Poppies are often associated with sleep, but without resorting to any sedatives at all, May in France is a time to catch up on naps. Bank holidays pepper the calendar like flowers dotting abandoned lots, and none of these days off is as pleasant as the one that happens to fall on a Tuesday or Thursday. Workers often take the option of skipping out on the Monday or Friday in between, taking a long weekend known generally as the "bridge." As the days grow ever longer, with deep blue nightfall only settling in around 10 p.m., Parisians also adjust their schedules to accommodate the waking daylight hours. Late nights approaching the summer solstice are followed by early mornings, since few can continue to sleep once the intense heat of sunrise begins seeping in from the exterior walls of the building. But burning the candle at both ends calls for drastic afternoon measures, so when I’ve come home from the market, and have swiped my plate of all traces of butter, zucchini juice, and crunchy fleur de sel, that’s the time to carefully unfold the louvered metal shutters on my south-west facing window and indulge in a catnap.
 
 Rendered famous in our time by The Wizard of Oz, the illustrious papaver somniferum, or opium poppy, is also the sleep-inducing flower discussed by Baudelaire in his Paradis artificiels. Our tamer European poppy, papaver Rhoeas, is the very same which gives us our blue seeds for baking. Known as coquelicot in French, poppies are also called pavot, which is the more general term of the two. Other words for the flower here in France are simply coq, since its color is similar to the rooster’s comb, or chaudron du diable: devil’s cauldron. And, if you’re at all interested in herbalism, you’ll know that the petals of our European poppy contain alkaloids and provide a mild sedative effect to combat coughing, insomnia, or anxiety.
 
 On any given day off in May, I’m usually on the late schedule, and when I’m still walking home from the café or a late-morning film – cheaper before 11! – more punctual Parisians have already finished lunch and are closing their shutters against the hot afternoon sun, to preserve the cool inside, to put the children down for their naps, or to have a quick snooze of their own. A less discreet friend of mine, Christophe, likes to add that his nap is often a sieste coquine or crapuleuse: a "naughty" nap, involving his girlfriend of the moment.
 
 Naughty or not, if your nap time is better used by collecting flowers in fields or abandoned city lots, proceed! Before putting poppies in a vase, a little trick is to burn the bottom tips of the stems. That way the flowers will last longer – at least through a long holiday weekend.
 
 Find Manon Martin’s handiwork at 19 rue de Turenne in the 4th arrondissement.
 

Poppy seeds should always be roasted or crushed before being used: both are techniques which help to bring out the seeds’ flavor. Another tip is to store your poppy seeds in the refrigerator or even the freezer since they turn rancid so easily. I’ve managed to introduce this omelette à l’italienne to several die-hard runny-omelette fans, all of whom were enthusiastic when presented with its golden, crispy top: they never questioned the frittata’s firmer texture.

ingredients:

 1 tbsp. poppy seeds
 2 lbs. white asparagus, peeled, or 1 lb. green asparagus
 ½ lb. cooked potatoes (about 1-2 medium)
 3 eggs
 2 egg whites
 ½ tsp. salt
 ⅓ cup cow or soy milk
 2 tbsp. olive oil

special equipment: a 10-inch oven-proof skillet

how to make it:

Begin by roasting the poppy seeds: place them in a small, dry pan over medium heat. From time to time, swirl them around in the pan. After about 5-7 minutes, you should start to smell a nutty odor. Keep roasting for about 3 more minutes and then turn off the heat, leaving the seeds in the pan to finish roasting by inertia. After about 5 more minutes, transfer the seeds to a bowl or ramekin to let them cool completely.

Trim any tough ends off the asparagus, cutting up to an inch or two from the bottom of the stalk. If you’re unsure of where the tender part begins, trim a tiny piece and bite – if it’s fibrous and stringy, cut off a bit more. Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces and steam for about 6-10 minutes, a bit longer for white asparagus. The asparagus should be tender but not mushy. Run the cooked asparagus under cold water until cool, and drain well.

Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, egg whites, salt, and milk, whisking just enough to mix the ingredients – you should have a liquid streaked with the different colors and textures. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high for about 3 minutes, then add the egg mix, and immediately turn the heat to medium-low. Disperse the asparagus and potato pieces into the egg mix as it cooks, and then sprinkle the poppy seeds over the top.

Pre-heat the broiler, if necessary. After about five minutes of cooking on the stovetop, the frittata will still be runny on the top. Place the skillet under the broiler for about two minutes, or until the top is slightly browned. Remove the skillet from the oven, and let the frittata rest for about 2 minutes so that it’s easier to cut and remove wedges from the skillet. Serve warm.

serves 3-4 as a first course, or two as a main course with salad or other vegetables

note: You can certainly use 5 whole eggs instead of 3 eggs and two whites – I prefer to substitute whites if I’m making this on a very warm day, when I want to serve a lighter frittata.

To peel white asparagus, start at the top, just underneath the pretty head, and using a swiveling vegetable peeler, peel towards the tough end, turning the stalk as you go. You’ll know you’ve peeled enough when the stalk is translucently shiny (perlé) from the natural moisture of the asparagus.