Edible Paint Issue #37

For once, it's OK to play with your food. Our culinary experts show you how to paint your plate

By Caitlin Levin
Published: September 1st, 2008 | 10:45am

Four abstract impressionists — Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Mark Rothko, and Helen Frankenthaler — provide the inspiration to use food as paint. These tips and techniques will help you add a colorful kick to any dish this fall.

GREEN & YELLOW
Lemon zest and parsley are the basis for vivid green and yellow purees that become splatter paints inspired by Pollock.

Parsley purée
(makes 1/2 cup)
• 1 1/2 bunches washed parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup ice water
• olive oil (to taste)
• salt and pepper (to taste)

1. Bring pot of water to boil and season heavily with salt. Boil parsley leaves until they begin to fall apart when rubbed between two fingers. Remove parsley with a slotted spoon and shock in an ice-water bath.
2. Remove excess water from parsley and place in a blender with ice water. Blend on high until mixture is smooth. Drizzle in olive oil and season as needed. Remove from blender immediately and cool in refrigerator.

Lemon purée
(makes 1/2 cup)
• 5 lemons
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
• 4 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt (to taste)

1. Remove the zest of lemons with vegetable peeler (yellow part only). Place in a saucepan with water, sugar, and four tablespoons of the juice of the reserved lemon. Simmer over low heat until zest is soft.
2. Blend lemon zest until smooth, adding olive oil until you have a thick puree that will not run off the plate, salt to taste.
Serve with: Roasted beet salad or pan-seared fish.
Painting tips: To get the splatter effect, thoroughly wet the brush with the puree. Hold the brush at an angle a half a foot away from your plate, flick your wrist, and splatter. Flat plates work best. Splatter and serve!

BLACK
Franz Kline is famous for bold black brush strokes.

Melted chocolate
• 1 bar of dark chocolate

Melt high-quality dark chocolate in a double boiler.

Serve with: a store-bought cake or a berry tart — the chocolate paint will make any dessert look chic.
Painting tips: To get the effect of a frame, use masking tape on the plate to frame a rectangular shape. With a paintbrush, paint the lines, let the chocolate dry, and then removed the tape, leaving crisp edges that resemble an actual painting.

CRIMSON & ORANGE
Mark Rothko is known for his bold blocks of color. In this dish, beet, and carrot purees create the effect.

Beet purée
(makes 4 servings)
• 1⁄2 onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 5 beets, peeled and sliced
• 1 orange, juiced
• salt and pepper to taste
• water or vegetable stock as needed

Carrot purée
(makes 4 servings)
• 1⁄2 onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 5 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 tablespoon ginger
• water or vegetable stock
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

1. In two separate saucepans, sauté onions until translucent. Add beets and remaining ingredients to one pan, and carrots and remaining ingredients to the other. Add just enough water to cover ingredients.
2. Cover pots and cook until beets and carrots are tender. Beets take longer to cook than carrots. Blend each until smooth, adding extra vegetable stock or water as needed. Taste and season accordingly. Serve hot or cold with a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream.
Serve with: fish or as a soup. (This recipe also works well with squash and other fall veggies.)
Painting tips: For easier composition, put the puree in squeeze bottles, which helps to create the shapes with precision.

RED
Helen Frankenthaler is best known for using heavily diluted oils on untreated canvases in a technique she coined “soak stain.” Here the watercolor-like result is mimicked with a red wine reduction.

Red wine reduction
(makes about 1/2 cup)
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 2 cups red wine

1. Bring sugar and wine to a boil and reduce until desired consistency.

Serve with: poached pear
Painting tips: To achieve this look, paint the reduction onto the plate with a regular paintbrush. For color variation, layer it on.

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