole Il Pellicano, whose recipes just happen to be the subject of Teller’s latest book. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: Table tennis set, £8, from Dunlop. ‘Maya’ sofa, £2,710, by Brabbu, from EDC London. ‘Contax G2’ camera, secondhand. ‘Hemisphere’ metallic pasta bowl, £62, by JL Coquet, from Willer. ‘90047’ ashtray, £110, by Marianne Brandt, for Alessi. Keyring, £6.50, by Mercedes- Benz. Shorts, £30, by American Apparel. Tea tray, £53, by Pierre Casenove, for Pic Vert et Cie, from SCP. ‘Cosmopolitan’ espresso cup, £160; saucer, £230; sugar bowl, £179, all by Meissen, from Harrods. ‘Ihada’ teaspoon, £55; large spoon, £60, both by Oji Masanori, for Futagami, from The Cold Press. ‘Majestic Marrakesh M56’ carpet, £100 per sq m, from Brintons. Photography: John Short. Entertaining Director: Melina Keays. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Writer: Paul McCann

Carsten Höller, the Belgian artist who put slides in Tate Modern’s turbine hall, professes not to have a favourite dish per se. Which might have put a bit of an existential downer on this month’s artist’s recipe page. Luckily, ol’ Carsten is made of more complex stuff than those whose favourite food is for eating. He has a favourite recipe that is a non-recipe. How we laughed. His dish is one that sort of appears in Harry Mathews’ short story, Country Cooking from Central France: Roast Boned Rolled Stuffed Shoulder of Lamb (Farce Double). This begins as a recipe (marinate the lamb for five or six days in 2 quarts of white wine, 2 quarts of olive oil and the juice of 16 lemons) before becoming a shaggy-dog story about a blacksmith’s son and a shepherdess. It’s worth knowing that Mathews liked to hang out with Georges Perec, the laugh-a-minute writer who composed a novel without using the letter ‘e’. Good luck finding the mouthless freshwater fish for the stuffing. For the recipe, click here.

Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Writer: Paul McCann

Roger Hiorns’ art, relying as it sometimes does on naturally occurring chemical reactions and the crystallising process of copper sulphate, is not dissimilar to his recipe. Hiorns lets the material do what it needs to do. It creeps and grows and makes its own aesthetic decisions, no more so than when he created a fantastic blue crystal landscape in a London flat. The installation, Seizure, was a smash. Beyond the small matter of inserting two containers’ worth of copper sulphate into the flat, Seizure did much of the heavy lifting itself. As does insalata Caprese. This colourful mozzarella, basil and tomato salad lets the ingredients do the work. For the recipe, click here.

Photography: John Short. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Writer: Paul McCann

This month’s recipe is from the famous Italian fashion designer, but was written in French. This is not just a sign of the years Valentino spent at the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, then serving his apprenticeship in the city, or his decades as a rival to the great Paris couture houses. It is also about his love of entertaining at Château de Wideville. Valentino bought the estate, 30km west of Paris, in 1995. It has been known to host parties that would make Elton John blush at the excess. Yet Valentino has suggested a dish that is practically an exercise in restraint – at least for a man who often has an extra limousine just for his pugs. It is an elegant, French country salad of artichokes, spinach shoots, curly endive, tomatoes and poached eggs. The hollandaise, made with ten egg yolks, is rich, but not nearly as rich as the man himself. For the recipe, click here.

Photography: John Short. Interiors: Maria Sobrino. Food: Maud Eden. Writer: Paul McCann

If only all the artists who contribute to this feature were as helpfully literal as Ian Davenport. Some of the time we have to, ahem, build a metaphorical link between the recipe and an artist’s practice that is as flimsy as a rope bridge in an action movie. But not so this month. Davenport, who created the cover of our September 2006 issue (W*91) as part of a series celebrating our 10th anniversary, included with his pancake recipe 24 photographs of him creating a painting inspired by the act of flipping a pancake. It showed a circular painting being rotated through 180° so that its wet paint splattered onto the floor below. Davenport, who is interested in the organic nature of paint and the way it drips and pours, using paint-filled syringes and gravity, learned to drip and pour batter from his mother. He obviously learned well. He participated in the seminal 1988 Freeze exhibition and in 1991 was nominated for the Turner Prize at just 25. His largest work, Poured Lines: Southwark, is a 50m-long painting on steel under a railway bridge, not far from W* HQ, that fairly cheers the soul. For the recipe, click here.

Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Interiors: Pei-Ru Keh. Writer: Paul McCann

Mike Nelson, whose immersive, labyrinthine installations have seen him twice nominated for the Turner Prize, and who, in 2011, represented Britain at the Venice Biennale, arranged to do some dog-sitting in a cramped South London flat in the summer of 1990. On his first day in residence he went out and bought a big bag of frozen fish fingers and frozen peas. On his return to the flat he discovered its refrigerator had no freezer compartment. And so was born the fish finger pie – basically a fish pie with added orange breadcrumbs. ‘This dish was the result of necessity but proved strangely palatable. I remember clearly how to make it – almost like a savoury trifle, layering the fish fingers in a white sauce, with the peas to add more colour and structure to this colossus of dishes, and with it finally topped with mashed potato.’ A dish both crazy and comforting. For the recipe, click here.

Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Interiors: Pei-Ru Keh. Writer: Paul McCann

For all the fame of bacalhau, it’s often squid stewed in tomatoes that is the real childhood comfort food of the ex-patriot Portuguese and their co-linguists from Mozambique to Brazil. Paula Rego’s grandchildren are no exception and have grown up having her simple version of the stew for Sunday lunch. She cooks hers in onions, tomatoes and parsley for an hour or so, until the squid is melting into the sauce. As a dish it has a rootedness which echoes the Portuguese fables told in her paintings. And the squid, as a creature, is as much a beautiful grotesque as any of the spiders, skeletons or squatting women who populate her tableaux. It certainly makes a more Rego-esque Sunday lunch than roast beef and Yorkshire pud. Her themes of feminist folk tales and subverted myth are painted in outlines as bold as the flavours of her favourite stew. For the recipe, click here.

Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Interiors: Pei-Ru Keh. Writer: Paul McCann

Scottish-born artist, writer and Royal College of Art tutor David Batchelor uses colour to attack form, to break it down and dissolve it. He is best known for doing this with street-found objects that he hollows out, stacks and fills with coloured light to create installations, using the forms to interrogate the meaning of colour. The recipe he shares with us this month is by contrast monochrome and actually quite flat. He discovered salt-baked fish in Sardinia several years ago and has been trying to impress friends with it ever since. The secret is to use an awful lot of coarse sea salt, keeping it out of the fish’s cavity and trying to keep your guests sober before they eat it, as separating the crust from the fish can be tricky. For the recipe, click here.

Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Interiors: Pei-Ru Keh. Writer: Paul McCann

Roland Mouret’s earliest thoughts about fabric date back to the times he worked in his father’s butcher shop in Lourdes. It was there he watched how the creamy cotton of the aprons could be folded to hide bloodstains. He is also said to have learned his cutting skills from the way the skin of an animal was sliced and structure from the method of dividing a beast into sections. It may be pushing the metaphor, but there's no doubt the structure of his iconic dresses, not least the ‘Galaxy’, have flattered the carcasses of many A-list celebrities in the last decade or so. What he also took from his Lourdes childhood is a butcher's knowledge of meat. His mother Élise’s version of France’s hotpot is robust to say the least, containing oxtail, top rump, beef ribs and a veal shank cooked in five litres of water for four hours with aromatic vegetables. The regular Saturday family meal, it is a dish to put hairs on your chest. For the recipe, click here.

Photography: John Short. Interiors: Sarah McNabb. Food Stylist: Maud Eden

The conceptual artist Jeremy Deller’s minimalist recipe – all the instructions you may need are in the title – conforms to his long-standing interest in very British, but often polarising folk traditions and mythologies. The Turner Prize winner orchestrated a recreation of the 1984 Battle of Orgreave – using 800 battlefield recreationists and former miners and policemen. Orgreave was a the emblematic event in one of the most politically divisive periods in recent British history. He also made a film about obsessive Depeche Mode fans, and there are many who’d argue the Basildon synth-pop pioneers are as much of an acquired taste as a salty spread extracted from yeast.

Pictured: Clockwise from left, stool, £323, by Karimoku New Standard. ‘Doney’ television, €1,350, by Brionvega. White birch frame, £20, by Habitat. Beech frame, £13, by Muji. 3D View Master, £8, by 3D Images. Union Jack flag, £54, by JW Plant. ‘Day Bed One’, £1,790, by Another Country. ‘Polo Player’ single duvet cover, £99; pillow case, £65 for pair; sheet, £49, all by Ralph Lauren Home. ‘Sarjaton' plate, £18, by Harri Koskinen, fo Iittala. ‘Santiago’ knife, £5, by David Chipperfield, for Alessi. ‘The Liverpool of Brian Epstein’, by Jeremy Deller and Paul Ryan, designed by APFEL, for Tate Liverpool. ‘Karsansui Taupe' rug, £12,235, by Michael Reeves, for The Rug Company. Matt emulsion in Chiffon White, £25 for 2.4 litres, by Dulux. Photography: Leon Chew. Interiors: Sarah McNabb. Writer: Paul McCann

In Michael Craig-Martin’s hands an omelette could, conceptually, be anything. If the primacy of the artist’s intention can make a glass of water An Oak Tree, as he maintained amid no little controversy in 1974, then an omelette can be anything he wants it to be. Or, indeed, anything the generations of YBAs he taught at Goldsmiths want it to be (although in their case it would often be an omelette for Charles Saatchi). It’s also the kind of everyday object that could one of his boldly outlined still-life pictures painted in ultra-vivid colours. In this case, more prosaically, what it actually is, is lunch. Additionally, it is also just about the only thing he knows how to cook. For the recipe and stockists, click here.

Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Writer: Paul McCann

For all their intellectual heft, Pavel Pepperstein’s drawings and watercolours are curiously naive and romantic. His annotations draw on cultural theory and linguistics and their take on Russia and the world, yet his constructivism, and that of his art group Inspection Medical Hermeneutics, is often delivered in the sweet language of children’s books. It is the artworks that are exhibited internationally, but at home his films, rap poetry and novels have also made him famous. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: Clockwise from top left, ‘Brussels’ napkin, $9, by Bodrum, from Gracious Home. ‘Zermatt’ knife, $90, by Patrick Jouin, for Puiforcat. Condensed milk, $2.50, from Taste of Russia. Big Red chewing gum, $2, by Wrigley. ‘Rundes Modell’ tablespoon, £222, by Josef Hoffmann, for Alessi. ‘Mormor’ bowl, £48, by Gry Fager, from Normann Copenhagen. ‘Glacier’ table, $15,200, by Paul Loebach, for Mattermade, from Matter. ‘Kyber’ rug, $7,500, from ABC Home. Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Food: Matt Vohr. Interiors: Sarah McNabb. Writer: Paul McCann

Portugal’s leading conceptual artist sees his work as ‘the permanent quest for perfection’, a bridge between the studio and the everyday. His installations, sculptures and paintings are an exploraton of architectural and anthropological space. His suggested recipe, Clams Bulhão Pato, is a different kind of everyday perfection. Name after 19th-century Portugese poet Raimundo António de Bulhão Pato (no better known for the recipe than his poetry), the dish is as simple as Cabrita Reis’ work is complex: cook littleneck clams in white wine and chopped garlic, dress with coriander and serve.

Pictured: ‘Scrapwood’ wallpaper in PHE-03, $299 per roll (47 sq ft), by Piet Hein Eek, for NLXL. ‘Agnes’ 10-bulb chandelier, $8,000, by Lindsey Adelman. ‘Avva’ carafe, $85; ‘Avva’ tumbler, $46 for two, both by Thea Mehl and Rogaska Glassworks; napkin $16, by Anna Hellman and Linas. ‘Santiago’ fork and tablespoon, both part of five-piece set, $47, by David Chipperfield, for Alessi. ‘Heath Coupe’, pasta bowl, $37; cereal bowl, $28, both by Heath Ceramics. ‘Organizer’ tray, DK199 ($33) for two, by Hay. ‘Shiba’ casserole, $154, by Naoto Fukasawa, for Alessi. Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Stylist: Pei-Ru Keh. Food stylist: Matt Vohr. Writer: Paul McCann

The conceptual artist Cornelia Parker is best known for blowing up a shed. Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View suspends the splintered result from multiple wires in a startling recreation of a split-second after the explosion. A bright light hanging in the centre creates further impact, casting exploding shadows across the gallery walls. The Maybe also attracted a lot of attention from the British press, placing a sleeping Tilda Swinton in a glass box at the Serpentine Gallery. For this recipe her instructions are suitably conceptual. She simply dictates that we cook an egg in the style of our own choosing – but do so left-handed and serve it up blindfolded. Very sinestre. And potentially messy.

Pictured: Centre, ‘Liquid‘ bowl, $150, by Georg Jensen. Clockwise from top left, ‘Twist’ plate, $75, by Georg Jensen. Egg cup, $112, by Marianne Brandt, for Alessi. ‘K+T’ salt and pepper shakers, $370, by Adam Tihany and Thomas Keller, for Christofle. ‘Santiago’ teaspoon and fork, $47 for five-piece set, by David Chipperfield, for Alessi. Egg poacher cup, $6, from Williams-Sonoma. ‘Santiago’ knife and tablespoon, $47 for five-piece set, by David Chipperfield; ‘Rundes Modell’ tablespoon and fork, $37 each, by Josef Hoffmann, both for Alessi. ‘720’ egg cup, $21, by Alessi. ‘Vertigo’ bottle coaster, $290, by Christofle. ‘Rundes Modell’ teaspoon, $96, by Josef Hoffmann; egg cup, $96, by Carlo Mazzeri and Anselmo Vitale, both for Alessi. Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Interiors: Linda Keil. Stylist: Pei-Ru Keh. Writer: Paul McCann

We received this recipe from Ronnie Sassoon several months before her husband died at their Richard Neutra-designed house on Mulholland Drive in May. We present it now as our tribute to the man who revolutionised hairdressing with his geometric, easy-maintenance cutting and styling. It is a fittingly simple dish with a piquant dash of luxury. At its plainest, it is a dried chilli and garlic-infused spaghetti, but topped with parsley and the Mediterranean’s cured fish roe, bottarga. The pressed, salted and dried roe of the grey mullet, which imparts a sweet but densely briny flavour, was a delicacy Ronnie and Vidal discovered on their first trip to Sardinia and remained Vidal’s favourite dish, a dish that brings happy memories of the Med to a simple meal. We’d like to say thank you, Mr Sassoon, for all you did. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Coupe Monochrome Ubend’ plates, $24 each, from The Conran Shop. Scissors and combs, from a selection, from Shear World. ‘Metro’ tiles, $3 per sq ft, by Nemo. Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Interiors: Linda Kell. Writer: Paul McCann

Turner Prize-winning multi-media artist Douglas Gordon references the mirror, memory and autobiography in much of his work. He also used the Goya portraits in Madrid’s Prado as his storyboard when preparing his real-time portrait of Zinedine Zidane, but that’s another, rather marvellous, story. This recipe is inspired by his father eating Scotland’s famous smoked haddock soup in the Glasgow institution that is Café Gandolfi. He stipulates that the fish is to come from Aberdeen; the potatoes from Ayrshire; and the sharp knife used to barely stir them should be handed down from your granny. Try to get hold of some Finnan haddie, the lightly cold-smoked haddock that goes best with the onions, leek, garlic and milk to make this dish far superior to a bisque. He also wants us to add that Café Gandolfi and his father are both still going strong. For the recipe – a piece of poetry dedicated to ‘the devil’s breakfast’ – click here.

Pictured: ‘Navy Fringe’ bowl, price on request, by Jasper Conran, for Wedgwood. ‘Bettina’ tablespoon, £9.50, by Future Systems, for Alessi. ‘Wexford’ plaid fabric, £120 per sq m; ‘Ayers’ place-card holders, £175 for set of four, both by Ralph Lauren Home. Mirrored glass, £46 per sq m, by Ward Glass. Photography: Beate Sonnenberg. Food stylist: Nico Ghirlando. Writer: Paul McCann

Often with our back page recipe, we have to stretch the ol’ recipe-as-metaphor-for-the-artist’s-work to breaking point (and sometimes well past it, too). But not so this month; artist Richard Woods has produced a dish actually modelled on his own work. Well known for his faux house renovations and his signature multicoloured woodgrain patterns, he has served up a biscuit recipe with its own mock-Tudor panelling. Woods, who created a limited edition cover for W*117 in 2008, is a fan of surface manipulations and home décor makeover shows. He transformed a SoHo gallery into a black and white mock-Tudor installation, and then did the same for art collector Adam Lindemann’s house in Woodstock, New York. So his shock-mock-Tudor style is found in unlikely places, which is sort of the point. Now you can dip a Woods-inspired piece of art in your tea. Not something you can say about many artworks. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Hay Bale’, £410 each, by Richard Woods and Sebastian Wrong, for Established & Sons. Large plates, £13 each, by Höganäs Keramik, from The Lollipop Shoppe. ‘Bazelaire’ small plate, £17, by Brigitte de Bazelaire, from SCP. Willow plywood tray, £30, by Corin Mellor, for David Mellor. Napkins, £25 each, by Willer. ‘Yaki’ teapot, £49, by Anouk Jansen, Jansen + Co from Toast. ‘My Mug’, £8; ‘My Milk Jug’, £15, both by Anouk Jansen, for Jansen + Co, from SCP. Photography: Stephen Lenthall. Writer: Paul McCann

The plethora of Germanic dishes that include a part of the pig served with sauerkraut is expressive of a deep national affinity. Whether it be pork snouts from Schleswig-Holstein; the all-in Schlachtplatte; some tasty sow’s stomach by the name of Saumagen; or Bavaria’s Schlachtschüssel and Schweinshaxe, they are usually a sibilant mouthful in more ways than one. This dish served up by impish Austrian sculptor Franz West is 
called – by him at least – Bohemian-Moravian fly and is actually quite tame, involving as it does just pork belly, sauerkraut, plum sauce and boiled egg on a pancake. No stuffed innards, no fried extremities and no spraying the waiter with saliva when you order it. In awarding him a Golden Lion for career achievement, the Venice Biennale last year called him ‘one of the most important 
artists in the world working in sculpture, collage and installation’. The Los Angeles Times went with ‘Benny Hill with brains’. We find his work touching and touchable. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: Stand, courtesy of David Buckley. Photography: John Short. Food stylist: Maud Eden. Writer: Paul McCann

Muse, critic, designer, entrepreneur, company saviour and first lady of fashion, Donatella Versace may have tempered the sex and theatricality of the family brand a little, but there's still glamour galore in her output and appearance. Her favourite dish of pasta and caviar is mostly associated with romantic couples dining alfresco on the Ligurian Riviera, rather than with her native Calabria, although that's probably down to fewer visitors making it to the toe of the boot. It is a simple, high-quality and unfussy dish – made mainly with spring onions, parsley and cream – topped off with a dollop of the rarefied and distinctly flash. Now where can she have got that idea from? For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: Italian 1980s occasional table, £2,950, from Talisman. ‘Vanity’ plate, £70; ‘Vanity’ deep plate, £65; gold-plate fork, £229; knife, £249; ‘Gorgona’ vase (left), £389, all by Versace; tumbler, £75, by Moser; 'Brainstone' vase (right), £3,500, by Wedgwood, all from Harrods. Salt pot, $74, by Devi Design. Vide poche, £130, by Asprey. ‘Emotion-Jaune 1628-03’ curtain fabric, £185 per m, by Tassinari & Chatel, for Lelievre. ‘Blue Ground no. 210’ estate emulstion, £32.50 for 2.5 litres, by Farrow & Ball. Photography: John Short. Food stylist: Maud Eden. Writer: Paul McCann

It is argued that Belgium’s Luc Tuymans kept figurative painting alive as a contemporary art form during the 1980s and 1990s by acknowledging its limitations. His medium is one that can only be partial and subjective, so he works at the level of vague hints and subtle allusions, with his topics – often expressed with a quiet, vague horror – heavily cropped, framed and dealt with in filmic close-up. Tackling thorny subjects from the Holocaust to 9/11, the Belgian Congo to the unsettlingly banal still life, his palette of muted whites and murky pastels arouse complex, difficult to express emotions. Complexity there is, too, in his consommé, requiring as it does five hours' simmering, overnight chilling and a difficult to get right clarification process involving egg whites and minced beef. Nose-to-tail eating has brought the oxtail back into fashion; Tuymans’ chilly, ambiguous works did the same for the artist as painter. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: Porcelain bowl, £16.50, by Ian McIntyre, for Another Country. ‘Mono-e’ spoon, €45; fork, €45; knife, €56, all by Peter Raacke, for Mono. ‘Black Russian’ sable oil brush, £6.10, from Green & Stone of Chelsea. Nineteenth century French linen table cloth (vegetable-dyed pale grey), £360, from Guinevere. ‘Charleston Gray’ estate emulsion, £30 per 2.5 litres, by Farrow & Ball. Photography: John Short. Food stylist: Laura Fyfe. Writer: Paul McCann

Idris Khan plumps for spaghetti arrabbiata because his wife loves spaghetti and he really, really loves chillies. As far as we are concerned he can have what he likes. He is an artist brave enough to successfully embrace, appropriate and recontextualise major artworks from the historical canon – by Caravaggio, JMW Turner and Leonardo da Vinci, to name just a few of the bigger hitters. His digitally layered photographs have also embraced texts, including the Koran, and musical scores. Turning to the giants of 20th century photography, he also even applied his impressionistic approach to the wholly representational record photography of Bernd and Hilla Becher. Brave, talented and original; we’ll even make it for him ourselves. For the recipe, click here.

Photography: Richard Foster. Writer: Paul McCann

Painter Dexter Dalwood explores the domestic details of historic figures. His works include imaginings of the insides of OJ Simpson’s white Bronco, Mao’s study and Kurt Cobain’s ‘greenhouse’. His pieces also reference artists such as Henri Matisse, Francis Bacon and Ed Ruscha, so the fact that his recipe comes from Jean Renoir’s memoir is no surprise. Renoir's mother, Aline Charigot, made this chicken stew for her boy, the famous film-maker, and his father, the famous impressionist.

The excerpt below is taken from Jean Renoir’s biography, Renoir, My Father (New York Review Books Classics), in which he recalls that his mother considered the dish ‘one of her greatest triumphs’.

‘To prepare it she cut the chicken up in pieces, which she browned in a heavy casserole with a little olive oil. As soon as the pieces were ready, she put them aside on a warm plate. The oil was then thrown away, and the chicken put back in the casserole with just a dab of butter. Next she added finely chopped onions, two peeled medium-size tomatoes, some sprigs of parsley and thyme, a bay leaf, a clove of garlic, salt and pepper, and a very little hot water. The mixture was stirred from time to time to avoid burning and allowed to simmer over a slow fire. A few mushrooms were thrown in half an hour before serving; Greek, Italian, or Provençal black olives; and the chicken-liver. At the last moment a little glass of brandy was added, and the lid of the casserole left off to let the fumes evaporate. When serving, she sprinkled chopped parsley and garlic over the dish.’

Photography: Zachary Zavisklak. Interiors: Linda Keil. Writer: Paul McCann

Alber Elbaz, Lanvin’s creative director, saviour and fashion superstar, once told The New York Times: ‘I can never make a cake because they tell you ten grammes of this, and ten minutes here. I can’t follow those kinds of rules. And I do not crave that kind of perfection. And neither do the women I dress.’ So when he suggested crab croquettes in the shape of an oversized bow tie, we finessed the recipe for him. The chair wearing the crab bow tie here is by Albert-Armand Rateau, who collaborated with Jeanne Lanvin on her boutique and apartment interiors and ran Lanvin’s interiors department in the 1920s. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: Nebb glasses, from $225, by Moscot. Plate, $50; napkin, $15, both from ABC Home. Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Writer: Paul McCann

Richard Tuttle’s intimate, minimalist paintings, drawings and sculptures express a parsimonious nature. The rangy American is as sparse with his materials and artistic gestures as the landscape around his New Mexico studio. But while he has an economy of style, his works contain whole heaps of meaning. This is an artist who flirts with nothingness and has inspired many contemporary artists to do likewise. Cookies baked with stevia powder and spelt before being topped with goat's butter have their own meaning. Stevia is a natural sweetener found in a South American herb. The FDA once banned it. Wholefood aficionados consider the stevia ban a scandalous sop to the food industry by the US government. Spelt is fashionable-again Bronze Age wheat with claims to nutritional benefits absent in modern wheat strains. Goat’s butter is for those avoiding cow’s milk. These are good cookies for good people. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: Dinner plate, £28, part of the Brushstroke Collection, by Diane von Furstenberg, from Bloomingdales. Photography: Zachary Zavisklak. Interiors: Linda Keil. Writer: Paul McCann

Ryan Gander’s practice involves a lot of playful puzzles, cultural collisions and meta-versions of reality. Through his sculpture, installations, photography, books and lectures, he combines disparate cultural objects into stories without the assemblage ever coming to a closed and final resolution. Mizutaki, in contrast, is an assemblage of Western consommé and Chinese chicken soup that resolves itself quite straightforwardly into a warming broth that sits bubbling on your table. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured: ‘Parallel Cards’, an art project by Gander with Europa and Rasmus Troelsen. ‘Rainbow’ chopsticks, $32, by Takashi Kamijo, from MoMA Store. Chopsticks rest, $4, by Muji. Bowl, price on request, by Mud Australia, from ABC Home. Photography: Zachary Zavislak. Interiors: Jeanne Lurvey. Writer: Paul McCann

Apple pie may have become an American icon, but sticky-sweet pecan pie is the one everyone takes to family gatherings, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some say it has its roots in New Orleans and the meeting of French settlers with Native Americans. More patriotically (try telling the heartland that the French invented pecan pie), the Karocorn syrup people claim the wife of one of their sales directors invented it in the 1930s, and that in some Southern states it is better known as Karo pie. Whatever the truth, the poly-talented Mr Ford, a Texan who has triumphed in Paris, Milan and Hollywood, has chosen a simple, singular dish. For the recipe, click here.

Pictured clockwise from top left: wallet, £300, by Tom Ford. Notebook, KRW3,000 ($2.70), by O-Check Design Graphics. ‘W1’ diary, £250, by Smythson. Sterling silver pen, £390, by Graf von Faber-Castell. Letter opener, £150 for set with scissors; leather tape measure, £25, both by William & Son. Tie, £130, by Tom Ford. Napkin, £25, by Willer. 'Santiago' cutlery, £4 a piece, by Alessi. ‘Black Basalt’ plate, £55, by Wedgwood. ‘Dreyfuss 500’ phone, by Wild & Wolf. Black Orchid and Extreme fragrance miniatures, full sizes from £42 for 30 ml, by Tom Ford, from Harrods. Glasses, £225, by Tom Ford. Photography: Richard Foster. Lifestyle: Emma Moore. Writer: Paul McCann