This is another meal which might have looked more at home last fall, rather than a mild day like this one, but because of the miracles of local suppliers, along with one beautiful thick section of hake, I happened to have some winter squash and Brussels sprouts which I had also picked up at the Greenmarket very recently, and I was anxious to use it before the evenings became really warm.

I think it’s amazing that, for the first time ever, we will probably be able to make it all the way through a New York City winter without ever having had an interruption in the supply of fresh local green vegetables of one kind or another.  As an example of what’s going on, today at the market, noting that the date was March 11, I picked up some collard greens, some more large leeks, and a bag of Long Island citrus fruit.  Yup, local citrus,to be specific, it was oranges and lemons, and there were two other possibilities available.

• one beautiful, thick 12-ounce hake fillet from American Seafood Company, dredged in seasoned flour and dipped in a beaten egg from Millport Dairy, sautéed in olive oil along with a handful of sage leaves from Eataly, sprinkled with local lemon juice from Dave Tifford’s Fantastic Gardens of Long Island along with the pan juices that remained, then divided and plated, and finally garnished with parsley from Rogowski Farm and served with lemon wedges on the side
• tiny Brussels sprouts from Phillips Farm and cubed ‘Sweet Dumpling’ winter squash from Samascott Orchards, tossed together with oil, salt, pepper, and two unpeeled garlic cloves, also from Samascott Orchards, then spread onto a ceramic oven pan and roasted for about half an  hour at 400º until tender and caramelized, removed from the oven and drizzled with  a bit of white balsamic vinegar, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and thyme from Keith’s farm (as well as a little bit of sage from Eataly), and served
• the wine was a Spanish white, Shaya old vines, verdejo Rueda 2013
• the music was works of Ignaz Pleyel and Joseph Joachim

Late one afternoon, having earlier been unable to find a fish monger at the Greenmarket, I decided that I should start thinking about what I would prepare for dinner.  Fish has more and more become my first choice, and with familiarity with my sources and experience in cooking it I’ve become pretty fussy about where I buy it.  We both happen to love salmon, probably as much as any other fish, or shellfish (oysters definitely come first, but I don’t cook them).   Because of the availability throughout the week, normally, of six or so local fishermen at the Greenmarket, if I buy fish at the Whole Foods down the block, which I normally patronize only for staples, it’s always wild salmon from the Northwest, and almost always when it’s on sale.  I assume it’s been frozen at some time since leaving the water, but, even knowing what it tastes like in Oregon and Washington, I don’t think it’s lost anything in the process.

I bought salmon.  This was one of the best servings we’ve ever had at home, and it’s absurdly easy to prepare.

A word on the sweet potatoes (by the way, they would seem to be a natural as an accompaniment to salmon):  I found these particular small samples hanging in a darkened closet in a paper bag.  That is how I usually store sweet potatoes, but I had no memory or record in my trusty digital food log of their being there, or at least not still being there.  I think they had to be at least a year old. They had darkened and were so dessicated they now weighed almost nothing.  I was going to throw them out, but decided to give them a try.  They were phenomenal.  Note to self and all survivalists: I it ever becomes necessary to horde fresh, uncooked food in an emergency, without refrigeration and for an extended period of time, you could do a lot worse than choosing sweet potatoes.

• Coho salmon fillet from Whole Foods, roasted in a shallow enameled cast-iron pan in butter (for 1 pound of salmon, use 2 tablespoons of butter), seasoned, then finished with parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm
• small Japanese sweet potatoes, from [I-don’t-remember-because-it-was-so-very-long-ago-but-they-were-incredibly-delicious], tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, placed in an unglazed ceramic pan with some thickly-sliced garlic from Berried Treasures placed on top of the pieces (to avoid the garlic burning), and finished with chopped rosemary from Queens County Farm
• Brussels sprouts from Central Valley Farm, tossed with olive oil, freshly-ground black pepper, and a generous amount of salt, then roasted
• the wine was a California red, Santa Barbara Winery Pinot Noir 2012

This meal really came together only after Franca pressed a gorgeous, very ripe red tomato into my hand just as I was leaving the Greenmarket yesterday.  Already the night before I had planned to buy a firm white-fleshed fish fillet, or fillets, in Union Square and accompany them with some Brussels sprouts which were waiting in the crisper drawer for their opportunity to shine.   The next day I was delighted to find that Pura Vida still had sea bass when I finally arrived at their stall some time around one o’clock in the afternoon.  That and the sprouts were pretty much going to be it for my entrée (except for some lovage or wood sorrel topping the fillets), until I passed Franca’s Berried Treasures stand.

Now I realized I had an opportunity to really open up the meal, and add some additional glorious color as well.   Uncharacteristically for me, it was only when I removed the bass from the refrigerator that I started to plan how it might introduce it to the tomato.  I don’t know whether my improvisation was a “salsa” or a “vinaigrette” (“salsa” fit in the headline here), but the marriage was a success.

One of the reasons I began this blog was to record such small triumphs, in order to be able to look back and possibly repeat them;  this was one of them, so here it is.

• sea bass fillets from Pura Vida, dipped in egg from Norwich Meadows Farm whipped with parsley from Lani’s Farm, dredged in seasoned flour, sautéed briefly, removed from the pan and sprinkled with a bit of lemon, then dressed with pan juices mixed with more parsley; the fish was accompanied by a salsa of:
• heirloom tomato from Berried Treasures, chopped, mixed with a chopped scallion from Migliorelli Farm, most of a small, finely-chopped red Thai pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm, basil from Gotham Greens, parsley, and lovage from Windfall Farms, all chopped as well, some lemon juice and olive oil, salt and pepper
• Brussels sprouts from Race Farm, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, then roasted in a hot oven until browned and crisp on the outside (when they will taste surprisingly sweet and a bit nutty)
• the wine was a French white, Domaine du Salvard Sauvignon Blanc ‘Unique’ 2013

This entrée would have been totally familiar on our table, and so also here on this blog, if it weren’t for two of its elements: the herb that garnished the tuna, and the unusual form of some otherwise common green vegetable.

• 15-ounces of yellowfin tuna steak from Pura Vida Seafood, rinsed, dried, halved, tops and bottoms seasoned with local sea salt processed by the fisherman, Phil Karlin of P.E & D.D. Seafood, on the grounds of his Riverside home, and freshly-ground black pepper, then ‘paved’ with a mixture of less than a tablespoon of some incredibly pungent dried Semi di Finocchietto Ibleo [wild Sicilian fennel seed] harvested in the Iblei Mountains, purchased from Eataly Flatiron, and a little dried Calabrian peperoncino from Buon Italia in the Chelsea Market] (both first crushed together in a porcelain mortar and pestle), plus a very small amount of dried aji dulce pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, the steak halves pan-grilled above a medium-high flame for little more than a minute or so on each side, finished on the plates with a good squeeze of lemon juice, garnished with chopped payqu (aka epazote) from Lani’s Farm and finished with a drizzle of Chelsea Whole Foods Market Portuguese house olive oil
• two Italian heirloom tomatoes from from Shushan Hydroponic Farm, seasoned with salt and pepper, sautéed briefly in a little olive oil, sprinkled with torn basil from a live plant from Central Valley Farm
• a small basket of what appeared to me to be immature, open-bud Brussels sprouts that I found at Lani’s Farm (I did not ask at the farm stall, because of the awkwardness of the  current distancing arrangements within the Union Square Greenmarket, and I can’t find anything that resembles them on line), sautéed very gently in a little olive oil, tossing in some chopped spring garlic, also from Lani’s Farm, and the tiniest amount of balsamic vinegar, and they were delicious
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) white, Stefano di Blasi Sicilia Zibibbo Catarratto 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was a brilliant performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, followed by his Seventh Symphony, with Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

The only swordfish steaks left inside the fishers’ bucket on Friday when I arrived at his stand in the Union Square Greenmarket were a bit larger than what we normally share, so, at Paul’s suggestion, that evening I decided to cut off a smaller section, grill it with the other two, larger parts, that we had for dinner that night, but then put it away in the refrigerator, immersed in olive oil, to use in an appetizer the next day, its character to be determined then.

That’s exactly what I did, and it was really delicious. It was an incredibly simple operation, but I should have arranged it to look more simple than it did. My mind was already on the next course however, so the minimal aesthetic just didn’t happen.

• four ounces of a swordfish steak from Pura Vida Seafood that had been marinated and grilled the day, after which it had been refrigerated and submerged in olive oil overnight, brought to room temperature the next evening, removed from the oil, cut into 8 thin slices, arranged on a bed of washed purple butter lettuce from Fledging Crow Vegetables and some leaves from a radicchio variegato di Castelfranco from Campo Rosso Farm that had already prepared, dressed with a good Cretan (Chania) olive oil, Renieris Estate ‘Divina’ (a Koroneiki varietal) and a squeeze of organic California lemon, both from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, local P.E. & D.D. sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, sprinkled with chopped small stems and leaves from a small green stalk of celery from Norwich Meadows Farm, and also some scissored chives from Philipps Farms, the entire salad garnished with micro chervil from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• there were slices from a loaf of the excellent ‘homadama’ (wheat, corn, water, maple syrup, salt, slaked lime) from Lost Bread Co.
• the wine was a really excellent Spanish (Jerez) fortified wine, Gonzalez-Byass “Tio Pepe” Fino Sherry, from Foragers Wines

Having the swordfish on hand for an appetizer meant I could reduce or simplify the main course, which, because of how special the entrée turned out to be, was an excellent idea. The goat was beautiful, perfectly cooked, and very simple to carve, but above all, absolutely delicious, at least as tasty as a much more expensive rack of lamb [this perfect small rack, plenty for the 2 of us, set me back just less than $16].

• one small (13.5-ounce) rack of goat from Marie, who was managing the Union Square table of Lynnhaven Dairy Goats, dry-marinated for about 2 hours [the time could be less, if you started late, or much longer, but in any event I try to have it outside the refrigerator only for the last hour] in a mixture of rosemary leaves from Keith’s Farm, removed from their stems; 2 medium crushed fresh bay leaves from Uncle Vinny’s, possibly Columbian, from Westside Market; the zest from a small Chelsea Market lemon; a small part of one crushed dried habanada pepper; sea salt, and some freshly-ground black pepper, after which the goat was dried with paper towels and coated lightly with olive oil, the oven preheated to 425º, a heavy oval enameled cast iron pan placed inside for 10 minutes, the rack arranged inside the hot pan flesh side down and roasted for about 17 minutes this time [the instant thermometer read exactly 120º then, the first time I checked], for rare to medium rare doneness, and not at all bloody, allowed to rest for 7 minutes or so, loosely covered with foil to keep warm, the ribs then separated into 8 chops with a heavy knife and arranged on the 2 plates, finished with a squeeze of the lemon from which the zest had been removed earlier, drizzled with a bit of olive oil,

and garnished with some of the new growth at the top of a horseradish root purchased the day before from Holy Schmitts Horseradish in the Greenmarket, chopped

• more than three quarters of a pound of really gorgeous small Brussels sprouts from John D. Madura Farms, washed, trimmed, dried, tossed with olive oil, sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, roasted in a the same 425º oven as the goat on a large unglazed Pampered Chef oven pan until they were browned and crisp on the outside, or for about 15 minutes, and finished with a small amount of decent balsamic vinegar flicked onto them with a small brush
• the wine was a Portuguese (Douro) red, Quinta do Pôpa ‘Contos da Terra’, Douro Red 2016, from Astor Wines

 

• the music throughout was Handel’s 1721 opera, ‘Floridante’, Alan Curtis conducting Il Complesso Barocco, with Roberta Invernizzi, Marijana Mijanovic, and Joyce DiDonato, among others