This meal was as much of a pleasure to assemble as it was to consume.

In my next post I will describe a very different meal and a very different experience.  This one was in line with my usual preference for simplicty and a minimum of ingredients, the earlier one involved a little too much of both.

• one striped Bass fillet (just over one pound, for the two of us) from Pura Vida Fisheries, divided into two 8 or 9-ounce pieces, scored with several very shallow slashes on the skin side, to prevent curling, placed in a black ceramic La Chamba pan, skin side down, sprinkled with chopped lovage leaves from Keith’s Farm (although almost any fresh herb would do as well), sea salt and freshly-ground pepper [and, normally, some homemade dry bread crumbs at this point, which I forgot to add this time, but with no negative consequences], and a drizzle of olive oil, the pan placed in a 425º oven for about 12 or 15 minutes, after which it was removed, arranged on plates, squeezed with lemon juice, scattered with fennel flowers from Rise & Root Farm
• one Sicilian (heirloom) eggplant, from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds, covered with olive oil by turning in them over in a shallow bowl in which some had been poured, pan-grilled, turning 3 times, to ensure cross-hatching, removed to a plate, brushed with a mixture of olive oil, finely-chopped German hardneck garlic from Race Farm, chopped marjoram from Stokes Farm, lemon zest, and freshly-ground pepper, and when done, drizzled with a little more olive oil and kept slightly warm while the fish was baked.
• very ripe, very sweet, very small cherry tomatoes from Stokes Farm, rolled in olive oil inside a smaller black ceramic pan, seasoned with salt and pepper, one small, mild Grenada yellow seasoning pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, begun before the bass in the same 425º oven and removed just before they has begun to collapse, tossed with micro mustard greens from Two Guys from Woodbridge, served in small bowls to the side of the main plates
• the wine was a California (Lodi) white, Karen Birmingham Sauvignon Blanc Lodi 2015
• the music was Per Nørgård, Symphony No. 2, performed by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, John Storgårds conducting

I have so many deep personal associations with every aspect of the chestnut tree that I don’t even mind that the nuts themselves are the dickens to prepare.

These were in the stall of Keith’s Farm today, three nuts inside their burr in the picture at the top, baskets of nuts for sale below.

I don’t expect to be cooking with either cabbage or chestnuts this week, but I couldn’t ignore their beauty – and perfect seasonality – when I saw both being offered in the Union Square Greenmarket today.

These purple cabbage were in the stall of Tamarack Hollow Farm.

It managed to look like a bit of Scottish heath, but it’s a very Italian pasta, and just about everything else comes from our local, albeit extraordinarily heterogeneous farmers.

• a sauce composed of 2 sliced garlic cloves from Race Farm, slices of 3 red Japanese scallions, and a little crushed dried Sicilian pepperoncino from Buon Italia heated in a couple tablespoons of olive oil inside a large enameled cast iron pan until the alliums were soft, then tossed with 8 ounces of Afeltra pasta di gragnano fusilli con buco from Eataly, cooked al dente, everything stirred over low heat while some reserved pasta cooking water was added to help emulsify it, seasoned with salt and pepper, after which 2 chopped green heirloom tomatoes from Stokes Farm were mixed in before half of the pasta was divided and served in 2 bowls, sprinkled with homemade breadcrumbs which had been seasoned and toasted in a little olive oil, and scattered with micro mustard from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia) white, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2014
• the music was Per Nørgård’s Symphony No. 1

I pretty much hate Xmas, but I can’t help think of that hugely overworked holiday when I look at the picture above.

Sorry.

On the other hand this tuna preparation has become another year-round classic for the 2 of us, although there are subtle variations each time, and it’s one which becomes easier to put together with each outing. The eggplant the accompanying vegetable, is also open to an almost infinite number of possibilities, each of them as simple to prepare as the fish.

• two 7-ounce tuna steaks from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rubbed top and bottom with a mixture of dry Italian fennel seed and a little dried Itria-Sirissi chilis (peperoncino di Sardegna intero) from Buon Italia, which had  been ground together in a mortar-and-pestle, the surfaces of the tuna additionally seasoned with salt, and pepper, the steaks pan-grilled for only a little more than a minute or so on each side, finished with a good squeeze of lemon, scattered with fresh fennel flowers from Rise & Root Farm, and drizzled with a very good olive oil
• one Sicilian (heirloom) eggplant, from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds, brushed with olive oil, chopped garlic form Race Farm, chopped peppermint from Lani’s Farm, salt, and pepper, pan grilled, turning 3 times, removed to a platter, a which time more than a handful of small cherry tomatoes from Stokes Farm were introduced to the hot grill, the tomatoes then shoveled about the ridges until they had softened just a bit, eggplant and tomatoes sprinkled with more chopped mint and brushed with good olive oil, drizzled with a bit of lemon juice and a little olive oil, then put aside to rest for a short while at room temperature while the tuna was grilled
• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia) white, S’elegas Nuragus di Cagliari DOC 2014

• the music was a recording of two wonderful early-1950s radio operas by Hans Werner Henze, ‘Ein Landarzt’ and ‘Das Ende Einer’

[the image at the bottom, of the 21 or 22-year-old Henze, was taken in 1958 by Herbert List, and it’s from Magnum Photos]