This post was written by Victor Hazan and originally published on Facebook.
Alone at home for lunch today, as I am for most of my meals. It is not as melancholy as it may sound, the food and the wine are excellent, and so is the company. I have a lively conversation over each dish with Marcella, intuiting most of her side of the exchange, although I must forgo some of the spiced observations only she was capable of. My menu today was pecorino from Corsica followed by a small pointy green head of cauliflower from the Sarasota farmer’s market. The cheese could stand in the first rank of the world’s best. Aside from mountain-grown Parmigiano of exceptional lineage, no cow’s milk or goat’s milk cheese, however delicious it may be, ever quite commands the heights of a superior pecorino. Sheep’s milk simply has the deepest flavor. I have grown very fond of pecorino from Corsica, when it is less than one year old and is creamy, yet firm, neither spongy nor crumbly. I boiled the young cauliflower for 7½ minutes, which is probably 7 minutes longer than those addicted to crunchy, nearly raw vegetables would have done. The condiments for it were salt, wine vinegar, and olive oil. I sipped every drop of a glassful of Zind Humbrecht’s late harvest Gewurztraminer salvaged from a recent dinner. A piece of Amedei’s excellent chocolate bar and a cup of espresso ended today’s midday at table. Victor.
January 23, 2014 · Longboat Key, FL
Photo chosen by Gustiamo