emmer reginetti with puntarelle, capers, lemon; melon, lime

It had been a tough day, with both of us at home again, trying to not stress out while a handful of guys were busy both inside the apartment and on the roof garden just outside, installing a split-system AC system [yes!]. Although they were finished and gone by the end of the afternoon, it was late in the evening before I had returned to its place each item that had been moved to accommodate their labors and the size of the boxes they had brought in the day before. There was also a lot of vacuuming and spraying of roof pavers.

At this point the suggestion that we order pizza was made, but I decided I’d prefer to cook, and would actually be up to doing so, something easy, especially something that would incorporate a green we had prized the day before, since there was still some remaining in the crisper, already washed but not dressed.

I was shocked by my ambition, under the circumstances, and Barry even more so, but it really was easy, and it really was delicious.

  • two maturing Rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm and one small whole dried pepperoncino Calabresi secchi, from Buon Italia, heated together inside an antique, high-sided copper pot until the garlic had softened and become pungent, then several handfuls of thinly-sliced puntarelle leaves from Tamarack Hill Farm that had been washed (and ice-water chilled, the day before) were gradually added, while stirring over a low-to-moderate flame, after which 8 ounces of some of Brooklyn’s own pasta, in this case an emmer reginetti, aka, mafaldine (‘little queens’) from Sfoglini Pasta Shop in the Union Square Greenmarket, that had been cooked al dente, were introduced, along with almost 2 tablespoons of Sicilian salted capers from Buon Italia that had first been rinsed thoroughly and dried on a piece of paper towel, and some organic Whole Foods Market lemon juice, before gradually pouring into the pot at least half of a cup of reserved pasta water while stirring, until the sauce was emulsified, the pasta seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, arranged in 2 shallow bowls, a good olive oil drizzled around the circumference, and shavings of some Parmigiano Reggiano Hombre from Whole Foods Market scattered on top
  • the wine was an Italian (Marche) white, Le Salse, Verdicchio di Matelica, 2016, from Flatiron Wines

There was a dessert.

  • segments of an Asian/Korean melon from Norwich Meadows Farm, served with segments of lime from Whole Foods Market and a bit of Maldon Salt

 

marinated grilled swordfish; tomatoes, thyme; puntarelle

The excellent swordfish and the luscious tomatoes were terrific side dishes for the puntarelle, a huge hit with both Barry and myself last night; it was probably the best we’d ever had at home.

 

  • two thick 7.5-ounce swordfish steaks from American Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, halved, marinated for more than half an hour in a mixture of a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a bit of a pungent dried Sicilian oregano, sold still on the stems at Buon Italia, a small amount of crushed, dried pepperoncino Calabresi secchi, also from Buon Italia, about the same bit of a piece of crushed dried golden/orange habanada pepper, and a thinly-sliced section of a small early, scallion-like red onion from Berried Treasures Farm, after which they were drained, covered on both sides with a coating of homemade dried breadcrumbs, pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 4 minutes on each side, or until barely cooked all of the way through, removed, arranged on the plates, seasoned with a little Maldon salt, drizzled with some tomato water that remained from an earlier meal, a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon squeezed on top, sprinkled with a bit of onion that had been preserved, drizzled with a little olive oil, finished with a garnish of micro bronze fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge
  • four ripe heirloom tomatoes, of different colors, sizes and shapes, and from 2 different local fields, those of Norwich Meadows Farm and Eckerton Hill Farm, halved, sprinkled with a small amount of sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, briefly placed inside the grill pan just as the swordfish was being removed, turned over once, then arranged on the plates, drizzled with a little olive oil and garnished with chopped thyme from Campo Rosso Farm
  • only a part of a generous tied bundle of puntarelle from Tamarack Hollow Farm, thoroughly washed, the leaves separated and placed inside a large bowl of ice water, where they were allowed to sit outside the refrigerator for about one hour, while, half an hour later, three quarters of a tablespoon of red wine vinegar was placed inside a small bowl with 2 well-rinsed, finely-chopped large Agostino Recca salted Sicilian anchovies and 2 crushed Rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm, also allowed to rest, for this time for only about half an hour, and also outside the refrigerator, at which time the garlic was removed from the small bowl and the puntarelle was drained and dried (using a kitchen towel), placed inside a large bowl, the vinegar mixture poured over it, the greens seasoned very lightly with sea salt, and one and a half tablespoons of olive oil added, along with freshly-ground black pepper, and then the salad mixed or tossed at the last minute and served [the puntarelle I have always prepared appears to be a leaf-only version of Cicoria Cataglogna, I’ve never seen the form with the juicy edible shoots, or sweet, hollow inner stalks, in our own local greenmarket; there’s more information here]
  • the wine was a  wonderful Spanish (Galicia) white, Valdesil, Godello Sobre Lias, 2015, from Flatiron Wines
  • the music was the album, ‘Ramon Llull: Temps de conquestes, de diàleg i desconhort’, Jordi Savall conducting Hespérion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya

penne, pepquinos, lemon, habanada, fenugreek, micro basil

They may not be cucumbers, and they look like micro watermelon, but they sure taste like cucumbers, albeit slightly sour cucumbers, with an added, and very distinctive, ‘pop’ when bitten into.

  • a simple sauced pasta which began with a couple tablespoons of olive oil inside a high-sided tin-lined copper pot gently heating more than half a pound of halved ‘Mexican gherkins’ (not actually cucumbers, but ‘pepquinos’, or ‘Melothria scabra‘) along with a little crushed dried habanada pepper, after which 8 ounces of an al dente-cooked Setaro Torre Annunziata penne rigatoni were mixed in, and also about half a cup of reserved pasta cooking water, the mix stirred in the pot until the liquid had emulsified, the zest and juice of a Whole Foods organic lemon squeezed added, the pasta seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, placed in 2 shallow bowls, topped with a pinch of fenugreek and garnished with purple micro basil and drizzled with a little olive oil
  • the wine was an Italian (Sicily) white, Valle dell’Acate, Grillo “Zagra”, 2017, from Flatiron Wines
  • the music was the album, ‘Night Of The Mayas – Music Of Silvestre Revueltas’

summer shark, onion/wine sauce; tomato; haricot vert, dill

The fish was brilliant, even more delicious than it had been the first time I reeled it in from the surface of the range, probably because it was cooked more à point this time. I’m not going to think about the cost, although I have to say that it set me back a full $6 [yeah] for the one-pound filet that we shared; that’s less that what 2 filet-o-fish would have cost us, were we of the golden arches persuasion.

Karl Karlin, when he sold the filet to me earlier in the day from his Riverhead, Long Island family‘s stall in the Union Square Greenmarket, prefers to call it ‘summer shark’, which is a name I don’t see on line, where it’s more frequently dubbed, ‘dogfish’, ‘spiny dogfish’, ‘mud shark’, or ‘sand shark’. Sometimes, in Europe, the name it goes by alludes to ‘salmon’, which is a very different creature that bears no relationship to this fish other than color.

I like ‘summer shark’ very much, both the name and the delicacy.

Oh, and it’s as pleasing to look at, both before and after cooking, as it is savoring it once it’s been set on the table.

  • *one ‘summer shark’ fillet weighing one pound from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, brought to room temperature, halved crosswise, dusted with some lightly-seasoned local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, shaking off the excess, sautéed in a little over one tablespoon of olive oil inside a large heavy oval antique copper pan above a high flame for about 5 minutes on each side, or until browned, the heat then turned off while a second pan, a medium size vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot, was heated over a low to moderate flame with another tablespoon of oil before 2 fresh finely-chopped scallions from Lani’s Farm were added and cooked until softened, stirring occasionally, followed by one medium salted and rinsed Italian anchovy, more than a tablespoon of chopped Italian parsley from Keith’s Farm, and a half cup of wine, an Oregon (Williamette Valley) white, Scott Kelley Pinot Gris Willamette 2017, from Naked Wines, the heat increased and the liquid reduced almost completely before a tablespoon of fresh water added, the sauce seasoned with a pinch of both salt and pepper and poured over the top of the fillet halves, the pan heated over a low flame for a minute or two, the fish served on the plates with a sprinkling of purple micro basil from Two Guys from Woodbridge
  • a mix of 2 heirloom tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm and a few small red tomatoes from Alewife Farm, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little bit of fresh thyme from Campo Rosso Farm and marjoram buds from  Stokes Farm, both chopped, grilled briefly on a small enameled cast iron pan, arranged on the plates, where they were drizzled with a little olive oil and scattered with more of the herbs
  • seven ounces of haricots verts from Norwich Meadows Farm, 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 cooking, 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 dill flowers from Alewife Farm
  • the wine was a California (Central Coast/Santa Ynez Valley) white, Rick Boyer Santa Ynez Valley Dry White Blend 2017, from Naked Wines
    by Rick Boyer
  • the music was the album, ‘Aaron Jay Kernis: Colored Field, Still Movement With Hymn

artichoke ravioli, garlic, heirloom tomato, marjoram buds

I had a pound or so of heirloom tomatoes, less than a third of which were super ripe (which is good, when it comes to heirlooms). I was determined to use them in Sunday night’s meal, but the amount wasn’t going to be enough to serve with the pasta I had in mind to prepare. The remaining tomato was pretty big, but I couldn’t include just some of it, so the dish ended up less like a ravioli con tomate and more like a ravioli en brodo.

  • two sliced fresh garlic cloves from Alex’s Tomato Farm and a thinly-sliced section of a stem of a flowering spring shallot from Keith’s Farm heated together in a little olive oil over medium heat inside a large tin-lined high-sided copper pot until the alliums were pungent, and just before that moment part of a dried Habanada pepper, crushed, was introduced into and the pot and stirred for a minute, then several heirloom tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, roughly chopped, and some chopped fresh marjoram flower buds, also from Norwich Meadows Farm, were added to the the mix and stirred a little before a 10-ounce package of Rana artichoke-filled ravioli from Eataly Flatiron that had been boiled for barely 3 minutes before being drained was tossed into the pot, the pasta carefully stirred over medium heat for a while to reduce somewhat what was basically tomato liquid, and served, when ready, inside 2 shallow bowls, additional marjoram buds tossed on top
  • the wine was an Italian (Calabria) white, Scala, Ciro Bianco, 2017, from Flatiron Wines

There was a dessert, basically the one we didn’t get to at dinner the previous evening.

  • a scoop of Talenti Vanilla Bean Gelato from Whole Foods Market dropped into a hollowed-out deseeded core of half of an Asian/Korean melon from Norwich Meadows Farm, some raspberries from Berried Treasures Farm scattered over the top, and finished with some of the berries, mashed with a little turbinado sugar and a splash of Toschi Orzata Orgeat syrup

 

blue eggs, pink bacon, red and green spices, purple basil

I feel like I cheated with this picture. Most of its interest is supplied by the purple micro basil. Although it definitely adds something to the flavor of a dish, it’s the delicate shape, and especially the color, that makes it sing, and demands that it be ‘heard’.

Otherwise this was a fairly routine Sunday breakfast-and-we’re-not-going-to-need-lunch meal.

  • It included Milport Dairy Farm Americauna chicken eggs with blue shells and the same Lancaster County Amish farm’s thick bacon, Maldon Salt, some coarsely-ground black pepper, a bit of a bit of a homemade Basque  piment d’Espellate we purchased in a small town north of Baie-Comeau, Quebec from the French producer’s daughter, a pinch or two of fenugreek dried fenugreek from Bombay Emerald Chutney Company that I had purchased at the Saturday Chelsea Farmers Market, thinly-sliced pieces from the stem of a flowering spring shallot from Keith’s Farm that were heated in a little olive oil until they were softened, softly-toasted slices of 2 different ‘second-or-third-day’ breads, She Wolf Bakery’s Toasted Sesame Wheat, and a polenta boule from Bread Alone
  • it was a beautiful morning early afternoon, the breakfast room windows were open, and the music was the album, ‘Afternoon Ragas Rotterdam 1970‘, with Nikhil Banerjee, sitar, and Kanai Dutta, tabla (it was so rich that it occasionally sounded like a larger ensemble)

culotte; grilled eggplant, marjoram; tomatoes, micro basil

Late this past Friday we had invited a visitor from far outside New York, who was only going to be here for another week, to join us for dinner the next evening. I calculated that I had enough vegetables, and fruit, for 3, but the next day I would have to go down the street to Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market, only one block east of us, to pick up a fish entrée. When I arrived there I found that the fishers’ stall wasn’t there.

The storm of the day before may have kept the boats in the harbor on the east end of Long Island, I surmised.

Although there would be 3 fish stalls at the Union Square Greenmarket, and that market was less than a mile away, I didn’t want to hazard it on a Saturday. I rarely do go on that day anymore, even though it’s when there are the largest number of farmer, baker, and fisher stalls. It’s also when there are the largest number of shoppers  – and numbers of dawdling tourists, many holding hands and generally slowing down the serious cooks, as they do in our neighborhood Chelsea Market.

When I do go on a Saturday, it’s often to show my happy place to friends visiting from out of town, or out of country, which means I become a part of the problem I’m complaining about (although I swear I don’t hold any hands).

The little dinner party was rescued by the presence in the 23rd Street market of one of my favorite meat purveyors, Sun Fed Beef, whom I had asked to set aside enough of a certain favorite cut of steak for 2, frozen, which I would use on some day in the future. I was to pick it up that afternoon, and when I got there I asked for an additional piece, to be sure there would be enough for 3. Fortunately Gabe had a small reserve.

I was saved from the happy mobs, and dinner was going to happen.

The sit-down meal began with a simple vegetable first course (it would probably have been some form of charcuterie had the entrée not been switched from seafood to meat).

  • some very small yellow summer squash from Willow Wisp Farm, washed, dried, halved lengthwise, tossed with a little olive oil, sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged, uncrowded on a well-seasoned 2-burner cast iron grill above two fairly high flames, cooked until softened and slightly charred, turning once, arranged on the plates, scattered with torn leaves of some Gotham Greens Rooftop packaged basil from Whole Foods Market, drizzled with a little olive oil, served at room temperature
  • slices of a polenta boule from Bread Alone Bakery, in the Union Square Greenmarket
  • the wine was an Oregon (Williamette Valley) white, Scott Kelley Pinot Gris Willamette 2017, from Naked Wines

The light appetizer didn’t even begin to hint at the rich flavors that were to follow with the main course.

  • three culotte steaks (called ‘culotte’ here, ‘coulotte’ in France, ‘picanha’ in Brazil), totaling almost 28 ounces, from Gabe, of Sun Fed Beef (Maple Avenue Farms) in the farm’s stall at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market, brought to room temperature, weighing a little over 9 ounces each, seasoned on all sides with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, seared briefly on the top, or thick, fat-covered side inside an oval enameled heavy cast iron pan, the 2 long sides cooked for 3 or 4 minutes each, then the ends and the narrow bottom side seared, each very briefly, the steaks removed from the pan, at the moment they had become perfectly medium-rare, drizzled with some tomato water that remained from an earlier meal and scattered with a bit of the stem of a flowering spring shallot from Keith’s Farm, sliced thinly and heated in a little olive oil until softened, then some chopped summer savory from Alewife Farm, finished with a drizzle of Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, and allowed to rest for about 4 minutes
  • small Japanese eggplants from Alewife Farm, each cut in half lengthwise and brushed with a mixture of olive oil, finely-chopped maturing Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm, chopped fresh spicy oregano from Windfall Farms, plus some very pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, sea, sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, the eggplant pan-grilled, turning once, arranged on the plates, sprinkled with roughly chopped marjoram blossoms from Stokes Farm, and drizzled with a little olive oil, served more or less at room temperature

  • a couple handfuls of small mixed-colored tomatoes, each punctured with a trussing needle, and several slightly larger plum-shaped green tomatoes, sliced into 3 sections, all from Alewife Farm, thrown onto the hot grill pan after the eggplant had been removed, rolled about a little until they had softened just a bit and taken on a smoky flavor, removed to a vintage medium size Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot with a little olive oil, reheated over a gentle flame after the steak had been cooked
  • the wines were two Spanish (Rioja) reds, Pecina, Rioja Crianza, 2013, from Flatiron Wines,
  • and CVNE (Cune), Rioja Crianza “Vina Real”, 2014, both from Flatiron Wines (the second survived well into the next course)

There was a small cheese course, which I neglected to photograph.

  • basically, little more than samples of a water buffalo brie from Riverine Ranch in the Union Square Greenmarket, and a goat milk cheese, ‘Manchester’, from Consider Bardwell Farm, served with tiny mounds of cut marjoram blossoms from Stokes Farm and chopped summer savory from Alewife Farm (plus pinches of crushed golden dried habanada pepper, because our guest wanted to know what it tasted like, and I hadn’t cooked with it that night)
  • a bit of rich unsalted Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ from Whole Foods Market and thin toasts of days-old She Wolf Bakery ‘Toasted Sesame Wheat Bread’

There would have been a sweet course, with input from a Korean melon, vanilla bean gelato, and fresh local raspberries, but we just ran out of time.

 

inguazato; garlic/habanada-sautéed fennel, micro scallion

It’s not the best image I’ve captured of this terrific dish, which has appeared on this blog often, but it was nearly midnight when I finally set the plate on the table, and we had been enjoying a certain amount of sparkling wine with some great friends over the previous few hours.

I wasn’t even going to bother publishing the meal this time, but the canned San Marzano tomatoes I used turned out to be the best I’ve ever come across, and I wanted to document them.

  • two 8-ounce monkfish tails from Pura Vida Seafood, prepared using a David Pasternak recipe, but  reducing the proportions, using two thirds of a cup of Tunisian M’hamsa Couscous and 2 tablspoons of Portuguese olive oil, both from Whole Foods in Chelsea, 2 sliced cloves of maturing Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm, one and a half 400-gram cans of fantastically-rich and-tasty Italian Gustarosso canned pomodoro San Marzano delle Agro Sarnese-Nocerino from Eataly Flatiron (by the way, for some dishes, there is nothing like very good canned tomatoes, at any time of the year), some cracked green olives, from the Chelsea Whole Foods Market, and 2 small whole dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia

  • two medium spring fennel bulbs from Alewife Farm, washed, the stems removed, trimmed of their fronds (the finest of which were set aside), cut into wedges, sautéed for a few minutes in a little olive oil inside a very wide seasoned cast iron pan over medium high heat, adding, after the vegetable had begun to color, a little more of the ‘maturing garlic’, roughly-chopped, and a bit of dried golden habanada pepper, the heat lowered and the pan covered, cooked for another 10 minutes or so, the fronds, now chopped, tossed in and mixed with the fennel, arranged on the plates and garnished with micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge
  • the wine was an Italian (Marche) white, Le Salse, Verdicchio di Matelica, 2016, from Flatiron Wines

insalata caprese; scallops, tomato butter; tomatoes; greens

Even as I was assembling them in my mind, I knew that both courses would seem to be as much about tomatoes as anything else, especially since tomatoes also found their way [almost] invisibly, onto the scallops as well.

At least I used a different kind of tomato in each of their 3 appearances.

The first course was an insalata Caprese, which, as I’ve written before always takes longer to assemble than I remember it does, but its so easy, and relaxing, perhaps a little like meditating, although I have almost no experience in that area.

These tomatoes were stars.

  • three ripe heirloom tomatoes from Alewife Farm, sliced arranged on 2 plates, alternating with slices of some very fresh local water buffalo mozzarella from Riverine Ranch in the Union Square Greenmarket and leaves of fresh local (Brooklyn!) basil, ‘Gotham Greens Rooftop’, from Whole Foods, the spread sprinkled with Maldon salt and coarsely-ground black pepper, drizzled with a great Campania olive oil (Lamparelli O.R.O.)
  • slices of ‘bambino sesamo’ from Grandaisy Bakery

The main course included a few quite small tomatoes, mostly as a token, to please the camera, which loves color, but, honestly, also to indulge our taste for tomatoes; they were so extraordinarily delicious, that I wished I had added a few more. The third appearance of these nightshades (I love that name) was in the ‘tomato water’ with which I finished the scallops in lieu of the usual lemon juice.

  • ten medium-large Hamptons Bay sea scallops (16 ounces altogether) from American Seafood Company, washed, drained and very thoroughly dried on paper towels (twice), generously seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, pan grilled for about 90 seconds on each side, finished with some tomato water that remained from an earlier meal, and some of the Lamparelli Campania olive oil, arranged on 2 plates and sprinkled with fresh dill flowers from Alewife Farm
  • eight small red and yellow tomatoes from Alewife Farm heated in a little olive oil inside a small vintage pyrex pan, a bit of sliced spring shallot stem added near the beginning, seasoned with salt and pepper
  • the fresh greens from 2 bunches of ‘French Breakfast’ radishes from Willow Wisp Farm, wilted in olive oil in which 3 fresh halved garlic cloves had been allowed to sweat in a little olive oil for a bit, the greens seasoned with salt, pepper and a bit more olive oil

 

marinated baby squid, baby corn, savory; baby cukes, dill

They really were all ‘baby’ things, as I tweeted last night, baby squid, baby corn, and baby cucumbers (even if only the corn had been labelled as such), and all of them came from the Union Square Greenmarket. It certainly wasn’t something I had been after; it just happened, but fortunately, as I added then, it was all good, very good.

The corn was the only real surprise, since, before I shucked the little ones, the cobs had looked like they would be somewhat larger. Had I known the size while still at the stand, I would probably have bought more, but the plate proportions did end up just about right.

  • a full pound of cleaned baby squid, bodies and tentacles, from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, marinated for about 45 minutes (the first 25 or so in the refrigerator) inside a bowl containing a mixture of the zest and juice of most of one Whole Foods Market lemon, one clove of fresh minced fresh garlic head from Alex’s Tomato Farm, almost 2 tablespoons of Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, a third of a teaspoon of super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, removed from the marinade, drained, pan-grilled briefly (virtually a matter of seconds, for the smaller pieces) on top of a seasoned cast iron double grill pan that had been allowed to get very hot on top of 2 burners and high flames, arranged on 2 plates, sprinkled with a bit of juice from the same lemon used in the marinade, scattered with chopped parsley from Keith’s Farm, finished with a drizzle of olive oil

  • ten ears of baby bicolor corn from Alewife Farm, shucked, sautéed inside a heavy medium antique copper pot, in which a little butter and a little less olive oil had been heated until fairly hot, sprinkled with Maldon salt, black pepper, and a bit of crushed dried habanada pepper, finished with fresh summer savory from Alewife Farm