Editor’s note: It’s a common joke that Brad Pitt is always eating in his films. His characters seem to gravitate towards snacks and nibbles of all kinds, and now the publishers at Long Prawn have created a cookbook inspired by the Hollywood heartthrob’s best movie meals. The following recipe is excerpted from “Fat Brad—The Cookbook”, published by Long Prawn (Lauren Stephens, Laura Clauscen and Fred Mora). All images by Ben Clement with art direction by PractiseStudioPractise. Book design by Tristian Ceddia (Never Now). Recipes by Mietta Covenry and Ali Currey-Vourmard.
Break-up-make-up Smash
Mr & Mrs Smith
Mr and Mrs Smith bludgeoning each other unconscious must be one of the most scintillating specialties of Brad’s back catalogue, second only to the steamy make up sex that follows.
Post romp, the dishes are bloody and the fridge is peppered with bullets; high time for a ceasefire. Unphased by the broken home they have left in their wake, the feuding lovers sit on the kitchen floor and sip orange juice from fractured glasses, looking suspiciously pristine in their barely tarnished whites. Their first honest meal together is a cornflake breakfast served in a wine cooler; a meal that appears to trigger the couple’s real romance as they compare scars and injuries. Is this breakfast smash the essence of passion and love?
INGREDIENTS
Makes 6 – Takes 1.5+hrs
Kitchen Crumble
100g plain flour
65g brown sugar
80g unsalted butter, chopped
1⁄2 tsp cinnamon
1⁄2 tsp cardamon
20g Corn Flakes, or desired breakfast cereal
Candied Nuts
1⁄2 cup flaked almonds
1⁄2 cup macadamia nuts, broken into pieces
1⁄4 cup coconut flakes 2⁄3 cup caster sugar
1 tsp sea salt
Whipped Yoghurt
2 cups Greek yoghurt
1 cup thickened cream
1 vanilla bean
1 tbs honey
2 tsp orange zest
Charred Fruit
600g mixed fruit eg. peaches, nectarines, apricots or figs, pitted and cut into halves or thick wedges
1 tbs olive oil
DIRECTIONS
1. Kitchen Crumble
Preheat oven to 180°C and combine all ingredients, except Corn Flakes, in a bowl. Work mixture until it resembles fine crumbs. Add Corn Flakes, mix then toss crumble mixture onto a lined tray and bake until golden. Remove and allow to cool somewhere it won’t get kicked over.
2. Candied Nuts
Place caster sugar in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When sugar starts to change colour it’s go time! Add almonds, macadamias, and coconut and stir until sugar caramelises and ingredients stick together (~2mins). The mixture should be golden in colour. Get it off the heat and spread the good stuff onto a lined tray, throw a small pinch of salt over and set aside to cool.
3. Charred Fruit
You have almost pulled this off now, heat a large grill pan over high heat. In a bowl, toss fruit with olive oil until covered then place directly on the grill. Cook each side until charred and slightly softened, remove from heat and set aside.
4. Whipped Yoghurt
Slice vanilla bean down center and scrape seeds out with back of knife. With a whisk, beat vanilla seeds together with remaining yoghurt ingredients and years of marital frustrations until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until use.
5. To serve
Find a large bowl that hasn’t been smashed and alternate layers of charred fruits, crumble, yoghurt and toffeed nuts. Eat immediately if your dearest isn’t still trying to kill you or the next morning before you both get dressed.
Get more recipes here.
