© Cass Bird
Culture & Living
10 Vogue visionaries share unexpected secret comfort food recipes
From photographer Jamie Hawkesworth’s aubergine curry to LVMH Prize winner Peter Do’s thit ko (Vietnamese caramelised pork belly with eggs), here’s what Vogue’s most in-demand creative minds like to cook at home
Growing increasingly short on ideas for making the most out of our kitchen store cupboard, we enlisted the help of Vogue’s next-generation visionaries. From photographer Jamie Hawkesworth’s fail-safe tips for creating the perfect vegetable curry to LVMH Prize winner Peter Do’s step-by-step guide to making authentic thit kho at home (just as his grandmother taught him), these are the handwritten and hand-me-down recipes that we begged, stole and borrowed on your behalf.
© Isabella Cotier
Here are 10 Vogue-approved comfort food recipes to recreate at home.
1. Designer Peter Do’s thit kho (Vietnamese caramelised pork belly with eggs)
“This is a popular dish in Vietnam—especially during Lunar New Year celebrations—which is a childhood favourite of mine. I learned how to make it from my grandmother and it’s also a Peter Do team ‘family’ favourite.”
Serves six
What you’ll need:
1000 grams of pork belly cut into 2 in rectangles (or however big or small you prefer)
A little cooking oil
2 tbsp of sugar
A few cloves of garlic, chopped (I like a lot of garlic, but up to you)
Fish sauce, to season
12 eggs, boiled and peeled
2l of fresh coconut water
Spring onion or coriander and bird’s-eye chillies, chopped, to garnish
How to prepare:
1. In a pan coated with a little cooking oil, fry the pork pieces until they are brown on all sides. (This trick helps the pork keep its shape and means it won’t break apart during the cooking.)
2. Caramelise the sugar over a large pot until it turns into a light-brown reduction—it should take about 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat. Add pieces of fried pork belly into the mix and coat with melted sugar.
3. Add the chopped garlic and a touch of fish sauce, and mix together over a high heat.
4. Add the boiled eggs into the mix and stir everything together, taking care not to break the eggs.
5. Pour in a litre of coconut water to cover all the ingredients in the pot.
6. Simmer the pot until the coconut water evaporates (until about a third remains).
7. Add the remaining litre of coconut water and simmer on a very low heat. Watch closely not to cook the sauce down too much. You want half the juice to remain.
8. Taste, and add more fish sauce as desired.
9. Turn off the heat and after it cools, remove the layer of fat on the top (or not if your cut was lean and you want the richness of the broth).
10. For the side sauce: take one boiled egg and some juice from the stew and mix together in a bowl. Add the chopped spring onion or coriander if you like (I like it spicy, so I top it with bird’s-eye chillies). This can be used as a dipping sauce for a side of steamed veggies. Add more fish sauce to taste, if you want.
11. Serve with a bowl of jasmine rice on the side.
12. Enjoy!
2. Photographer Jamie Hawkesworth’s aubergine curry
© Jamie Hawkesworth
“This recipe lives on the wall next to my oven [at my home in London]. Cecilia, my assistant, wrote it down for me when I first moved into my flat. I’ve kept it there ever since and I make it all the time.”
Serves three (or two hungrier people)
What you’ll need:
2 red onions, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
5 chillies, deseeded and chopped
2 aubergines, cubed
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1 tsp deseeded cardamom pods, toasted and ground
2 tsp cumin, toasted and ground
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp fenugreek, toasted and ground
Rice or naan bread, to serve
How to prepare
1. Sauté the onions, garlic and chillies in a pan lightly coated with coconut oil.
2. Meanwhile, toss the cubed aubergines in a bowl with coconut oil, salt and pepper.
3. Add the aubergines to the pan and cook until golden-brown and softened.
4. Add the herbs and spices and cook for 2 minutes, before turning down the heat and simmering for 20 minutes.
5. Serve with rice or naan bread.
3. DJ and sound director Michel Gaubert’s tagliolini al tonno
“Most of the time I make the quick version, but with more time on our hands, I am also sharing the ‘longer and fresher’ option.”
Serves four (or three hungrier people)
What you’ll need:
250 grams of pitted black olives (alternatively, you can pit them yourself to keep busy and test your pitting skills)
250 grams pack of good-quality tagliolini. I recommend Cipriani or similar
1 jar of preserved cherry tomatoes (or you can chop, peel and seed 1000 grams of cherry tomatoes to use more time and get that ‘I’m cooking’ feeling)
1 large jar of preserved tuna in olive oil. I recommend Ortiz
How to prepare:
1. Put the pitted olives in a blender and pulse until they are in large chunks. Make sure to let go of the pulse button before it turns into purée or tapenade.
2. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
3. Put the olives, pasta and jar of tomatoes (reserve the liquid) into a large bowl and toss the whole combo.
4. Open the tuna and break into small chunks—make sure not to flake the fillets. Add to the pasta mix and toss delicately so as not to break them too much.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Bon appétit.
4. Photographer Larissa Hofmann’s wiener schnitzel mit petersilienkartoffeln und gurken-dill-salat (wiener schnitzel with parsley potatoes and cucumber dill salad)
“The wiener schnitzel is one of my favourite meals at Berlin’s [Café] Einstein Unter den Linden (where I also highly recommend the kaiserschmarrn [fluffy, shredded pancake] for dessert). Here’s how I satisfy those cravings at home. I would prepare the cucumber salad first, then make the schnitzel and potatoes at the same time if possible. Guten appetit.”
Serves four (or three hungrier people)
What you’ll need for the cucumber salad:
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into thin slices
2 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of pepper
1 tbsp of sugar
5 tbsp of olive oil
3 tbsp of cider vinegar or white vinegar
4 tbsp of chopped dill
How to prepare:
1. In a cup, combine the salt, pepper, sugar, vinegar and oil. Taste and adjust.
2. Add the cucumber and vinegar mixture in a bowl. Then add the dill and put it in the fridge so the cucumbers can soak up the vinaigrette.
What you’ll need for the schnitzel:
4 veal escalopes (or chicken or pork)
2 eggs
2 tbsp of whipped cream
100 grams of flour
200 grams of breadcrumbs
A little butter
1 lemon, sliced, or lingonberry jam, to serve
How to prepare:
1. Put the escalopes between two pieces of cling film and gently pound them, using a rolling pin, for example. Be careful not to break the meat—it just needs to be flattened a little. Then set aside and add some salt and pepper on each side of each piece.
2. Whisk the eggs and whipped cream together in a bowl.
3. Take two plates: sprinkle one with flour and one with breadcrumbs.
4. Take the first escalope and dip it onto the flour plate, thinly covering the meat. Next, dip the meat in the egg and cream mixture. Let it drip off a bit before introducing it to the breadcrumbs.
5. Melt a little butter in a frying pan and add the fully covered escalope. Fry on both sides until golden-brown, then take it out and let it drip off on some kitchen towel before serving.
6. Serve with the lemon slices or lingonberry jam if you like.
What you’ll need for the potatoes:
1kg of hard boiling potatoes (quite small ones)
2 tbsp of butter
3 tbsp of parsley
How to prepare:
1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 25 to 30 minutes before peeling them while still warm.
2. Fry the butter in a large pan, add the parsley with a little salt and turn the heat down.
3. Toss the potatoes in the pan until covered in butter and parsley.
4. Finish your meal with a little hazelnut liqueur and guten appetit.
5. Playwright and actor Jeremy O. Harris’s sweet potato pie
© Isabella Cotier
“This is my grandmother Ruth Ann Harris’s recipe for sweet potato pie.”
Makes approximately two to three pies
What you’ll need:
5 sweet potatoes
1 tsp of cinnamon
2 to 3 eggs
1 tsp of nutmeg
475ml of milk
113 grams of salted butter
128 grams of sugar
1 tsp of self-raising flour
3 empty pie shells
Ice cream or whipped cream, to serve
How to prepare:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / gas mark 4.
2. Boil the sweet potatoes until they are soft. Allow to cool before peeling and placing in a bowl.
3. Add the cinnamon, eggs, nutmeg, milk, butter, sugar and self-raising flour.
4. Mix together, making sure there are no lumps.
5. Pour the mixture into the pie shells.
6. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Add a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream to serve, or freeze for a rainy day.
6. Photographer Colin Dodgson’s quinoa with black beans
© Isabella Cotier
“This is similar to a dish my mum often makes as a side (to pair with chicken or fish), but I actually like to eat it on its own, on the patio in the evening.”
Serves three (or two hungrier people)
What you’ll need:
128 grams of quinoa, uncooked
475ml of vegetable stock
A couple shakes of allspice
1 tin of black beans
1 whole lime, juiced
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, chopped (the smaller, the better)
1 Negra Modelo beer (2 gulps for the recipe and the rest for you to enjoy while you’re making it)
A couple shakes of cumin
Ground black pepper
Chilli flakes to taste
1 handful of fresh coriander, freshly chopped
Tapatío (hot sauce) to taste
How to prepare:
1
Take the quinoa and add it to the vegetable stock in a small pan with a lid. Add the allspice and bring to a boil.
2
Once it is boiling, turn the heat down to simmer, cover it, and let it cook for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it and stir it occasionally—you know it’s done when all of the liquid has evaporated completely and the quinoa is fluffy.
3
Meanwhile, empty a can of black beans into a similarly sized pan (something not quite as big as you would use for pasta, maybe just a bit smaller).
4
Add the lime juice, garlic and Negra Modelo to the beans. Add some more allspice, plus the cumin, ground black pepper and chilli flakes, and heat while stirring.
5
Let the bean mixture simmer while you wait for the quinoa to finish cooking. Add the coriander at the very last moment and give it one final mix.
6
Get a bowl and mix the beans and quinoa together, serving alongside Tapatío (the perfect side with anything!)
7. Designer Kenneth Ize’s fried yam chips
“This dish always reminds me of West African street food.”
Serves as many as you like
What you’ll need:
2 to 3 yams
Salt, to season
A little oil, for frying
How to prepare:
1
Peel and cut the yam into cylindrical discs, making several cuts across the discs to get large chips. Wash the yam chips and place into a bowl.
2
Add a little salt and toss the contents to distribute the salt. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
3
In a frying pan, add a little oil and heat until 180°C.
4
When the oil is hot enough, add a few yam chips, leaving enough room for flipping the chips.
5
Cool the chips till they have turned golden.
6
Remove the chips and place in the paper towels to absorb the oil.
8. Photographer and filmmaker Oliver Hadlee Pearch’s carrot cake
“Here is the recipe for my mum’s gluten-free carrot cake. I had it at least twice a week as a kid. It’s what gave me night vision.”
Makes approximately 10 slices
What you’ll need for the gluten-free carrot cake:
256 grams of self-raising flour, sifted (gluten-free or regular)
2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of salt
2 tsp of cinnamon
237 grams of corn oil
4 eggs
430g of caster sugar
150 grams of raw carrot, peeled and grated
128 grams of walnuts, finely chopped, plus enough to decorate
What you’ll need for the cream-cheese icing:
250 grams of Philadelphia cream cheese
500 grams of sifted icing sugar
Tiny squeeze of lemon
How to prepare:
1
Preheat the oven to 170°C / gas mark 3.
2
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3
Beat the sugar and corn oil in an electric mixer on high speed, then add the eggs one at a time, beating gently between each addition until the mixture is light and fluffy.
4
Gradually stir the sugar, corn oil and egg mixture into the sifted flour mixture.
5
Stir in the grated carrots and most of the walnuts with a wooden spoon.
6
Pour the mixture into a 9in cake tin with greaseproof paper.
7
Cook for 50 minutes to an hour or until golden-brown on top. Allow to cool on a cake rack.
8
For the cream-cheese icing: using a mixer, blend the Philadelphia cream cheese, icing sugar and lemon for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy and smooth.
9
Once the cake is cool, smooth on the cream-cheese icing and decorate with chopped walnuts.
9. Photographer and director Renell Medrano’s mangú con los tres golpes (mashed plantain with fried eggs and salami)
“This meal will always be a part of me, I remember my grandmother would make it in the mornings. Enjoy, love Renell x”
Serves six
What you’ll need:
1 red onion, sliced into rings
237ml of vinegar
6 plantains, peeled and quartered
473ml of canola (rapeseed or vegetable) oil, divided
12 slices Dominican frying cheese, queso de freir
128 grams of flour
18 slices of Dominican salami, salami frito
6 tbsp of butter
1 avocado, to serve
6 eggs, fried, to serve
Pickled onions, to serve
How to prepare:
1
Put the sliced red onion into a medium bowl with a heavy pinch of salt, and the vinegar. Let it soak while preparing the other ingredients, for about an hour.
2
Put the plantain pieces into a large pot with enough water to cover them by 1in. Add salt to taste. Bring the plantains to a boil over a high heat and cook until they are very tender, which should take about 30 minutes.
3
Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan, heat 420ml of the canola oil to 180°C over a high heat.
4
Coat each slice of cheese in flour, and then fry the slices in the oil until both sides are golden-brown, for about 3 minutes. Remove from the frying pan and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
5
Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and fry the salami until brown and crispy on both sides, for about 4 minutes. Remove, and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
6
Wipe the pan before adding another tablespoon of oil to it. Pour in the onions and their soaking liquid. Sauté until the onions are soft and bright pink, for about 10 minutes.
7
Once the plantains are tender, scoop them out from the water and place in a separate large bowl, and keep the starchy boiling liquid warm on the stove.
8
Add the butter to the plantains and about 200ml of the hot starchy plantain liquid. Mash together until creamy and smooth. Add more liquid as needed.
9
Serve the mangú with the fried cheese, fried salami, avocado, and fried eggs. Garnish with pickled onions.
10. Photographer Leslie Zhang’s Chinese braised rice
“Rice is the essential holy grain in a Chinese meal. I usually cook for a small number of people, so I always love adding ingredients and flavours to the rice to make a compact, stand-alone banquet. Cooking Chinese braised rice is similar to making risotto or paella, but instead I would use a rice cooker. Enjoy.”
Serves as many as you like
What you’ll need:
100g of mixed grains rice per serving
Any choice of vegetables—could be slices of onions, mushrooms or peppers
60g of meat or fish per serving
1 tbsp of soy sauce per serving
2 tsp of Shaoxing rice wine
1 tsp of sesame oil
How to prepare:
1
First fry up the rice and the vegetables separately with oil.
2
Gently sear your choice of meat or fish.
3
Mix the rice with the soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine and sesame oil.
4
Put the rice at the bottom of the rice cooker and layer the meat and vegetables on top.
5
Set it to the automated programme.
Also read:
4 quick and easy-to-make dinner ideas for when you're tired of cooking in the lockdown
5 easy rice recipes (using fresh and leftover rice) you should try this week
4 one pot recipes that are perfect for when you can't deal with washing more dishes
