A menu - Sunday Lunch at the Terrace

another excerpt from the “Small Menus” cookbook with a lukewarm cauliflower & green tomato salad and a gluten free almond halva

Oct 22, 2024

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October 20, 2024

Sunday Terrace Lunch

It was actually an ordinary day. But the weather was beautiful, our boy Kenz was here, we have just returned from London with some great sausages, the day before I baked an amazing ‘Pane Genzano’ bread, so we had everything we needed to indulge a bit.

Sometimes it just happens—you don’t plan it, but all the elements align, and these spontaneous moments of joy always end up more satisfying than the planned ones. That’s exactly what happened this time. If I try to recreate this again, it wouldn’t work. For example, I started the bread two days ago, and the sausages were butcher’s sausages from London—so even if I wanted the same thing, it wouldn’t happen. Yet a different but still delicious sausage, another sourdough bread, and some good butter can create the same vibe. One should always be able to find an excuse for moments of pleasure. Even if it’s not spontaneous, you can set the mood deliberately. I believe in the importance of intention.

So this Sunday we made the most of the good weather and set the table in the sun out on the terrace. We’d already thought of grilling the sausages, and before that, I used the grill like an oven to cook cauliflower and green tomatoes for a warmish salad to be had with the sausages. It is a gas grill with a lid, but if you don’t have one, everything can be done in the oven—except for the sausages, of course.