It's not big and it's not clever, but I like still lives. I really like them actually.
Now that I'm giving it some serious thought I'm realising how many of my favourite paintings are still lives. I think what is so appealing is their quietness, they are calm and well, still. It's so lovely to take a moment to enjoy the details of a still life, I think they are the most peaceful of paintings, if not the most fashionable.
My Dad and I have chatted for a while about photographing some culinary still lives. We did some terrible photos of a butternut squash a year ago, I won't be sharing them here, they're nothing to be proud of. But we are quite pleased with our latest attempt, it is a good starting point. Watch this space....
Still lives elevate the mundane to the glorious. So it felt quite criminal to take a knife to my glorious onions, but waste not want not, I chopped, roasted, blanched and baked. Here is a recipe for spinach and roasted onion pastries. They are quite dainty and nice with a glass of wine, or as I had them in a packed lunchbox. May I suggest you take a few minutes out of your busy work day and eat your won personal still life lunch? It might not be as quiet as a painting, but it should be glorious.
Still Life Pastries
Makes a dozen
1 small red onion
half pt double cream
100g sharp cheddar grated
250g wholemeal flour
110g very cold unsalted butter
1 medium egg
2 bunches of spinach, washed and leaves picked
- Slice the ends of your onion and peel it. Roast in a medium oven for about 50mins, until it's lovely and tender in the middle, mmmmm slippery sweet roasted onion. It should be fattening it's so scrumptious.
- Let your onion cool down and slice it into slithers.
- Make your pastry in a processor by whizzing the butter and the flour until they look like breadcrumbs. Keep the power on and dribble in ice water until it becomes a smooth dough. If your name is Mark Jamieson, then YES pastry is that easy and you CAN do it.
- Put your pastry into the fridge for 30mins to get nice and cold.
- Blanch the spinach and once it's cooled squeeze out any access water. Where has all the spinach gone? It upsets me every time. Finely chop your pathetic remains of spinach.
- In a jug whisk together the cream, egg, cheese and a generous amount of good salt and pepper. Add the spinach, it will look less sad in there.
- Pre-heat the oven to gas 6 and get your pastry out of the fridge.
- Roll out the pastry to 3mm thick and cut circles of pastry that will fit into a 12-hole baking tray. Blind bake for 10mins, then another 10 mins not blind (what is that called? fully-sighted baking?).
- Place a slice or 2 of onion in each pastry case, then pour over the spinach mix. Bake for a further 20mins.
