Two seafood courses are a little unusual for us, but these were for cause. My fish dealer suggested I get something extra to go with the tuna steak I had just picked out, and, forgetting that a little tuna goes a long way, I yielded. I didn’t want to put them together, and when I remembered that I had some very good watercress in the crisper and also some decent bread, I knew I had the makings of a first course.

• four small-to-medium scallops from Pura Vida Fisheries, washed, drained and very thoroughly dried on paper towels (twice), generously seasoned with salt and pepper, pan grilled for about 90 seconds on each side, finished with a squeeze of a local Lisbon lemon juice from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, and a drizzle of good olive oil, then scattered with some sumac I had acquired that day for the first time ever, from Berried Treasures
• the last of a bunch of watercress from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, washed, dried in a rolled kitchen towel, and dressed with good olive oil, and juice from the same Lisbon lemon, salt, and pepper
• slices of a small baguette from Whole Foods

 

I then ‘gilded’ my favorite tuna recipe with some of the seductive vetch which remained in the refrigerator even after having already been a part of several meals. Because we had gotten home so late from Jersey City after a brilliant gallery show opening, and the thick asparagus I had brought home from the Greenmarket that afternoon would take some time and attention to prepare, and because I had half a dozen maturing potatoes of a certain delicious strain, I decided to accompany the fish with the tubers and a couple other spring elements, fresh scallion-like shallots and lovage.

 

• one 13-ounce tuna steak from Pura Vida Fisheries, halved, the tops an bottoms rubbed with a mix of a generous amount of dry fennel seed and one crushed medium dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, ground together, additionally seasoned with salt and pepper, then pan-grilled (a little longer than I would normally wish, which would be only a little more than a minute and a half on each side), finished with a good squeeze of a Lemon grown locally by Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, and a drizzle of good olive oil [the recipe is from Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, found in ‘Italian Easy’; Recipes from the London River Cafe‘]
• red thumb potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, boiled in salted water until tender, drained, dried in the same pot in which they had cooked, a little olive oil poured in, the pan returned to the heat and the whole stirred with some chopped spring shallots (looking like scallions, but with a little rouge blush) from Lani’s Farm, divided onto the plates, finished with lovage from WIndfall Farms, and garnished with some chopped shallot leaves
• the wine was an Austrian (Wagram) rosé, Fritsch Rosé Zweigelt vom Donaulöss 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was the first two of the six CDs which make up the set, ‘Between Noise and Silence‘, collected works and tributes, in memoriam Steven M. Miller, from Innova Recordings

What to say about this simple assemblage? It was improvised, and almost anyone could have put it together. There was however, one exceptional ingredient, and it made the dish itself exceptional.

I was in Chelsea Market yesterday, browsing the platforms and shelves of Buon Italia, one of my favorite food shops anywhere. Counterintuitively, inside this emporium of Italian cookery I had actually been looking, with no success, for mace, preferably whole blade mace (it sounds like I know what I’m talking about, but that’s not altogether true).

Then I spotted it. The small plastic container was one of about a dozen arranged on a shelf some distance from all of the other dry herbs and spices, and the label read, in part, “Organic Wild Fennel Flowers”. I live in Manhattan, which would seem to make it as likely as also impossible to come across it; in any event, I had never expected to be able include this almost legendary ingredient in my modest home larder.

It was pretty pricey, but I bought one.

I think it’s going to change my life.

But first of all, I want to correct the misconception that this very precious herb can be described as fennel flowers. What I brought home, in spite of the print on the label, is fennel pollen, hand-collected in Italy from common wild fennel.  Second, I’m putting myself on notice right now, in the range of anyone able to read this post, that I will resist the temptation going forward of incorporating a pinch in every dish I put together.

• eight ounces of Afeltra spaghetti chitarra, cooked al dente, mixed with a quickly-prepared sauce composed of a little olive oil, 3 bruised garlic cloves from Trader Joe’s, one whole dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, 4 or 5 ramps from Lucky Dog Organic Farm (the roughly-chopped bulbs tossed in first, the leaves, sliced lengthwise, following later), 8 halved Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, chopped fresh peppermint from Lani’s Farm, and a pinch or two of dry organic wild fennel pollen from Buon Italia, both during the cooking and as a ‘topping’ once the pasta had been divided into shallow bowls
• the wine was an Italian (Alba) white, Vigneto Masera Stefano Massone Gavi 2014
• the music was the entire album, ‘Yarn​/​Wire​/​Currents Vol. 1‘, which was one of 3 we purchased tonight after that awesome ensemble‘s magnificent performance of Michael Gordon’s ‘Material’ at Miller Theatre

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!

With the distractions of so many time-sensitive art events this week, the contents of the icebox and the larder have both shrunk dramatically: I haven’t been to the markets, so I’ve found myself improvising more than I usually would.

Thursday night’s meal was grounded in an excellent steak which, anticipating a late return home, I had defrosted the night before. For vegetables, I did have some ramps, more than enough large cherry tomatoes for the two of us, and some arugula which I had bought with the idea of having it accompany a first course of a fine salume. In the end the tomatoes and the arugula got the nod; the ramps were reserved for another day.

• thirteen and a half ounces of grass-fed New York Strip Steak from Milport Dairy, dried, pan-grilled to medium rare, drizzled with some local Lisbon lemon from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island (yeah, David’s citrus is still hanging on), sprinkled with lovage from Windfall Farms, and drizzled with a little olive oil
• eight Maine cherry ‘cocktail’ tomatoes from Whole Foods, slow-roasted with a generous amount of dried Italian oregano from Buon Italia, olive oil, and two halved organic garlic cloves from Trader Joe’s
• one bunch of arugula from Gorzynski Ornery Farm, washed, drained, dressed with Casa Gola olive oil, Maldon salt, freshly-ground Telicherry pepper, and more local Lisbon lemon
• the wine was a California (Amador) red, S & A Portuguese-style red wine Amador County 2013, made with Touriga Nacional and Tinto Roriz (aka Tempranillo) grapes
• the music was from the Phillip Glass’ album, ‘Glass Piano; Bruce Brubaker’

A package of a good frozen filled pasta is a lifesaver when there’s little time – and maybe even less energy – for putting together a dinner after returning home late in the evening [this time, after a lovely pop-up art fair on an island between the Harlem River and the a tidal strait of the East RIver]. The only other things necessary for an elegant small meal might be butter or olive oil and an herb, but there’s almost something else hanging around the kitchen that would make the dish unique.

This time, for me, the trigger was the small bundle of ramps which I had stashed at the bottom of the refrigerator, and the improvising went on from there.

• twelve ounces of Rana cheese tortoloni ‘delicata’ boiled briefly in a large pot of salted water, some of which was reserved before the pasta was drained, tossed with a sauce composed of a few tiny garlic cloves from Whole Foods allowed to sweat in a little olive oil, joined by part of one sliced Serrano pepper from Whole Foods and the bulb sections of half a dozen ramps from Berried Treasures, which were sautéed until soft, the ramp stems added and pushed around the pan, and then 5 halved Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, stirred until beginning to break up, the ramp leaves introduced into the mix and quickly wilted, several tablespoons of the reserved pasta water added while the sauce was stirred, the pasta and sauce seasoned with a little salt and some freshly-ground pepper, divided into two shallow bowls, sprinkled with both chopped lovage from Windfall Farms and the last of my supply of micro beets from Two Guys from Woodbridge (they had survived undiminished for 10 days!), and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Karen Birmingham 2015 Pinot Grigio
• the music was Kalevi Aho’s Clarinet Quintet 

I’ve become very fond of Sfoglini pasta, for the quality, the variety of its forms and ingredients, its seasonal products, their local origin, and of course the beautiful coarse (and functional) texture of the dry product’s surfaces, as seen above in the picture of their ‘Rye Trumpets’ (a shape the Italians called ‘campanelle’ [or bells, suggesting these], which I prepared on Tuesday evening).

The night was cool, and a little damp. I hadn’t planned anything in particular for dinner, but something earthy seemed it order. Also, we had just come from a visit to Collective Design, so naturally even before getting home I was already thinking of the several different Sfoglini pasta designs and ‘flavors’ sitting in the larder.

Note: The great Italian car designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, is responsible for one of the most intriguing and aesthetically pleasing pasta designs of our time, his 1983 Voiello Marille.

While we didn’t have any marille on hand, we did have Sfoglini’s ‘organic rye blend trumpets’. I love anything rye, and while trying to come up with a sauce, the rye reference made me think of German-isch lands. I then remembered that I had a modest amount of something sympathetic to rye in our crisper, a kernel of a red cabbage, probably enough to make something to mix with the pasta. It was a remnant from the preparations for a meal almost 3 weeks back (I love that brassica for its toughness almost as much as for its taste).

Altogether it sounded like it was going to be a northern Italian treat, so we pulled out a familiar and very good Pinot Grigio from the wine rack and quickly chilled it.

• eight ounces of dry Sfoglini rye blend trumpet pasta, cooked al dente in a large pot of salted water, some of the water reserved near the end before it was drained, added to a large enameled cast iron pot in which earlier one thinly-sliced red onion from Norwich Meadows Farm had been softened in a couple tablespoons of ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘, to be followed by 3 small minced garlic cloves from Whole Foods, stirred until fragrant, 3 or 4 rosemary branches from Stokes Farm tossed in and heated for a minute or so, more butter added at that point, followed by about half a pound of cored and thinly-sliced red cabbage from Eataly, stirred well and cooked, covered, for about 15-20 minutes, or until tender, near the end of the cooking a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar poured in, followed by a handful of chopped green sections of fresh garlic from Bodhitree Farm, everything stirred again, the pasta now added to the cabbage, and some of the reserved water introduced to the mix in stages and stirred above a low flame to keep it moist, served with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese from Whole Foods sprinkled on top
• the wine was an excellent Italian (Alto Adige/Südtirol) white, St. Michael-Eppan Pinot Grigio 2014 [the link is to a 2013 vintage on a 67wine.com page, the people from whom we had bought this wine in years before], purchased from Philippe Liquors, making this super Germanic Pinot Gris almost ‘locavore’
• the music was Symphony No 8, Op. 81 “Autumnal Fragments”, by Aulis Sallinen