somethings old and somethings new

 

The old was the breaded swordfish, new was the stonecrop; old was the cherry tomatoes, new was the addition of leeks; old was the rapini, new was having it in February.

• one swordfish steak (off of Scott Rucky’s fishing vessel, ‘Dakota’, out of East Islip, Long Island, from American Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket), cut into two pieces, marinated briefly in a mixture of olive oil and fresh oregano from Stokes Farm, then drained well and covered with a coating of dried homemade bread crumbs, pan-grilled for about 4-5 minutes on each side, removed, salted, sprinkled with a little lemon juice, some beautiful stone crop (a succulent, aka orpine, aka sedum, and apparently it’s also good for creating green roofs) from Lani’s Farm scattered on and to the side, fish and herb both drizzled with olive oil before serving
• one medium leek from S.S. & O. Farm, washed, halved lengthwise, sliced into 1-inch segments, sautéed in olive oil until wilted, 8 Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Food stirred into the pan and cooked until they had just begun to wrinkle and soften, when about a teaspooon of chopped thyme was added, along with salt and a small amount of turbinado sugar (which had been infused over a long period with a vanilla bean buried in the bowl), then cooked for another two minutes, and left to be served warm or at room temperature [the recipe is from Ciao Italia]
• young, tender rapini from Lani’s Farm, wilted along with two garlic halves, from Keith’s Farm, which had previously sweated a bit in olive oil, the greens then seasoned with salt and pepper
• the wine a Spanish (Galicia) white, Finco Arantei Albariño Rías Baixas 2013
• the music was Händel’s ‘Imeneo’ in a performance with Rudolph Palmer conducting the Brewer Baroque Chamber Orchestra, John Ostendorf, Julianne Baird, D’Anna Fortunato, Beverly Hoch, and the Rudolph Palmer Singers

 

stone crop, as offered by Lani’s farm, at the Union Square Greenmarket