I was putting this Tunisian cauliflower frittata together on the same day I was reading the sad story of foreign visitors’ fleeing Tunisia because of warnings of terrorism. My choice of an entrée had not been influenced by it, but the news added depth to our appreciation of this dish – and of Tunisia.
It’s a simple concoction to put together, can be done even a day ahead of time (and any leftovers taste great even the day after that), and can, and indeed should, be served at room temperature. A perfect summer meal.
We shared it with a friend who wanted to share some excellent rosé wine with us. Before we had made that arrangement I had bought some yellow cauliflower from one of my favorite Greenmarket farmers, but it was not enough for this recipe, so I retrieved a 20-ounce head from Eataly and saved the smaller one for another meal.
I set out plates of Speck as an appetizer, even though that element of the meal was hardly Tunisian.
- Speck from Eataly, on a plate with arugula from John D. Maderna Farm which was dressed with oil and lemon, accompanied by slices of whole wheat (‘Integrale’) from Eataly
The picture of the frittata resting on top of my 1931 Magic Chef oven was taken just after it had been removed from the oven the day before we enjoyed it.
- the frittata included a small yellow onion from Norwich Meadows Farm, fresh garlic from Lucky Dog Organic, eggs from Millport Dairy, parsley from Stokes Farm, caraway seeds, Red Cow Parmesan cheese from Eatlay, and a terrific cayenne from Spices and Tease [the recipe is from Martha Rose Shulman in the New York Times]
- a salad of halved tomatoes (red cherry from from Norwich Meadows Farm, and golden golden grape Florida tomatoes from Eataly) tossed with sliced small Persian cucumbers from Norwich Meadows Farm, dressed with olive oil, a red rioja wine vinegar, and torn spearmint leaves from Phillips Farm
- the central wine of the evening was a German rosé, Koehler Ruprecht 2014 Pinot Noir Rosé Kabinett trocken from the Pfalz
- the music was our conversation