Food and Architecture: the 1960 Aperitivo Project
END RESULT
This is a three levels version with two interstitial spaces, with a footprint of 1”x1”, which is better fitted to a regular loaf of bread.
2020 is coming to an end and we all are looking forward to celebrating with the few people in our “Bubble”. If the term is not understandable in the future, I promise to update the blog post, for now, I have to move on, before I lose my faible 2020 focus. [Update: we decided to leave the post unaltered, as a memento of a past time]
Like many others, and after months of resistance, I have reached the point of trying to “make food fun” and create experiences while the Chicago restaurants’ dining rooms are not accessible. That’s when the pink tartine my mother used to make came to mind. As requested, here’s the process.
PHASE 1 | SAVORY MOUSSE: Blend
green olives | 1/2 CUP [100 GRAMS]
tuna | About 1/2 can [100 GRAMS]
anchovy paste [1 TUBE]
butter | 1 3/4 sticks [200 GRAMS]
mayo | 6 tablespoons [1 TUBE]
red beets | ABOUT 1 BEET, IT’S MOSTLY FORO COLOR]
This part only takes a few minutes, depending on the quality of your chopper/blender (I don’t know which one works best, I used to eat out) and you will think this is the easiest dish to make.
This is when you open the bag with the white bread, which you have never purchased before, because
A- you eat out a lot (yes, again) and when you’re home you try to have a salad with salt only.
B- nobody you know eats white bread. Bread has to have 25 seeds, sprouts (?), flax, and maybe be made with cauliflower. You’re just not familiar with white bread.
While pulling out the first slice -feeling a bit “Hillbilly Elegy”, thinking that if “The Hunt” were to happen, you would surely be in the ambivalent position of the cool protagonist- you “bruise the bread”.
There are literally indentations where your fingers touched the bread, and this is where it gets interesting.
The next step (we’re going to call it PHASE 2, just for fun) is to simply spread the mix you just made on tramezzini-specific bread. If you are a planner and order the right bread, the execution should be easy. If you’re using white bread from a random grocery store, you’re on your own. Don’t use generic white bread.
PHASE 2 | LAYERING has a design component: you have to determine the footprint and the elevation of the individual tartina.
If you found a bread sheet, which is probably 10” X10”, account for cutting 0.5” off per side, so that the geometry of the pink-on-white section reads well. The 9” that is left can yield a 1.5” X1.5” footprint.
Now the elevation: the bread will be 3/8” thick,
The original recipe calls for equal thickness of the bread and mousse…but…well, it was 1960, the Rationalist influence was still really strong in Italy. Since then we went through a lot: Post-Modernism, Deconstructivism, and even blob-stuff, I think we can safely reduce the mousse to 1/4”, so none of your guests have an instant heart attack (there is a lot of butter in there).
A 4-layer tower would be 1.5” bread + 3/4” mousse. The Tartina is 1.5” x 1.5” x 2.25”. If this gets stressful, send me a message, I will help you.
And this is why we love to collaborate with Interior Architects, try doing this with tile and align it with windows, showerheads, shampoo niches, and light switches.
So, the execution of Phase 2: is Bread A-Mousse A. Bread B-mousse B. Bread C-Mousse C. Bread Cap. Done.
Phase 2 - Layering
I am using the infamous white bread, and have too much mousse on it, but I did enjoy playing Peta from “The Hunger Games”
CURING TIME: refrigerate overnight.
PHASE 3 | FINISHES trim all 4 sides by 1/5”. Use a very sharp knife and clean the blade after each cut, or you will have pink spots everywhere.
PHASE 4 | FINAL COMPOSITION pick an edge and mark 2 spots at equal distances, which will make 3 strips, cut each strip in half, longitudinally. Now you have 6 strips, cut each one into squares.
PHASE 4 GENERAL NOTE: Clean the knife and your hands constantly to keep the cuts clean and free of mousse. This part is stressful, and that’s why contractors are awesome.