A recipe for eggs poached the Mr Ansel Adams way (not through a pinhole) and how food photographers used to take pictures of before the age of Instagram .

When photography meets food, it is usually because someone is posting a picture of their brunch on Instagram (#eatclean, etc). But a new book called The Photographer’s Cookbook is placing the relationship between cameras and food in an artful new light.

Its conception dates back to the late 1970s, when New York’s George Eastman Museum (the world’s oldest photography museum and co-publisher of the book) asked renowned photographers for their favourite recipe, and a suitable photograph to accompany it – based on the idea that there was a correlation between a photographer’s eye for a picture and a delicious dish. It turns out they were quite right. From a cheese grit casserole by Mr William Eggleston to Mr Richard Avedon’s royal pot roast, the collection, published this week for the first time, is a rich brew of idiosyncratic images and surprising signature dishes from some high-profile photographers.

Whether you want to add a few retro dishes to your kitchen repertoire, or you’re just interested to see your favourite photographers in a completely new light, you can buy the book here. Below is a recipe for eggs poached in beer by the iconic black-and-white photographer Mr Ansel Adams. Which we hope, in recognition of his art, you won’t snap on your iPhone and upload to social media once you’ve made it.

Ingredients: ¼ cup (2oz) butter mixed spices 1 bottle dark malt liquor or strong ale (ordinary beer is not strong enough) dash of sherry ¼ teaspoon salt 2 eggs 2 pieces of toast dash of paprika

**Method: **01. Melt butter in microwave oven, but do not allow to brown. Add a dash of mixed spices and sherry.

02. In a small bowl, microwave malt or ale with ¼ teaspoon salt just to the boiling point. Carefully slide eggs into this hot liquid, cover with paper plate or glass bowl (to retain thermal heat), and cook as desired in microwave. (See note below on microwave cooking.)

03. While eggs are cooking in microwave, make 2 pieces of toast. Spread part of the butter-spice mix over the toast.

04. Serve eggs on the toast, and pour over the rest of the butter-spice mix. Add a dash of paprika.

I like my eggs poached soft. I find that 1 egg in the hot ale or malt takes about 1 minute to cook, 2 eggs about 2 minutes, etc, all the way up to 8 eggs, about 8 minutes. When working with as many as 8 eggs, the bowl should be moved around every 2-3 minutes.

The Photographer's Cookbook (Aperture) by Ms Lisa Hostetler is out on 6 June