radishes; scallops, greens; swordfish, lacinatto; cheeses

There were four courses, even though it was just an ordinary Saturday, but we rarely stand on ceremony.

We began with a couple of different nibbles.

There was also a genuine first course, because the size of the fish in the main was a little shy of what we would prefer, and because it was a Saturday!

  • eight sea scallops from P.E. & D.D. Seafood in the Union Square Greenmarket that day, washed, drained, and very thoroughly dried on paper towels (twice), generously seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, pan grilled for about 90 seconds on each side, arranged on warm plates, finished with a squeeze of an organic Chelsea Whole Foods Market lemon, a scattering of cut baby sorrel from Windfall Farms, and a drizzle of Whole Foods house Portuguese olive oil
  • some of the contents of a bag of delicious mixed baby greens from Lani’s Farm, drizzled with a little good olive oil, Badia a Coltibuono, Monti del Chianti, from Chelsea Whole Foods Market
  • thin slices of a delicious Runner & Stone Bakery whole wheat seeded crescent

The main feature of the main course, a beautiful thick, white swordfish steak, was where I started out when I was first thinking about this meal.

I didn’t realize how very similar the two courses would look until after I saw the pictures.

  • one beautiful 11.5 ounce swordfish steak from American Seafood Company, also selling in the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday, halved, marinated inside a small rectangular ironstone serving dish for about 45 minutes, turning once, in a mixture of a few tablespoons of olive oil, much of a teaspoon of a pungent dried Sicilian oregano, sold still attached to the stems at Buon Italia, a pinch of hickory smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, and the chopped white sections of one thick scallion from Phillips Farms, after which the swordfish was drained, both sides covered with a coating of homemade dried breadcrumbs, pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 3 or 4 minutes on each side, or until barely (or, actually, not quite) cooked to the center, removed from the pan and arranged on 2 plates, sprinkled with a little Maldon salt, some of the chopped green section of the scallion, drizzled with a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon and garnished with baby chrysanthemum greens from Windfall Farms

  • one modest bunch of high tunnel-raised cavolo nero (aka lacinato, Tuscan kale, or black kale, u.a.) from Eckerton Hill Farm, wilted briefly inside a heavy antique medium size tin-lined copper pot in a tablespoon or so of olive oil after one large halved clove of garlic from John D. Madura Farms had first been heated there until fragrant and softened, the greens seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper and drizzled with a little more oil

There was a small cheese course.

  • Danby goat cheese from Consider Bardwell Farm and a new cheese from Riverine Ranch: washed rind buffalo milk, something like a Munster or havarti, and still in development
  • slices of the same wonderful crescent loaf enjoyed with the scallops