I don’t normally do stews. I don’t have anything particular against them. Maybe I usually like to work fast, or maybe I prefer the neatness of a more aggressive relationship between food and heat than that associated with dishes called stews.

But the luscious product of this quite simple recipe could change my mind, especially since I cam imagine how well it might be suited for serving to guests as a casual entrée. I found it while looking for something this past Sunday night to match both my food stores (a single monkfish tail, lots of heirloom tomatoes, handfuls of small okra)  and the time I had available to make dinner. It was fairly quick to prepare, and the process itself pretty straightforward.

The reward was the happy melding of ingredients, and a wonderful savory creamy sauce that had absolutely nothing to do with cows.

• two cups of chopped heirloom tomatoes from Berried Treasures Farm, and one cup of chopped yellow onions from Neversink Organic Farm, sautéed in 3 tablespoons of olive oil inside a large, heavy tin-lined high-sided copper pot over a medium-high flame for about 8 minutes, or until the onions had softened and the tomatoes had virtually become a sauce (turning the heat up still higher near the end to reduce the amount of liquid, since they were heirlooms, and not a sturdier breed), seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, then ½ cup loosely packed chopped mint from mint from Alex’s Tomato Farm and ¼ cup loosely packed chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm (tarragon would actually be the first choice, but I didn’t have any), ¼ cup white wine and 2 to 3 tablespoons of a good white wine vinegar, here Aceto Cesare Bianco white wine vinegar from Buon Italia, were all added and the contents of the pot allowed to continue to cook for about 2 minutes, or until the smells of the wine and vinegar had dissipated, a one pound monkfish tail, from American Seafood Company in Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, sliced into pieces 1 ½ inch thick, added to the tomato mixture, the pot now covered, and cooked for 5 minutes, or until the flesh was opaque, then uncovered, the fish turned over and cooked for another 2 minutes, served sprinkled some of the fresh herbs

• handfuls of small okra from Kernan Farms, their stems trimmed, washed, dried thoroughly, sautéed over a high flame in a large cast iron pan with a little olive oil and 2 crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, seasoned with sea salt, served in broad low bowls to the side of the the monkfish stew
• the wine was a wonderful Greek (Thessaly) white, Zafeirakis, Malagousia, 2016, from Flatiron Wines; it turned out to be a perfect pairing
• the music was Mozart’s ‘La Finta Giardiniera’, Nicolas Harnoncourt conducting Concentus Musicus Wien

I’ve now prepared this dish twice, and last night it was at least as delicious as the first time. There is a lot going on in it, but I’ve become convinced that bluefish was made to be richly accompanied: It’s not like this strong fish is likely to be easily overwhelmed by anything, even this combination of tomato, onion, wine vinegar, dark olives, lemon, a spicy pepper, and a couple of herbs.

The okra looked very good inside the farmers’ tent in Union Square, and I picked it to accompany the fish, because, as something of a Hellenic staple, it would pair well with a fish preparation described as Greek.

I would usually add a bit of pepperoncino to the okra, but since I was using some with the fish, I decided to substitute a bit of dark dried habanada; the results were subtle, adding a complexity to what is normally a pretty straight-forward green vegetable.

• two two bluefish fillets (a total of 14.5 ounces) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rubbed I with olive oil a little Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, placed inside an oval tin-lined copper au gratin pan, sprinkled liberally with a very pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, a bit of dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi, also from Buon Italia, covered with some thinly-sliced red onion from Norwich Meadows Farm, one very ripe thinly-sliced red heirloom tomato, also from Norwich Meadows Farm, some chopped fresh oregano from, again, Norwich Meadows Farm, 8 pitted and halved Kalamata olives from Whole Foods Market, and more than half of an organic lemon from Whole Foods, again, sliced thinly, the fish baked at 425º for 15 minutes, served sprinkled with buds of fresh oregano from Norwich Meadows Farm, and fresh dill flowers from Eckerton Hill Farm
• a couple handfuls of okra from Norwich Meadows Farm, sautéed over a high flame in a very large cast iron pan with a little olive oil and a good part of one dark dried habanada pepper, seasoned with sea salt
• the wine was a California (Lodi) rosé, Karen Birmingham Rosé Lodi 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Alexander Goehr: Marching to Carcassonne / When Adam Fell / Pastorals’, with Peter Serkin, the BBC Symphony, the London Sinfonietta, and the conductor Oliver Knussen

It’s not really much “like lobster”, as some would have it, but it is a sweet fish, in more than one sense.

I’ve written a bit about tilefish in an earlier post.

It’s difficult to imagine that it was once included within that hoary commercial seafood classification, ‘trash fish’, along with, among others species I would now consider delicacies, like sea robin, dogfish, and even redfish, hake, and porgy.

These 2 fillets were my first choice at the fishmongers’ on Friday.

I was reluctant to turn on the oven on a very warm night, and I didn’t want to use any of the preparations that are my usual alternatives to roasting. I looked around on line and found this simple and very delicious recipe, making only a few alterations.

The polenta included in the photograph accompanying the recipe would have been very nice, but I had some vegetables to bring out last night.

They were: some very deep green and very fresh okra, the very last little basket at the stand where I found it (also, the only okra I saw that day and the only okra I’ve seen so far this year); and a small amount of beautiful rainbow chard that I had washed and rinsed 2 days earlier, before realizing I had more than enough for that night’s meal.

I also had some slightly eccentric additions I wanted to add to the tilefish: the last of the garlic flowers I had enjoyed scattering on top of so many things for at least a whole week; and a package of near-micro nasturtium leaves I had picked up that day.

• two 9-ounce tilefish fillets from Pure Vida Seafood, washed, rinsed, patted dry, sprinkled lightly with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper and set aside; 2 tablespoons of butter and part of one small dried dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia heated over medium heat and one whole garlic clove from Norwich Meadows Farm allowed to roast in the warm butter for a few minutes, until it started to color (I found the butter beginning to color just before the garlic did, but that didn’t present a problem) and then removed, the tilefish fillets added to the pan flesh side down and cooked, still over medium heat, for maybe 2 minutes, allowing them to also brown, after which they were flipped over and 2 tablespoons of chopped spring shallots from Alewife Farm were tossed in, the butter mixture spooned over the fish (I usually find it easier to use a silicone basting brush), after which the pan was covered with aluminum foil for about 2  minutes and removed, the juices once again spooned or brushed over the the fillets until they had browned and been cooked through (perhaps for another 2 minutes), when they were removed to the plates, sprinkled with lemon zest (of an Organic lemon from Whole Foods Market) and a little lemon juice, a bit of garlic flowers scattered on top, chopped lightly, and some rather small nasturtium leaves from Two Guys from Woodbridge draped across the middle of the fillets
• okra from Oak Grove Plantation, sautéed over a high flame in a large enameled cast iron pan with a little olive oil, seasoned with sea salt
• a portion of a bunch of rainbow chard from Echo Creek Farm, the larger part of which had already been made a part of this meal 2 days earlier, wilted in a little olive oil in which 2 halved garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows Farm had been heated, then seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper and drizzled with a little olive oil, served in small oval bowls to the side of the plates
• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Terredora Falanghina 2016, from Garnet Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Musick For Severall Friends’, a compendium of seventeenth-century English music by the composers John Wilson, Christopher Simpson, Johann Schop, Henry Butler, and Matthew Locke, with Mary Springfels directing the Newberry Consort

I’ve used it before, but, like all recipes, or at least the ones we amateurs play with, it turns out at least a little differently each time. Last night I worked that part even more by picking tomatoes I had never used before in this preparation.

The recipe was one which I had found on the LA Times site 2 years ago; I made only a few adjustments.

As usual, all of the ingredients (save for the oil, butter, salt, pepper, and vinegar – and the wine), came from the Union Square Greenmarket. The tomatoes were wonderful, and the small okra was a real find.

• one 12-ounce flounder fillet from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, lightly seasoned, cooked for a few minutes in olive oil and butter in a heavy oval copper pan over high heat, turning once, divided into two servings, placed on the plates, a couple of spoonfuls of ‘tomato butter’ [see below] arranged on and around the fish
• tomato butter, begun by cooking, inside a small pan with a generous amount of butter until slightly soft and fragrant, one large fresh red scallion from Norwich Meadows Farm, then letting the flavored butter cool slightly before being poured over 4 ounces of halved sun gold cherry tomatoes from Lani’s Farm, chopped, adding 2 tablespoons of fresh papalo leaves [porophyllum ruderale], also from Lani’s Farm, the mix seasoned with salt, pepper, and a few drops of good Spanish wine vinegar (Rioja)
• small okra from Norwich Meadows Farm, sautéed over a high flame in a large cast iron pan with a little olive oil and a good part of one small red Calabrian pepper from Campo Rosso Farm, seasoned with sea salt
• the wine was a California (Monterey/Santa Barbara/Sonoma/Napa) white, Joel Gott unoaked Chardonnay 2015
• the music was Q2 Music, streaming, from their ’24-hour Steve Reich Marathon’

The steak was familiar, even to the topping, and so was the okra, even if these were the smallest I had ever cooked, or seen, for that matter. The sweet peppers looked only a little like any I had seen before, and they were definitely smaller than any I had cooked until last night.

I bought the okra because this scant handful was all that was left in the plastic basket in the farm stall; they looked lonely and they were cute.

The peppers, I was assured by the farmer, Chris Field, were not spicy; I love peppers in any form, and I decided these tiny ones could also liven up a meal with their color. I never suspected that they would have a very distinctive flavor, and that they would almost pop inside the mouth, both properties a bit like the South African ‘Peppedew‘.  While talking to Chris at his stand on Saturday, I forgot to ask what they are called, but I may have found an answer while looking on line today: the name may be ‘Little-Beak Peppers’, or ‘Pimenta Biquinho’.

I didn’t think I would be serving the little okra and peppers together (way too cute), but that’s what happened when I lined up the alternatives for 3 meals this weekend.

Yeah, it was pretty cute.

• two very juicy tri-tip steaks (each just under 7 ounces) from Dickson’s Farmstand Meats, brought to room temperature, dried and sprinkled generously with freshly-ground tellicherry pepper on both sides, pan-grilled for a few minutes, turning twice (sprinkling them with sea salt the first and second times they were turned), removed to 2 plates, a little lemon juice squeezed on top, drizzled with olive oil, purple micro radish from Two Guy From Woodbridge sprinkled over the top
• barely a handful of tiny okra from Norwich Meadows Farm, sautéed over a high flame in a cast iron pan with a little olive oil and a good part of one small red Calabrian pepper from Campo Rosso Farm, seasoned with sea salt, divided onto the 2 plates, scattered with homemade breadcrumbs (browned a little earlier in a little olive oil with a pinch of salt)
• tiny red and yellow peppers (not at all spicy hot) from Campo Rosso Farm, sautéed a few minutes inside a copper skillet with a little olive oil, ending with a very small amount of balsamic vinegar, seasoned with salt and pepper, torn basil leaves mixed in, as they finished cooking
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) red, Karen Birmingham Petite Sirah Clarksburg 2014
• the music was that of Hanns Eisler and Paul Dessau, from the album, ‘Nova – Sinfonik In Der Ddr – East German Symphonies’, the day being American ‘Labor Day’, and, although “..officially held in highest esteem, [these 2 East German composers] both challenged the regime artistically.” [excerpted from the album notes – Ed.]