I was ready for a very simple pasta dish. I had bought some fresh summer savory the day before and I was perfectly willing to leave it at that, as an excellent artisanal pasta dressed with oil, good dried pepper, and that pungent seasonal herb.

I hadn’t expected there might be some tuna left over from the meal the night before, but the coincidence was responsible for an inspired (well, more like serendipitous) entrée.  The fish was not fully cooked in the center, so, in order to preserve and appreciate its delicate freshness, I sliced the little 2-ounce chunk of fillet very thinly and added it to the zito only after the sauced pasta had been divided into the 2 bowls.

• ten ounces of Afeltra Zito Corto Rigato, cooked al dente, drained and tossed into a heavy pan in which one sliced/chopped young red onion from Bodhitree Farm had been sautéed in a little olive oil until softened, a teaspoon or so of dried Itria-Sirissi chilis, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia stirred in, then, the pasta still in the pan, some of its cooking water added and stirred until emulsified, finally some chopped summer savory from Stokes Farm mixed in and the pasta transferred to 2 bowls, where it was scattered with thinly-sliced pieces of pan-grilled tuna remaining from a meal prepared the night before, and a little olive oil poured over the top
• the wine was a Spanish (Rioja) white, Sierra Cantabria 2015
• the music was Yle streaming

A dear friend I’d known for almost 60 years was visiting New York from Miami Beach this week. We had originally planned to go out to dinner, but then I thought, while he had strayed south a number of years ago, he knows this city very well, having moved here directly after college; he might actually prefer a meal at our apartment, if only for an expanded opportunity for the extended conversation we were all looking forward to.

The only other consideration was whether I could put together something which would not divert me from that conversation, and yet would still be delicious (and at least a little special). The meal we would share with an old friend had to be something of an old friend itself.

The plan moved toward execution when I was able to locate three beautiful tuna steaks on my visit to the Union Square Greenmarket that morning. Each of the 4 courses I decided to serve (in the end there were only 3) was familiar to Barry and myself, and last night they almost assembled themselves (the symposium itself is all I can remember today).

I can recommend the basic outlines of this meal to anyone with similar entertainment considerations. Unfortunately I had to go with 8-ounce pieces of tuna, because that is what was available yesterday, but steaks of 5 or 6 ounces each would be a very reasonable, abstemious option.

Many of the elements in each of the three courses was of local origin, although in the case of the Speck, ‘local’ meant only that it was produced in this country, not northern Italy.

• La Quercia Speck Americano, described as ‘applewood-smoked prosciuto’ (3 ounces), from Whole Foods, drizzled with a little bit of good Umbrian olive oil (Luciana Cerbini Casa Gola) from Buon Italia, served with wild arugula from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, and slices of a polenta sourdough from She Wolf Bakery
• the wine was a California (Napa) sparkling white, Keith Hock Exit 43 California Bollicine in Bianco 2014

 

• three half-pound tuna steaks from Blue Moon Fish Company, rubbed top and bottom with a mixture of dry Italian fennel seed and one and a half dried Itria-Sirissi chilis, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, ground together in a mortar-and-pestle, additionally seasoned with salt and pepper, then pan-grilled for only a little more than a minute or so on each side, finished with a good squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil
• cavolo nero, lacinato, or black kale, from from Eckerton Hill Farm, wilted in a little olive oil in which several bruised organic garlic cloves from Trader Joe’s had first been heated/sweated in the oil
• the wines were an Italian (Tuscany) rosé, Il Rose di Casanova 2015; and a French (Ventoux) rosé, Domaine de la Verrière Rosé 2015
• the music was our conversation, and the birds in the garden

I was prepared to serve a cheese course of five local (Consider Bardwell) cheeses and thin polenta sourdough toasts, but we moved straight into sharing a basket of sweet cherries from Kernan Farms.

We were back from Germany but a day or two, and I was already homesick for a German meal. Not quite echt German, what I put together was more like ‘creative German’.

 

• one young, or spring, red onion from Bodhitree Farm, white portion only (some of the better green leaves reserved), chopped and swirled around for a minute in a small amount of equal parts of bacon fat, duck fat, and butter which had been heated inside an oval copper au gratin before adding 2 smoked loin pork chops [‘Kassler‘], from the Amish family farm in Pennsylvania which offers excellent produce at the Union Square Greenmarket under the name Millport Dairy, a Pyrex glass cover added immediately, the chops kept above a very low flame (just enough to warm them, as they were already fully-cooked), turning the meat once, and, near the end of the cooking time, the green parts of the onion set aside earlier added and stirred about, the pork removed, plated, brushed with a horseradish jelly from Berkshire Berries, the pork then sprinkled with both the white and green onion segments
• two handfuls of washed red amaranth from Bodhitree Farm, wilted in a little olive oil in which 6 tiny organic garlic cloves from Trader Joe’s had slowly cooked until they were beginning to brown
• small purple-top turnips from Norwich Meadows Farm, cooked along the lines of this simple and delicious recipe, using local honey (the extraordinarily rich Apple State Hilltop Family Farm pure buckwheat honey) and dill from Bodhitree Farm rather than the chives specified in the recipe
• the wine was a German (Mosel) white, Urban Riesling 2011 from das Weingut St. Urbans-Hof
• the music was Phillip Glass, ‘In the Summer House’ and ‘Mad Rush’, and Nico Muhly, ‘4 Studies’ and ‘Honest Music’ 

It was the first meal I prepared after our return from 3 weeks in Germany the day before. While we had enjoyed some very good seafood while we were there (Zander, Flußkrebs, Dorsch, Flußwels, Weißer Heilbutt, Schwertfisch, and Atlantischer Lachs are what I remember, but there may have been others, and Germany offers a huge variety), I hadn’t been able to cook any of it myself, and the variety of very fresh local fish available here, at the Union Square Greenmarket alone, presents a wonderful ‘pool’ for preparing some great meals.

 

• one Striped Bass fillet (about 14 ounces for the two of us) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, scored with several very shallow slashes on the skin side, to prevent curling, placed in a black ceramic pan skin side down, scattered with lovage from Bodhitree Farms (alternatively almost any fresh herb could be used), salt, pepper, some homemade dry bread crumbs, and a drizzle of olive oil, the pan placed in a 425º oven for about 10 or 12 minutes, after which it was removed, divided into two pieces, before juice squeezed from an organic lemon from Whole Foods was drizzled over the top
• a large handful of tiny purple snow peas, with their flowers, from Norwich Meadows Farm, sautéed very briefly in olive oil, seasoned, and arranged around the filets
• the greens from a bunch of small purple-top turnips from Norwich Meadows Farm, washed, wilted in olive oil along with 4 small organic garlic cloves from Whole Foods which had been lightly-browned in the oil only just before, seasoned, and drizzled with olive oil
• the wine was a French (Chablis) white, La Chablisienne Pas Si Peti Petit Chablis 2014
• the music was from Q2 streaming (we were and are both too jet-lagged to remember what it was)

cooling off

 

We were to leave for three weeks in Germany the next day so I was interested in using as much of the fresh ingredients left in our refrigerator as possible.  I think I did a pretty good job, with absolutely no taste sacrifices. It also looked pretty good. The hardest part of assembling this one-dish meal was deciding which pan (that is, mostly, which size pan) I was going to use.  I ended up with a seasoned thick 11″ steel skillet, 1 3/4″ deep, and it turned out to be just right for the quantity of the ingredients and the amount of heat I wanted to work with.

• those ingredients included, not necessarily in the order in which they were placed in the pan, a couple tablespoons of olive oil; a few chopped ramps from Lucky Dog Organic Farm; 4 or 5 chopped spring shallots from Lani’s Farm; a generous amount of arugulion (a natural wild arugula and dandelion hybrid) from Berried Treasures; 7 Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods; 6 eggs form Millport Dairy; a tablespoon of chopped lovage from Berried Treasures; sea salt; freshly-ground tellicherry pepper; a little Basque Piment d’Espelette which I had purchased from the French maker’s daughter at La Ferme Basque, Charlevoix, Quebec; and a nice explosion of radish micro greens from Two Guys From Woodbridge
• the wine was a New Mexico (Sierra County) sparkling white, Domaine Saint-Vincent Méthode Champenoise Brut New Mexico NV
• the music was four symphonies of C.P.E. Bach and one harpsichord concerto, Norrington directing the Camerata Salzburg, with Florian Birsak on the keyboard

The Greenmarket-sourced crab cakes were as wonderful as always, and they hit it off with the radish micro greens; the salsa was a little different from so many earlier versions, and the ingredients somewhat more eccentric; and I think the addition of thyme sprigs worked pretty well with the excellent roasted local asparagus, shown below before it went into the oven.

• two crab cakes from PE & DD Seafood (the ingredients are crab, egg, flour, red & green peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, milk, celery, and parsley), heated in a heavy copper pan, 3 to 4 minutes to each side, served on a salsa composed of 6 Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, which had been chopped and combined with salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a bit of homemade French Basque piment d’Espellate we had purchased in a small town north of Baie-Comeau, Quebec last year from the producer’s daughter, some dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, chopped peppermint from Lani’s Farm, some chopped stems of ramps from Berried Treasures, the crab cakes finished with a sprinkling of radish micro greens from Two Guys From Woodbridge
• eighteen asparagus spears from Phillips Farm, trimmed, the stems of the larger stalks peeled, then rolled, along with a handful of thyme sprigs, in a little more than a tablespoon of olive oil and a little sea salt, roasted at 425-450º for about 15 to 20 minutes, removed to two plates, the juice of an organic lemon squeezed over the top
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette) white, Scott Kelley Pinot Gris Willamette 2015
• the music was Mozart’s Divertimenti Nos. 10 and 11, Sandor Vegh directing the Camerata Salzburg

I think that the appeal, arguably inordinate, of both ramps and fiddlehead ferns lies in some combination of their perceived status as harbingers of the real growing season, their fleeting appearance, and their romantic character as forage plants. Together these very particular attributes mean they have a status not entirely unrelated to the plant which which lent its name to the 17th-century tulip bubble. If it were just about the taste, both the North American wild onion and the ostrich fern might occupy positions little distinguishable from any of our other vegetables, but we have raised both to a status little supported by the intrinsic value of either.

I’m writing this as a cook, one who is very aware of the genuine appeal of both of these plants, but still mindful of the fact that for most of us their most engaging virtue (as forage spoils) cannot actually be realized, since the ‘finding’ has been accomplished by others, who then sell them to us in farmers’ markets.

This meal included both of these spring treasures, as well as a certain number of ingredients whose supply is somewhat more regular.

No hurray: Like so many dishes which combine disparate ingredients, the taste of this one improved dramatically as it slid closer to room temperature.

• the ingredients of this pasta meal, in the order of their introduction into a large copper pan which made the sauce, included one clove of organic garlic from Trader Joe’s, thickly-sliced; 4 roughly-sliced ramps from Lucky Dog Organic; 4 ounces of fiddleheads from Tamarack Hollow Farm; 6 halved Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods; a squeeze of organic lemon; dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia; sea salt and freshly ground pepper, all tossed with about 7 ounces of Afeltra Zito Corto Rigato which had been cooked al dente, served with some grated Parmigiano Reggiano Vacche Rosse from Buon Italia scattered over the top of each shallow bowl
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) white, Corvo Insolia 2013, from Philippe Wine in Chelsea
• the music was Pascal Dusapin’s ‘Etudes Pour Piano’, performed by Vanessa Wagner

Choosing the ingredients for this meal was easy. I went to the Greenmarket on Wednesday primarily to buy fish, and nothing else. The sign for Blackfish (aka ‘Tautog) jumped out at me as soon as I arrived at the Blue Moon stand, and so it would be; it’s one of my favorites.

I didn’t really need any more vegetables, but I’m a sucker for a good display, and the people of Eckerton Hill Farm are masters at it. Lying next to a table laden with beautiful greens in woven wicker and miniature ‘bushel’ baskets was this display of ‘French Breakfast radishes‘. I decided that choosing them as a side would give me both roots and greens in one dish.

• a 1-pound fillet of Blackfish (Tautog in New England) from Blue Moon Fish Company, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Telicherry pepper, sautéed in a heavy tin-lined oval copper pan for about 4 minutes on each side, the skin side down first, drizzled with organic lemon juice, and finished with a dusting of Pollen Ranch Dill Pollen, divided into two and moved onto plates, the pan juices gently drizzled over each one
• one bunch of French Breakfast radishes from Eckerton Hill Farm, washed, the leaves removed and set aside (the little white ‘tails’ could have been left on, but I removed them without thinking), and the roughly-chopped buds of a half dozen ramps from Berried Treasures, sprinkled with salt and pepper, sautéed in a little olive oil in another copper skillet for a few minutes, the radish leaves and the ramp leaves (cut as ribbons) added to the pan and stirred in, chopped lovage from Berried Treasures added, and more used to garnish the vegetables when they were on the plates  [I added a little white wine after sautéeing the radishes and ramp buds, and kept cooking, stirring, until the liquid had evaporated, but that step is certainly optional]
• the wine was a French (Loire) white, Château Soucherie Cuvée Les Rangs de Longue Anjou Blanc 2014 , from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was by Heinrich Ignaz Biber, the album, ‘Mensa Sonora, Sonata Representiva‘

Because we’re leaving the country this Monday for Germany (Munich and Berlin) and will be away for three weeks, I’m beginning to, figuratively, extinguish the kitchen fire. It means I have to remember that there will be only a finite number of meals before then, and I’ve started to plan accordingly.

Tonight it was pasta in an unlikely marriage with collards.

I incorporated these delicious greens, which I had been keeping in the crisper for a few days, in a dish which used most of a lemon (both rind and juice) that had also been awaiting its turn to shine, along with the last of a jar of pine nuts that I had stored in the refrigerator when the market price was relatively modest. The medium was a package of a very good whole wheat pasta for which I had hoped to find a good excuse to include in a meal; this turned out to be the occasion.

The very simple recipe is from Martha Stewart.

• my ingredients included Garofalo whole wheat spaghetti, organic garlic from Trader Joe’s, dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, collard greens from Norwich Meadows Farm, organic lemon from Whole Foods, and Pecorino Romano from Buon Italia
• the wine was a Spanish (Castilla y Leon/Uclés) white, Fontana Mesta Verdejo Uclés 2014, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was the album, ‘Yarn​/​Wire​/​Currents Vol. 2‘, and also, because we lingered at the table until fairly late, ‘David Brynjar Franzson: The Negotiation Of Context‘

The meal was pretty basic, assembled, except for the very fresh baby squid, from the stock of vegetables I happened to have already had on hand that evening.

Before the end of the meal however, the flavors of the 2 or 3 simply-prepared elements had combined to a wonderful and subtle effect, and, yes, there was a sturdy bread available.

• about one pound of squid, bodies and tentacles, from P.E. & D.D. Seafood in the Union Square Greenmarket, rinsed, dried, then very quickly arranged in a large enameled cast iron pan after it had been heated until hot on top of the range and its cooking surface brushed with olive oil, and, when that was also hot, the cephalopods added to the pan, quickly sprinkled with some super-pungent dried Italian oregano from Buon Italia, one crushed dried Italian pepperoncino, also from Buon Italia, and then juice from an organic lemon, and some olive oil drizzled over the top before the squid was placed in a pre-heated 400º oven and roasted for four or five minutes, removed, distributed onto 2 plates, and drizzled  with the cooking juices
• seven Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, halved and tossed with 3 chopped fresh or spring shallots (they look like scallions) from Lani’s Farm, some salt, pepper, and a little olive oil, arranged inside another, smaller ceramic pan and cooked at 400º for about 20 minutes, removed from the oven and scattered with chopped lovage from Windfall Farms, placed on the plates on top of a bed of ‘arugulion‘ which had been dressed only with a little olive oil
• slices of a rich multigrain bread form Whole Foods
• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Falanghina Feudi di San Gregorio 2014
• the music was discs 5 and 6 of the multi-CD set, ‘Between Noise and Silence‘, collected works and tributes in memoriam to the composer Steven M. Miller