The meal was surf [but with a pork casing] & turf [otherwise only vegetables], even if it looks downright earthy.

It was.

• four sweet seafood sausages from The Lobster Place [salmon, shrimp cod, scallops, Italian seasonings, fennel seed, shallots, pepper, fresh parsley, pork casing] pan-grilled for about 10 minutes, turning regularly, accompanied by a brown butter sauce made by melting a third of a stick of rich (with a higher fat percentage than virtually any butter available in stores in the U.S.) ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘ in a skillet over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until the milk solids had turned brown, removed from the heat, the juice of about a third of an organic lemon whisked in, along with 4 or 5 teaspoons (yeah) of brined wild capers (rinsed, drained, and dried), seasoned to taste with salt and butter, the chopped bulb of one ramp from Lucky Dog Organic Farms stirred into the butter, which was poured over the sausages on the plates, followed by a few washed sprigs of vetch [see image below] from Lani’s Farm, with their purple flowers
• kale from Alewife Farm, wilted in warm olive oil along with a small amount of thin strips of part of a seeded Sierra pepper, seasoned with salt and pepper, drizzled with a little more oil
• thin artichoke shoots from Lani’s Farm [see image below], washed, the stems separated from the leaves at the top and cut into one-inch lengths, sautéed in a heavy copper pan over medium heat until beginning to soften, then 2 Italian bay leaves, 1 finely-sliced clove of garlic from Trader Joe’s, introduced into the pan, along with the reserved leaves, stirred for a minute or so, and a small splash of white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper mixed in and cooked for a couple more minutes, the bay removed, and strips of the ramp leaves added
• the wine was a French (Provence) rosé, Triennes Vin de Pays de Mediterranée Rosé 2015, than which, although it was very good, it turned out something sturdier would have been more appropriate for this meal (we can’t always call it, especially when the meal is at least partially improvised at the last minute)
• the music was several works, including Nicolas Bacri’s Symphony No. 4, from the album, ‘Sturm Und Drang‘, which includes works by Bacri, Batiashvili, Leleux, Bezaly, Kantorow, and others

vetch [vicia ervilia]

 

spring shoots of Jerusalem artichoke [helianthus tuberosus]

I love being able to use a word like ‘vetch’ in the list of a meal’s ingredients, although until I came upon some in the Greenmarket on Monday, if I had been asked, I would have probably have thought the word described one of the ingredients of some medieval magic potion. It tuns out that it’s certainly ancient, and an ancient friend to human civilization.

• two hake fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dredged in seasoned flour and dipped in a beaten egg from Millport Dairy, sautéed in butter along with a few sage leaves from Stokes Farm, drizzled with organic lemon juice, tranferred onto 2 plates, the juices remaining in the pan distributed over them, followed by a sprinkling of vetch shoots from Lani’s Farm
• seven halved Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, combined in a small ceramic baking dish with one sliced fresh green spring shallot from John D. Madura Farm, a little olive oil, half of a teaspoon of chopped thyme from Stokes Farm, salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, placed in a 400º oven for about 20 minutes, removed, sprinkled with the green ends of the same fresh shallot, chopped small
• fiddlehead ferns from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, washed, cleaned, blanched, sautéed in olive oil with some sliced fresh Sierra peppers, seasoned with salt and pepper, finished with a dollop of ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘
• slices of a sourdough baguette from She Wolf Bakery
• the wine was a Spanish (Uclés) white, Fontana Mesta Verdejo Uclés 2014, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Mozart, Piano Concertos Nos. 17 & 20, and Haydn, Symphony No. 51

 

I had no idea that there were ramps in Spain.

Actually, I’m pretty certain that there are none, but tonight, after bringing home an exceptional cut of pork which I associate with Spain, I took a few liberties with what I still saw as a rather Spanish dinner, and the ramps were a part of that.

The meal was absolutely delicious, meat and vegetables, and I will definitely be revisiting both.

• one pound of pork secreto, from Brooklyn’s The Meat Hook, dried, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground Telicherry pepper, and a little finely-minced garlic from Trader Joe’s, seared and sautéed in a very large (13″) seasoned cast-iron pan over high heat for 2 minutes on each side, removed, placed on 2 plates over beds of watercress from Lucky Dog Organic Farm which had been washed, dried, and dressed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, the pork then sprinkled with a little local Lisbon lemon from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, some olive oil, with a small amount of homemade French Basque piment d’Espellate (purchased in a small town north of Baie-Comeau, Quebec last year from the producer’s daughter) placed on the table as a condiment
• twelve ounces of red thumb potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, boiled in salted water until tender, drained, dried in the same pot in which they had cooked,, allowed to cool most of the, way, seasoned with salt and pepper, tossed with 2 ramps and the olive oil in which the chopped  bulbs had been sautéed and the sliced leaves wilted, drizzled with a freshly-made alioli
• the wine was a Spanish (La Mancha) red, Bodegas Volver Single Vineyard La Mancha 2013, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Leif Segerstam’s Symphony No. 16, ‘Thoughts at the Border’

This meal included a good number of my favorite things: proper artisanal pasta, guanciale, fiddleheads, ramps, watercress, Parmesan cheese, an excellent wine, and great new music.

• nine ounces of an artisanal Puglian dried pasta, Benedetto Cavalieri ‘Single’ Orecchiette, manufactured in a factory in Otranto and purchased at Eataly, cooked al dente, then tossed with a sauce produced by sautéing 2 ounces of chopped guanciale from Buon Italia in a medium hot pan until slightly brown on the edges – and slightly crispy – when they were joined by chopped ramp bulbs, sautéed until softened, a few blanched fiddlehead ferns from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, and eventually the green leaves of the ramps, heated only until they had wilted, and finally some watercress from Lucky Dog Organic, the vegetables lightly seasoned before they were combined with the Pasta and placed in 2 shallow bowls, sprinkled with shaved Parmesan cheese from Whole Foods
• the wine was a great Italian (Piedmont) white, Ferrando Erbaluce di Caluso La Torrazza 2013, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was The Living Earth Show’s album, ‘High Art‘, with composers Samuel Carl Adams, Timo Andres, Adrian Knight, and Jon Russell, and performers The Living Earth,  Show, Andrew Meyerson, and Travis Andrews

It’s a great fish, and I’m excited whenever I’m able to bring Tautog home, whole or filleted.

• a one-pound fillet of the excellent Tautog (known in New York as ‘Blackfish’) from Pura Vida Fisheries, prepared along the lines of this recipe by Caroline Rossock, using sage from Stokes Farm and halved Kalamata olives from Whole Foods, finishing with organic lemon, also from Whole Foods [since Syria is currently a disaster zone, for the Aleppo pepper I substituted a 50/50 mix of an excellent cayenne pepper and a good dulce paprika]
• fresh watercress from Lucky Dog Organic, dressed only in a good olive oil, with Maldon salt, and some freshly-ground Telicherry pepper
• wild rice, remaining from a meal enjoyed earlier in the week, livened up with a few chopped ramps which had been sautéed in olive oil beforehand
• the wine was a French (Aude) white, Albarino Lagrasse  Laurent Miquel 2014
• the music was Timo Andres’ extraordinary album, ‘Home Stretch’, with work of Andres, Mozart, and Eno, with Andres everywhere (you’ll probably want to read the album notes); noting here that the release of the album in 2013 was celebrated at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe!