Evening 04
The Green One
A whole roasted cauliflower carved at the table. No meat, nothing missing.
The one with no meat and nothing missing. A whole head of cauliflower, bronzed and carved at the table like a roast, tahini and pomegranate over the top. Whipped feta with honey and warm pita to start, roasted peaches with mascarpone to finish. It is the cheapest main in the book and the most photographed, and it is the evening to run when she has told you she is vegetarian, or when she has not and you would rather be sure.
- Cost for two, drinks in
- $103
- Active time, all courses
- 52 min
- Courses
- 4
- Allergens
- Milk, Tree nuts, Wheat, Sesame
starter
Whipped Feta with Honey & Pistachios
A pale, swooped mound of something creamy with a pool of gold honey and a scatter of green nuts is the signature starter at every Mediterranean restaurant with a waiting list.
The card →
main
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini & Pomegranate
A bronzed whole head carried to the table on a board and cut into wedges in front of her, with white sauce running down it and red jewels scattered over, reads like a roast.
The card →
dessert
Roasted Peaches with Mascarpone
Peach halves gone soft and dark at the edges, sitting in their own syrup on a white cloud of mascarpone, with crushed pistachios over the top, is the dessert a restaurant with a pastry chef puts on the menu in August.
The card →
drink
The 7:30 Spritz — and The 7:29
A pale pink drink in a frosted glass with a rosemary sprig standing up in it looks like it came from the cocktail bar where the bartender has a mustache.
The card →
Start at 5:30. Hands off from 7:10. Stove mode follows the clock while you cook.
The 7:30 Timeline
Read it bottom-up if you like; cook it top-down.
Done before she arrives
Why it works
The oven plan
425°F from 6:30, one rack in the middle and one low. Cauliflower on the middle rack from 6:45, covered for 25 minutes, uncovered from 7:10 for 55. Pita triangles for the dip on the lower rack at 7:37 for 5 minutes. A foil packet of pitas for the main on the lower rack at 7:55. Head out at 8:05, resting by 8:08, and the peach dish goes onto the same middle rack at 8:08 for 15 minutes; oven off at 8:23. One temperature, one tray, one small dish.
One temperature all night. The oven goes to 425°F at 6:30 and holds it until 8:23: cauliflower from 6:45, pita for the dip on the lower rack at 7:37, pita for the main at 7:55, peaches in the moment the head comes out. The dip and the tahini sauce are stirred cold, the pistachios are crushed once for two courses, and the stove is used for three minutes of syrup. From 7:10 you do not touch the oven until the timer goes at 8:05.
Before you shop
One list, four cards
One bag of pistachios does the dip and the peaches: crush a double handful at 6:28 and split it between two saucers. One pack of pita does both courses: two cut into triangles for the dip, two wrapped whole in foil for the cauliflower. Two lemons: one juiced into the tahini, one zested and half-juiced into the feta. One bottle of honey covers the dip, the peaches and the mascarpone. Parsley goes on the cauliflower, mint on the dip, and they are not the same clamshell. Buy the smallest firm cauliflower on the shelf; the timing is written for small, and a big one takes longer than the evening has.
The reveal
The plate and the table
The dip goes out at 7:45 on a wide plate, swooped, honey in the groove, pistachios and mint on top, pita fanned along one side. At 8:10 the whole head goes to the table on the cutting board with tahini streaked over it and pomegranate and parsley scattered, and you cut it there into six wedges, three each, two warm pitas alongside. Dessert is a spoonful of mascarpone swooshed across each small plate, three peach halves leaning on it, the syrup over, pistachios last, both plates out together; the table has been set since 7:20, candle, real napkins, the lamp, the big knife already waiting at your place.
The whole evening, on your fridge.
This Timeline is in the Playbook with five more. Or start with the free one: The First Bulletproof Dinner.