RECIPE .......................................... Photo by Alex Leith ....68....
RECIPE .......................................... Lee Miller’s coriander rice Lee Miller is best known as a photographer, but her latter career was as a chef, and her granddaughter Ami Bouhassane has been working on a book incorporating many of her unique and imaginative recipes My grandmother left behind thousands of photo negatives, and we have spent many years archiving them. But after moving to Sussex in 1949 she became more and more serious about making food, and she also left behind a number of recipes she devised, including a draft of an entire cookbook she was preparing in the mid-70s, The Entertaining Freezer. It’s only in recent years that we’ve had the chance to make the most of these. Of course Lee was a surrealist, and there are some recipes – like Cauliflower Breasts – that were devised in this vein. It was tempting to put a recipe like that in this slot, but I chose not to, so people didn’t get the wrong idea and deduce she wasn’t serious about her cooking. She was deadly serious: she did two Cordon Bleu courses, including one for six months in Paris. She was in the running to be Vogue’s first cookery writer, before they took on Elizabeth David. And she did a lot of cooking for the illustrious guests who frequently visited Farleys House as well as devising special menus to be prepared for exhibition openings for some of her artist friends like Picasso. Lee’s influences came from all over, and she was very ahead of her time in her use of foreign ingredients we take for granted in today’s cooking. This dish, for example, will have been influenced by the time she spent in Egypt. But most of all you can see Lee’s personality coming out in her recipes: her inventiveness and her sense of humour. Her artistry, too: she was very particular about how dishes were served up, as you can see from this recipe for coriander rice salad. This dish serves six. Main ingredients: 640g / 4 cups white or brown long grained basmati rice, cooked; 2 spring onions, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons raisins or currants soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and drained; 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, simmered for 10 minutes and drained; 10 large green olives, chopped; 4 stalks of celery with green leaves, finely chopped; 1 large green pepper, deseeded and cut into thin slivers; ½ cucumber, peeled and finely chopped; 2 tablespoons sliced almonds; 1 tablespoon pine nuts; 1 teaspoon olive oil. For dressing: 120ml / ½ cup extra virgin olive oil; 120ml / ½ cup white wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, finely chopped; 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 1 tablespoon honey; salt and pepper to taste. To serve: 40g / 1 cup fresh coriander, lightly chopped; French basil leaves; 2 lettuce hearts; 8 baby plum tomatoes, halved. In a large bowl, mix cooked rice with chopped vegetables, fruits and nuts. Sprinkle oil on top. When ready to serve: Drizzle French dressing over the rice and let it sink in. Place a row of heart lettuce leaves around the rice and garnish with ‘petals’ of tomatoes and basil leaves. As told to Alex Leith Thanks to Chloe Edwards of Seven Sisters Spices, who prepared the salad for the photo. sevensistersspices.com. Ami’s book, Lee Miller; a Life with Food, Friends & Recipes, is published in <strong>October</strong>. Ami presents an exclusive ‘Talk and Tasting’ preview of the cookbook and some of its recipes at Westgate Chapel in Lewes, on the 5th <strong>October</strong> at 7pm, as part of <strong>October</strong>Feast. lewesoctoberfeast.com ....69....
Change language