To Eat At Someone Else's Table: Tiffany's Fried Cauliflower
My third guest of To Eat at Someone Else’s Table is the lovely Tiffany Bassford. I met Tiffany through my last interview guest, Maya, on a magical cabin getaway in Shenandoah, Virginia last year. Tiffany is a clean beauty queen, gastronomy master, and author of Food Passion Project, a book exploring food cultures and ways to repair our own relationships with food.
Learn more about Tiffany, her connection to food, and her grandmother’s Italian Fried Cauliflower in her interview below!
Interview with Tiffany Bassford
Tell us about yourself!
“I'm Tiffany! I work for a clean beauty startup that I love (Follain!), quit a 10-year career in consulting to pursue a master's degree in gastronomy in Italy, and have a 7-year-old cat I adore. I'm also a Food Tour Guide on Saturday mornings for @carpedcfoodtours and tell the history of DC's U Street neighborhood through its food. I also wrote a book on healthy food cultures and how we can use these lessons to repair our relationship with food. I think we have tenuous relationships with food and the table, and I've lived in both France and Italy, and traveled fairly extensively to understand how people in other cultures eat and come to the table. There is an ease and beauty to it that I want to bring to American tables. You can typically find me making pasta. Red sauce is life.”
Tell us about this dish. What is it & where do its origins lay?
“This is an Italian fried cauliflower dish. My great grandparents immigrated to America from Calabria, the southern most region of Italy. Italian-inspired food has always run through my family since then. The cauliflower is breaded and pan fried. It's crispy, soft, cheesy, salty. It's everything you want in one bite. And the best thing is that it's equally amazing hot or cold. I am always sneaking to the fridge the next day in between meals to pop one in my mouth.”
Do you have a special memory associated with this dish? Why is this dish special to you?
“My grandmother would always make this and it was often a side dish that would outshine the main dishes on the table. My great-grandmother taught my grandmother to cook from a young age. My grandmother wasn't Italian but she became the best Italian cook because she married into the Italian family at age 19. Up until the day she died, she would say basalico instead of basil. I don't think she realized there was another word for it! My grandmother made food with such love and dedication. I can't make her dishes without feeling the pure love that went into it. And as much as I love her pasta and ravioli, this is a dish that I don't really see anyone making that much. “
What inspires you to cook and/or bake?
“Food is my love language -- for myself and others. It’s where I get lost and find myself again. I’m always amazed at the alchemy of ingredients and how you can create, refine, and recreate. Cooking and baking challenges me and forces me to grow. It’s a daily act of self-care. Health and nutrition are so important to me (I’ve been a ‘nutrition’ nerd from a young age!) but I’ve learned that health starts at the table but does not end there. I love introducing people to different cuisines. I believe that studying languages and eating a country’s food opens up your mind. For example, I love how Ethiopian cuisine is so community-based. If you want to make me melt, just ask me, ‘Can I feed you?’ The answer will always be yes.”
What’s your favorite spice to cook with and why?
“Ah this is so hard! I really don’t know if I can pick one. I love fresh herbs and how they transform a dish. Being Italian, garlic has a major place in my kitchen. I’m a big fan of coriander, smoked paprika, and Aleppo pepper. Definitely Aleppo. Does all that count as one spice?!”
Do you have anyone you look up to in the culinary world?
“I look up to people who make food accessible. Anthony Bourdain was definitely one of the greats. I also love Samin Nosrat. Her laugh is infectious and she shows the beauty of not only the food, but the people behind it. Food should always be about the people; food is nothing without the people.”
Why are you passionate about cooking?
“Food is the great equalizer. There’s a deep beauty in the conviviality of a shared table. There are stories in food and around food. So many of the dishes we love come from poverty and trying to use day old bread or seasonal veggies. Think of ratatouille or panzanella. The pandemic has shown us just how quickly we return to the comfort of the table. In America, it’s something we all too often overlook; food is sometimes seen as an inconvenience. I’m not immune to it either! When I’m running around, I often don’t place an emphasis on meals. But I find that we focus too much in America on what we’re eating versus how we’re eating. Are we eating with friends or family? Are we present? Is our phone down? Are we dedicating time and space to the meal and to the people sitting around the table with us? All of these things are just as important to our health as what is on the table. It’s my hope that we internalize the importance of some of these things during this time.”
Fried Cauliflower
Ingredients:
1 head of Cauliflower
1 & 1/2 cups flour
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
8 eggs
2-3 cups olive oil
Parsley [optional]
Directions:
Break apart Cauliflower into small florets & give them a rinse.
In a large pot, boil salted water & cook Cauliflower florets for about 4 minutes or until el dente.
Drain cauliflower florets & set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, grated cheese, eggs & spices. You want this to be pancake batter-like consistency - smooth but thick.
In another large pot or a pan with high walls, heat olive oil until about 375 degrees.
Using a pair of tongs, dredge one test cauliflower in the batter & fry until crispy & golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Test for salt level & flavor. Add more salt, spices, or cheese to the batter as needed.
Continue dredging each Cauliflower floret & frying until crispy & golden brown. Place fried cauliflower on a paper towel-lined plate to soak up excess oil.
Once all florets are fried, serve with some fresh torn Parsley, extra grated cheese & a lemon wedge.