Call Me By Your... Meal
recently I’ve rewatched—
both Call Me By Your Name (swoon, TC, forever a peach) and A Bigger Splash (swoon, Tilda Swinton’s outfits) and as someone who thinks about food more than the average male thinks about sex, I’ve noticed how subtly the director, Luca Guadagnino, uses food to express a character’s desires, frustrations and joy.
In Call Me By Your Name (erotic peach scene aside), Guadagnino – and of course the book’s author, Andre Aciman – creates these moments of tension. Whether it’s Oliver correcting Elio’s father about the etymology of the word ‘apricot’; dinner parties where political ideologies are passed between characters as often as full, heaped plates; or Oliver’s embarrassment of not knowing how to eat a boiled egg, a small crack in his seemingly perfect shell.
In A Bigger Splash, it’s Tilda Swinton’s Marianne spooning honey to soothe her throat yet kicking a glass off the table when she can’t voice her frustration; it’s the smooth, loving familial process of nonnas making ricotta while the news reports on the immigrant crisis; it’s conversations of past loves had over buying groceries; it’s the way Paul eats pasta, with hunger and excitement, after an illicit hike with Penelope. For Guadagnino, food is often an expression of either eroticism or tenderness.
How we share food is how we share experiences. A meal eaten silently amongst guests speaks volumes. The clamour and clatter of plates, spoons and glasses is the language of pleasure. It’s in the stolen glances over breakfast, or the lingering touch of fingers as you reach for the same plate.
Last week, I had two friends round for dinner. As a host, I am obsessed with making sure my guests have the best meal of their lives (still striving), and also someone who, at times, selfishly thinks about my own taste buds more than others. It did not turn out as I had hoped. And as a perfectionist, I was quite upset with myself. Luckily I was in the company of good friends, who graciously allowed me to huff and puff as I proclaimed that “this is the worst meal ever” and, like a moody teenager, “I don’t even want to eat this.” (I’m the worst).
Of course, the meal was perfectly fine, and my guests ate every inch of it until there was nothing left. This meal exposed my fatal flaw: perfectionism (and also my inability to react in a rational way to imperfection). But it also exposed the kindness of my friends – our ability to share frustration as well as happiness, and to quite literally put our (read: my) weaknesses on a plate.
The art of sharing food is more than just putting it on a plate and passing it around the table. It’s in the way you experience it with others – in how it inspires conversation, or sometimes simply words unspoken. Food is always about storytelling.
Here’s to the art of sharing – food, friends, frustrations and all.
Cat x
charred romanesco, halloumi + lentils.
This was, as ever, a total fluke and cooked one evening when we had broken into the case of Chin Chin (Noble Rot’s vinho verde, which we bought from those legends at Top Cuvée), and slightly wine drunk, I made a total mess in the kitchen and put together this dish.
I used a whole head of romanesco broccoli (which I literally have to Google because I always confuse it with romesco, a banging pepper and almond sauce) – sliced into thick steaks. If a few florets fly off, gather them in a bowl and save them to add to the end so you get that charred and raw combo.
I chucked a hunk of butter and a little drizzle of rapeseed oil (so it did burn) into a pan with a generous pinch of the dukkah. Add the broccoli and fry until golden on both sides (I put the lid on and a tiny splash of water). Season with salt halfway through. How much? You decide, because if I told you how much I put in, you’d likely never let me cook for you.
While the broccoli is firing up, put a pan of lentils on the hob. I used about large wine glass full of lentils (a much more sensible measuring cup) and added stock and cold water so it covered the lentils by a couple of centimeters. Bring it to the boil, lower the heat and let them simmer until they’re soft but still have bite. Then drain them and leave them to cool down.
In between the broccoli and the lentils finishing up, grab a bowl and pour some tahini in. You could use a few tablespoons, or you could just turn the jar upside down and let it trickle out until you see fit. You know which one I’m doing. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a splash of warm water. Whisk and keep adding water if it becomes to thick and paste-like – season to taste.
I had some in a jar already, so I added a spoonful of chimichurri to give it that herb kick. To make it from scratch, chuck a load of parsley, mint and coriander in a herb blender, add capers, olive oil, fresh chilli, lemon juice and salt and pepper then mix. Add a huge spoon to the tahini dressing and whisk.
Slice ½ packet of halloumi (what am I saying? Slice the whole thing and eat a couple of pieces cold with a large sip of cold wine, the perfect aperitif) and sear until golden in a separate pan (no oil, but keep an eye on it).
Pop the lentils on a large serving dish or bowl and spoon the raw broccoli through. Add some of the dressing so it coats the lentils. Then place the seared broccoli steaks and halloumi on top, and pour more dressing on so it hits all the right spots. Season with plenty of dukkah, pomegranate seeds and maybe some crushed pistachios if you’re fancy or, like me, had a friend who bought them for you.
food stories.
– Comedian Ziwe Fumudoh shares what she eats on the reg with New York Magazine's Grub Street
– The ever eloquent Ruby Tandoh on How Cheese Goes Extinct for The New Yorker
– Luca Guadagnino on food for The Wall Street Journal (which is behind a paywall but can be read in full here)
a few leftovers.
– How timing affects your boiled eggs (I'm a 6 minute kinda gal)
– In this heat, I need a 1.5 litre bag of orange wine in my fridge at all times ofc
– This is the perfect hot girl summer meal: mortadella, tomato salad + goats curd c/o The Dusty Knuckle
– But also parmesan roasted potatoes all the way, please?
– Really enjoying the outdoor seating vibes in London restaurants
– This prawn risotto is everything to me right now
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