The 0-Minute Gourmet

It’s a commonplace that the better the ingredient, the less preparation necessary. San Francisco’s Zuni Cafe took that to an extreme on its breakfast menu recently, including among the desserts White Nectarine. When the waitress was asked how it was prepared, she replied, “It isn’t.” Sure enough, when the plate arrived, there was one pristine ripe white nectarine. Quite possibly the perfect summer dessert, it was--as we say in the cooking trade--”a complete do-ahead.”