Note to self:  There certainly must be exceptions, and skate seems to be one of them, but, when it comes to fish, smaller is not necessarily better.  

 

Having arrived there late on a Monday, when both custom and merchandise is smaller in size than on any other market day, I missed out on anything which might have meant putting anything less familiar on our table than flounder, which of course remains a most estimable fish.

• six small flounder fillets from P.E. & D. D. Fish Company (a total of about one pound), rinsed, dried, sprinkled with white vinegar and salt, lightly-floured and sautéed in oil, removed from the pan, at which time butter and lemon juice were introduced, scraped together and gently warmed, followed by some fresh chopped parsley from Rogowski Farm and an equal amount of sorrel from Lani’s Farm,also chopped, the finished sauce poured over the fillets
• white and red chard from Lani’s Farm, sautéed with olive oil and finished withs lemon, crushed dried hot pepper seeds, salt, pepper, and olive oil
• the wine was a California white, S + A Verdelho Calveras County 2014
• the music was eighteenth-century instrumental works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Carl Heinrich Graun

I was looking for tuna, but there were only three pieces left by the time I got to the Greenmarket, and I couldn’t see how, in any configuration, they might add up to two proper modest portions.  It helps to be flexible (strange to tell now, but there was a time in the distant past when I would head out to the market with a list), but it also helps to be fond of virtually any seafood; in this case, it meant going for the swordfish.

• one swordfish steak from Pura Vida Seafood, cut into two six-and-a-half ounce pieces, rubbed with a mixture of fresh herbs (here parsley, thyme, and rosemary) chopped together with sea salt, then mixed with some freshly-ground pepper, minced garlic and lemon zest, and a bit of olive oil, spread onto the surface of the fish and pan-grilled, basting throughout the cooking process with sone reserved rub mixture, and finished with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil, served with quarters (eighths?) of lemon
• the bread which accompanied the entrée was Balthazar’s Multi-Grain boule
• baby collard greens from Rogowski Farm, sautéed lightly in a pan in which two garlic cloves had briefly sweated, seasoned, and drizzled with olive oil
• the wine was a Greek white, Semeli Moschofilero Sun Dry White wine of the Peloponnese 2013
• the music was an album of baroque instrumental music which included works by Johann Friedrich Fasch [his son was Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch] and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

This chop was every bit as juicy as it deserved to be, as juicy as it looks here.  I haven’t always been able to accomplish that feat, and never before without immersing chops in a pot of cooked cabbage of some sort along with its liquid.

Smoked pork chops and roasted asparagus [Grüner gebratener Spargel mit Kassler]:  I can’t speak highly enough of this combination, even in concept alone, and this time the execution (by the way, it’s very, very simple meal) was a total success.  Of course, as usual, everything came from the stalls of local fishers and farmers at the Union Square Greenmarket;  everything, that is, except for the olive oil, the salt, pepper, the wine, and the music.

Just as fortunate, it was served on a perfect cool spring evening.

Asparagus time in the US still means only green asparagus time, but I’m not complaining when the vegetable is as good as this one.  As for the smoked pork chops, my local source may be the best of them all.  Thanks John.

• in an oval, low-sided enameled cast iron pan, some butter heated and whole ramp bulbs from Berried Treasures swirled around in it, two smoked loin pork chops from Millport Dairy added, covered with tin foil and kept above a very low flame (just enough to warm them through, as they were already fully-cooked), turning the meat once, then, near the end of their time in the pan, the ramp leaves set aside earlier, now sliced along their length, added, the pork removed, plated, brushed with horseradish jelly from Berkshire Berries, then both the cooked and wilted ramp elements
• large spears of asparagus,  from Stokes Farm, dotted with butter, from Millport Dairy, salted, roasted at 450º for 15 to 20 mins, rolled twice, freshly-mortared black pepper added at the end
• the wine was a simple Austrian white,  GV Grüner Veltliner 2013
• the music was Locatelli

Quickie.

• Eataly spinach- and cheese-filled ravioli with a lightly-heated sauce of sliced baby leeks from Rogowski Farm, halved Maine cherry ‘cocktail’ tomatoes from Whole Foods, finished with pea sprouts and freshly-ground black pepper
• the wine was a white californian, J Vineyards & Winery Pinot Gris 2013
• the music was Tchaikovsky’s Sextet, ‘Souvenir de Florence‘ thanks to Yle Klassinen

Porgy is far too little appreciated.  I suspect a reputation for boniness (not entirely deserved) might have something to do with it, helping to make it more than ‘reasonably priced’, one of the least expensive finned seafood in the market.  Maybe it’s the unassuming or clumsy name, but then the name ‘scrod’ isn’t very elegant either, and it’s extremely popular in New England.

• four porgy fillets (a total of one pound) from Blue Moon Fish Company, patted dry, seasoned with salt and pepper, sautéed in 2 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter, along with spring garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm which was brushed over the fish, occasionally, for 2 or 3 minutes, the fillets carefully flipped, the heat reduced to low and the pan covered for two minutes, then uncovered and a mix of chopped herbs (here chives, mint, thyme) added to it, with the basting continuing for another minute or so
• cherry tomatoes from Toigo Orchards heated with olive oil in a separate pan for a few minutes minutes, seasoned, and finished with chopped savory
• Cavolo Nero from Migliorelli Farm, briefly wilted with olive oil and two garlic halves which had first been heated in the oil
• the wine was a California white, David Akiyoshi Chardonnay Clarksburg 2013
• the music was Messiaen’s ‘Éclairs sur l’au-delà’, his last completed work