Julian Opie, Still Life with Green Beans, Chilli Pepper and Carrots (2001)
lambda print with laminated onto canvas, with a gloss seal, mounted on stretcher, 39 x 65 cm

For fans of the band Blur, contemporary British artist Julian Opie is perhaps best known for the cover design of their ‘Best of’ album. His iconic and often replicated style of flat areas of color delineated by thick black lines is created by reducing photographs to their most basic elements. Still Life with Green Beans, Chilli Pepper and Carrots is from a series of eight prints published by the Alan Cristea Gallery in 2001. The forms of the carrots, beans and chili have been distilled to floating patches of colour upon a black surface. Most of his art is computer generated and the two-dimensional aspect of his work is reinforced by the flat and even colouring of the foodstuffs.

Green Beans with Red Onion & Mustard Vinaigrette

adapted from Gourmet

2 TB oil
2 TB black mustard seeds
1/3 cup red-wine vinegar
1 TB brown sugar
1 red onion, sliced into half-moon rounds
500 g green beans

To create the red onion & mustard vinaigrette:
First create the mustard seed oil by heating 1 TB of the oil in a large pan. Once hot, add the black mustard seeds. Cook until they begin to pop (about 2 minutes) and once done, transfer to a large bowl. In the same pan, gently cook the brown sugar and vinegar until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan and once hot, cook the thinly sliced red onion until golden brown. After approximately 8 minutes, transfer the onions to the vinegar mixture and then add to the mustard seed oil. Mix well to combine and set vinaigrette aside.

Prepare the beans and assemble:
Trim the green beans and them to a large pot of boiling salted water. Cook for 5 minutes and immediately strain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Once cool add to the mustard seed oil and onion mixture and toss adding salt to taste. Serve at room temperature.