I discovered this recipe years ago through Mark Bittman, although, like so much else that works well in the kitchen it may actually be pretty ancient.  It’s a treasure, regardless of its pedigree, and it’s extremely adaptable.  I used hake this time, but it can also show off cod, monkfish, sea bass and a number of other choices.

By the way, the amount of oil called for in the recipe published in the Times might be reduced somewhat without compromising either the texture or taste of the potatoes, but what seems to be an outlandish amount of bay leaf and black olives turns out to be just about right.

• a little over a pound of hake fillet from Pura Vida, cooked for ten minutes in a hot oven in a ceramic pan on top of thinly-sliced red-skin ‘new potatoes’ which had already been baking for twenty minutes in a generous amount of olive oil before they were covered with a dozen bay (or laurel) leaves and nearly a cup of pitted black olives (half of them Kalamata, the other half Moroccan, because that was all I had)
• the last of some beet greens from Race Farm, braised with halved cloves of garlic from Berried Treasures
• the wine was a white Sardinian, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2013 

If you’re paying attention, you had probably already anticipated there would be beet greens somewhere in this meal.  The beetroot was a big star two days back, so it was only a matter of time before the greens would show up. In fact, right now there are still some left in the crisper drawer.  There are also still more meatballs waiting in the freezer.

• rose veal meatballs from Gaia’s Breath Farm via Summers End Orchard in Unadilla, New York (a boon found at New Amsterdam Market this summer), defrosted overnight, lightly floured, cooked in oil and nestled in a bed of beet greens from Race Farm which were braised with split garlic cloves from Berried Treasures and water remaining from their rinsing, the meatballs finished with pan juices, chopped oregano, and a bit of oil
• Austrian Crescent potatoes from S & SO Produce, split lengthwise and tossed with a bit of oil, rosemary from Stokes Farm, and salt, then roasted, and served in this instance as a contorno
• the wine was an Austrian white, Weingut Stadlmann Pinot Noir Classic Traiskirchen 2012

Don’t be afraid of Pomatomus Saltatrix.   I used to be, but over the last few years I’ve become very fond of bluefish (once I had learned how to prepare it).

I think I first encountered it while living in Newport, fresh off the dock in the harbor (the fish, that is).   I had heard its virtues sung locally, but didn’t realize that some of the songs were those of  Rhode Island sport fishermen, and the others assumed one could hear the lyrics describing how to prepare it.  I wasn’t a fisherman, and I’ve generally been deaf to song lyrics, so while I was pulled in by the sirens, I didn’t know what to do with rich fillets when I tried preparing them myself.  I think it must have involved poaching, and it’s possible some wine was involved, but the results told me bluefish just wasn’t for me.  That was an ancient time, before modern cookbooks, before the magic of the internet, and before the ministrations of the good Union Square Greenmarket fishmongers.

This time I pulled out a recipe which I had enjoyed several times in the past;  it’s from Mark Bittman’s “Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking“.

• bluefish flllets from Blue Moon Fish, baked in a glazed ceramic pan at 450º along with one green and one red heirloom tomato from Central Valley Farm, some chopped scallions from Migliorelli Farm, more than a little olive oil, plus some chopped parsley from Lani’s Farm and Brooklyn basil from Gotham Greens at Whole Foods, then finished with more chopped parsley [which I forgot to add to the plate until after this photograph was taken, so use your imagination]
• intensely fresh radish greens from Paffenroth Gardens, wilted in oil which had been seasoned with split garlic cloves from Lani’s Farm, finished with salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil
• the wine was a Sicilian white, Tenuta Rapitalà Terre Siciliane Piano Maltese 2012

 

Those hues are real.  This meal clearly screams color even more than yesterday’s, even if it is completely monochromatic.  Michele Scicolone‘s “Spaghetti with Rubies” makes one of the most spectacular presentations I’ve come across anywhere, and it’s really very easy to put together.

Characteristically, Scicilone takes no credit for the original recipe.   In her “A Fresh Taste of Italy” she describes her delight in seeing a waiter in a lively Adriatic beachtown restaurant walk past her with “steaming bowls of vivid red spaghetti”.   The cover photo featuring this dish was alone enough to get me to buy the book years ago, but not long after I ran into the warm and generous author herself in the Union Square Greenmarket and I feel like we’re friends and gustatory conspirators every time I prepare this dish.

• Afeltra spaghetti, from Buon Italia in Chelsea Market, mixed with beetroot from Race Farm which had first been roasted and peeled, cooled, then roughly chopped and mixed with some chopped garlic from Phillips Farm and a generous pinch of dried peperoncini from Buon Italia, both warmed in olive oil until fragrant, the whole then warmed along with some of the pasta cooking water
• the wine was a northern Italian white, Cascina dei Ronchi (Giordano Lombardo), Gavi 2012

Color is also a part of good cookery.

• Weakfish, from PE & DD, brushed with oil, seasoned, pan-grilled over a bed of basil leaves, and finished with a mixture of chopped basil, garlic, oil, and a bit of white wine vinegar
• a braise of purple cauliflower from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced garlic from Berried Treasures, a mix of colorful cherry tomatoes from Central Valley Farm, one dried Peperoncino, crumbled, and some bruised fennel seeds, finished with chopped oregano from Central Valley Farm
• the wine was a Côtes du Rhône rosé, Parallèle 45