I’m developing an obsession with fenugreek.

After our experience with it on eggs this morning (afternoon), it will be difficult for me to keep it away from our late Sunday breakfasts.

It’s not as if there were no other seasonings involved, but the fenugreek I purchased from Nirmala Gupta’s ‘Bombay Emerald Chutney Company‘ at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street is what I remember this time.

• the elements of the meal were eggs and thick bacon from Millport Dairy Farm, toasts from 3 different breads, second-day, or older (that is, a Balthazar baguette, an Orwasher’s multigrain, and a multigrain and seeded Bread Alone loaf), a bit of the green section from a Japanese scallion from Norwich Meadows Farm, tiny pieces of a medium hot Calabrian cherry pepper from Alewife Farm, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’, and bronze micro fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the music was the 1656-1657 ‘Missa Azzolina’ of Orazio Benevolo (or Benevoli), performed by Le Concert Spirituel directed by Hervé Niquet [more on the piece here]

I wasn’t able to get to the Union Square Greenmarket today, but I was still able to get some fresh fish for the evening, because of Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street.

• four red sea perch fillets (totaling 15 ounces) from American Pride Seafood Company, their stall in Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, brushed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil mixed with more than a teaspoon of a combination of chopped rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm and thinly-sliced Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm, the fish seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, placed inside an enameled cast iron pan and broiled skin side up, 4 or 5 inches from the flames, for about 5 minutes, or when the skin had become crisp and the fish cooked through, sauced with a bit of olive oil in which 2 salted anchovies from Buon Italia, rinsed and filleted, had been heated over a very low flame for about 5 minutes until the anchovies had fallen apart, kept warm while the fillets were broiled, finished on the plates with chopped oregano from Stokes Farm, organic Whole Foods Market lemon wedges served on the side
• purple mustard greens from Paffenroth Farms, wilted for only about 10 to 15 seconds in a little live oil in which one clove of sliced rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm had been allowed to sweat, a small amount of a Calabrian medium hot cherry pepper from Alewife Farm added after the greens had wilted, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, finished on the plates with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a Portugese (Alenejo) white, Esporão Reserva White 2015, from Manley’s Wine & Spirits, 35 8th Avenue
• the music was William Duckworth’s ‘The Time Curve Preludes’

Dolphin.

I love this fish, for its beauty almost as much as its tastiness. This time I was able to see, and photograph, a little bit of the former while it stay lay in the fish monger’s bucket in the Union Square Greenmarket.

• one fairly thick Atlantic dolphin fillet (17 ounces) – with skin! – from Pure Vida Seafood, washed, dried, halved crosswise, rubbed with olive oil on both sides, coated with a mix of one half tablespoon of organic lemon zest from Whole Foods Market, an equal amount of lemon juice, sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, then allowed to sit for about half an hour (at first inside the refrigerator, but removed early enough to come to room temperature) while the accompanying vegetable, a corn-husk cherry-tomato-salsa, was assembled, then pan grilled over a medium to high flame, skin side up, for almost 2 1/2 minutes, turned, and grilled with the flesh side up for almost 4 1/2 minutes longer, the fillets arranged on 2 plates, drizzled with a little more lemon juice, scattered with fennel blossom buds, a bit of olive oil poured over the top
• two ears of organic white sweet corn (‘Sugarbuns’) from Alewife Farm, husked, coated with olive oil, rubbed with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, pan-grilled, the kernels cut from the cobs and mixed inside a bowl with a couple handfuls of husked ground cherries from Tamarack Hollow Farm; one red heirloom tomato from Berried Treasures; 2 small Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced; part of a fresh medium hot Calabrian cherry pepper from Alewife Farm; 2 tablespoons of torn basil from a living Stokes Farm plant, tossed with a vinaigrette made with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of half of a small organic Whole Foods Market lemon, the zest from that half lemon, salt and pepper, and, finally, a bit of fenugreek powder from Nirmala Gupta’s ‘Bombay Emerald Chutney Company‘ at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street

Most of the vegetables and the one fresh herb are lined up below.

• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Terredora Falanghina 2016, from Garnet Wines & Liquors
• the music was Beethoven, Piano Concertos Nos. 1and 2, Bruno Weil directing the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra from the fortepiano

..and also a bit of peperoncini.

I think I’ve come to prefer chevre over mozzarella as an accompaniment to the best tomatoes, especially when the cheese is as good as that produced by Ardith Mae.

For the purposes of this meal at least, which, even without buffalo mozzarella (we have buffalo pasta instead), is more Italian than French, I’m going to call this fresh cheese ‘caprino’.

• slices of 3 different colored heirloom tomatoes from Berried Treasures Farm, served with an Ardith Mae chevre (or, humor me here: ‘caprino‘), Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper, some torn basil leaves that had been pulled off of a live plant from Stokes Farm, both tomatoes and cheese drizzled with an excellent olive oil, Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto’ from Eataly
• slices from a loaf of Orwasher’s Multigrain bread

I just noticed that the main course was as vegetarian as the first one. In fact, this pasta dish was almost vegan.

• Japanese cucumbers [It. cetriolo], about a pound, from Berried Treasures Farm, sliced about 1/2″ thick, dried, sautéed inside a very large cast iron pan in a little olive oil over a fairly high flame until they had begun to color, then joined by 2 whole small dried red Calabrian peppers from Alewife Farm and 2 chopped red scallions [It. Scalogno] from Rise & Root Farm, and cooked until softened, tossed with some fennel [It. finocchio] buds from Berried Treasures, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black peppers, after which 8 ounces of Sfoglini’s Riverine Ranch water buffalo milk pasta, cooked al dente, and some of the reserved pasta water were added to the vegetables, stirred over a low-to-moderate flame for a couple of minutes to blend the flavors and the ingredients, transferred to shallow bowls, finished with a drizzle of olive oil and some homemade breadcrumbs scattered on top, micro bronze fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge sprinkled over all
• the wine was an Italian (Veneto) rosé, Bardolino Chiaretto Corte Gardoni 2016, from Eataly Vino
• the music was Johann Wilhelm Hässler’s ‘360 Preludes in All Major and Minor Keys’, performed by Vitlaus von Horn [much more information about the composer here]

It looks as good as it tasted. Mackerel is a super fish, and if the recipe chosen works with its singular qualities, there’s almost nothing better. This recipe is one of my favorites, and in fact so favorited that it’s almost my only one.

And the fillets looked great throughout, from the moment I spied them inside the fisher’s bucket in the Union Square Greenmarket until they arrived on the table.

I’m writing this the next day, and I can smell the heavenly aromas, fish and char, as I revisit them in these pictures.

And look at those lines!

• six Spanish mackerel fillets (a total of about 15 ounces) from Blue Moon Fish, washed, dried, brushed with olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, pan grilled over high heat for 6 or 7 minutes, skin side down first, turned half way through, removed and completed on the plates with a salsa consisting of 7 ounces of gorgeous cherry tomatoes in various colors and sizes from Alewife Farm, halved,  tossed with olive oil, a teaspoon or more of Sicilian salted capers (first rinsed and drained), much of one small red Calabrian chili pepper, half a tablespoon of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a bit of spicy liquid, now slightly-fermented, that remained from a salsa prepared for the meal the night before
• haricots verts from Sycamore Farms, left whole, blanched, drained and dried in the same pan over low-medium heat, shaking, then set aside in a bowl until the fish was ready to be grilled , at which time they were reheated in a little oil inside a heavy well-seasoned cast iron pan, finished with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and mixed with fennel buds from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm
• the wine was a French (Côtes de Provence) rosé, Rosé Chateau des Muraires Seduction 2015, from Garnet Wines
• the music was Mark Anfre’s ‘…auf…’, Sylvain Cambreling conducting the SWR Baden-Baden and the Freiburg Symphony Orchestra