This was one of the most beautiful pieces of salmon I had ever seen in my kitchen, and tonight I believe we were able to honor this noble fish as one of the most perfect salmon entrées I have ever enjoyed.  The simple, excellent recipe is from Mark Bittman, and it was published in the Times over three years ago.  The roasted sweet potato recipe (which includes only the tubers, olive oil, salt, paprika) is of the most extreme simplicity, and totally inspired.  The greens (peppery radish leaves) are something normally discarded as soon as they arrive in the kitchen, but they are among my favorites.

 

• a fillet of wild Sockeye salmon (previously frozen) from Whole Foods (and very attractively priced today), which I first skinned, then seasoned with salt and pepper, rubbed with a mixture of ground coriander seeds, ground cloves, ground cumin, and grated nutmeg, fried over medium-high heat in an enameled, cast iron pan for about 3 minutes on each side, removed from the pan, and, while allowed to rest for a couple minutes, covered with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a bit of olive oil (it was as delicious as it looks here – maybe even more so)
• Japanese sweet potatoes from from Norwich Meadows Farm, scrubbed and cut into large chunks, tossed in a bowl with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then spread onto a trusty, well-seasoned Pampered Chef ceramic oven pan and roasted for about 45 minutes (ending up slightly crispy on the outside, almost creamy on the inside)
• radish greens from Norwich Meadows Farm, wilted with olive oil in which a halved garlic clove from Norwich Meadows Farm had been allowed to sweat for a bit, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a bit more olive oil
• the wine was a fine California red, Chalone Vineyard Monterey County 2012 Pinot Noir

***

 

This entrée really was veal, and it  tasted nothing like monkfish.

• a veal shoulder chop from Consider Bardwell Farm, rubbed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, left to rest for more than half an hour before searing for about a minute and a half on each side, removed from the pan, coated on top with crushed garlic from Berried Treasures, returned to the pan and roasted at 375º for about 8 minutes, turned once, removed and left standing, for five minutes or so this time, deboned, then placed on a bed of very-slightly-wilted arugula from Migliorelli Farm, drizzled with the pan juices (if any), lemon juice, and olive oil, and sprinkled with chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• tiny varicolored bell peppers from Norwich Meadows Farm, each halved or quartered and sautéed over high heat until slightly caramelized, finished with torn basil leaves from Full BloomMarket Garden (South Deerfield, Massachusetts) from Whole Foods, and a splash of balsamic vinegar

• the wine was a medium Sicilian red, Branciforti Nerello Mascalese 2011

These chops have become a classic in our kitchen, and the cannellini beans are now on their way toward the same status.

• lamb chops from 3_Corner Field Farm, pan-grilled and finished with lemon juice, olive oil, and chopped thyme from Stokes Farm
• fresh cannellini beans from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, rinsed and podded, placed in a saucepan under two inches of water along with sage from Phillips Farm and a fresh bay leaf from West Side Market, slowly heated for about 25 minutes, then left standing for a while, the beans later removed from the liquid and added to a mixture of sautéed shallots from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm and some roughly-chopped heirloom tomatoes from Central Valley Farm, finished with lemon juice, and parsley from Paffenroth Gardens
• the wine was a California red, Joel Gott Zinfandel 2012

This meal included a number of elements, at least four food groups, and two major courses, but it still managed to retain a reasonable simplicity, while more than satisfying our appetites, and providing an excellent excuse for enjoying a delightful wine.

The first course:

• ‘Pancetta Americana’ made by La Quercia, from Eataly, drizzled with some very good olive oil, with Lamparelli, from Buon Italia
• arugula from Migliorelli Farm, tossed with a bit of radicchio (which we brought home from Beacon Pantry, a wonderful shop in Beacon, NY) and drizzled with the same good oil, and sprinkled with white balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper
• slices of ‘Rustico Classico” from Eataly

 

The second course:

• squid from PE & DD, toasted in a large enameled cast iron oiled pan with dried wild Italian oregano, chiles and salt, drizzled with lemon and olive oil, then roasted for only a few minutes
• white beet greens from Norwich Meadows Farm, wilted with juicy garlic halves, from Berried Treasures, which had been been able to sweat in olive oil, then seasoned with salt, and pepper
• the wine for both courses was an Italian white, Centassi Grillo Terre Siciliane I.G.T. Rocce di Pietra Longa 2012

Monkfish is often described as resembling lobster, both in its flavor and in its texture, but in this very simple treatment, outlined by Mark Bittman a while back, which I tried for the first time last week, the resemblance was closer to a juicy cut of veal.  I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I’m likely to use the recipe again, perhaps switching to a paprika dulce instead of the picante I used this time.

• monkfish fillet from Blue Moon Fish, coated with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and pimenton, brushed with dijon mustard, placed in an enameled cast iron pan which had been brushed with olive oil and heated on top of the stove, placed in a 475º oven for about 15 minutes (the time would of course vary with the size of the fillets)
• young broccoli rabe (aka rapi, broccoli raab, cime di rapa, rapini; friarielli, broccoli di rapa, or broccoletti) from Keith’s Farm, wilted along with garlic halves, from Berried Treasures, which had been left to sweat in olive oil, then seasoned with salt, and pepper
• Maine cherry tomatoes of Backyard Farms, from Whole Foods, slow roasted with halves of garlic, olive oil, and dried wild Italian oregano
• the wine was a German white, a Mosel, Später-Veit Pinot Blanc Trocken 2012 (piesport)

This one spoke Spanish, but I was told by the fishmonger that I might expect to find him offering the kind that drops its r’s some time in the near future.

• Spanish mackerel from Pura Vida Fisheries, fried, removed from the pan, some butter then melted in the same pan, a large amount of sorrel from Campo Rosso Farm added when the butter was frothing, and the herb wilted and the pan removed from the heat, cooled a bit, the yoke of one egg from Norwich Meadows Farm beaten into the mixture which was then finished with salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of double cream
• small Gold Nugget potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, boiled, then finished with salt, pepper, butter, and chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was a Spanish white, DAC branco Dão 2012

I took advantage of the fact that weather lately has been cooler than normal, so this entrée looks very much like winter, or at least like the more mature weeks of autumn, but I’m still expecting some more mild evenings, and meals which will reflect the gentler side of the season.

• duck breast (Pat laFrieda, from Eataly), brushed with salt, pepper, and a bit of sugar, allowed to rest for at least a half hour before being pan-fried, finished with a squeeze of lemon, some chopped rosemary from Queens County Farm, and a dribble of olive oil
• white beets from Norwich Meadows Farm, braised with butter and chopped red onion, finished with mint from Phillips Farm
• Brussels sprouts from S.S. & O. Farm, tossed with salt, pepper, and some olive oil, then roasted in a 400º oven for twenty minutes or so
• the wine was a luscious Bordeaux, Chateau d’Arcins Haut-Medoc Cru Bourgeois 2012 from Astor wines

We’re up the Hudson this week, many miles from our home, and even further from the natural home of these dazzling Boston mackerel.  I’m very very fond of mackerel, but I’m not really cooking while we are away. That doesn’t mean however that I can’t look. The fillets pictured above were being offered by Pura Vida Fisheries when we visited the completely  charming Cold Spring Farmers’ Market in the crisp air of this first day of November.   They showed themselves magnificent in soft sunlight under tall trees on the beautiful grounds of Boscobel.  If I couldn’t take them home myself, I thought, I could at least broadcast their beauty.

I hope the dainty morsels were appreciated by a proper shopper.

It wasn’t only the fish that were performing in the Hudson Valley this afternoon.  The fish seller also had a container of other, larger and only slightly-less spectacular mackerel fillets. When I asked about their identity, he explained, “That one speaks Spanish, and this one speaks English”.

Damn if it isn’t a match made in heaven: Lamb and turnips (remembering Julia Child’s pairing, but here each prepared in a very simple form), along with the sweet-sour accompaniment of red-stem card stems, simply sautéed or braised.

• loin lamb chops from 3-Corner Field Farm, pan-grilled, then topped with a lovage salsa verde (capers, garlic, mustard, sherry vinegar, lovage, parsley, arugula, salt, pepper, and oil – the recipe from Skye Gyngell)
• young purple-top turnips from Norwich Meadows Farm, cut into half-inch pieces, tossed with oil, rosemary from Norwich Meadows Farm, salt, and pepper
• the stems of red-stem chard from Norwich Meadows Farm (the ‘green’ leaves having been enjoyed in an earlier meal), sautéed in oil, with a bit of garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, briefly covered so that the water clinging to the stems providing a braising liquid which was then boiled off when the pot was uncovered, finished with salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil for additional seasoning
• the wine was a Spanish red, Barahonda Barrrica Monastrell Syrah 2011

There were four people around the table tonight in the gallery two steps above the living room.  The light available was a little dimmer even than that of the already somewhat underlit breakfast room where we normally sit.  These two pictures are therefore even less crisp than most of those that appear here, but I think that they still give some indication of how delicious these rather minimal courses actually were, even if I did forget to include the 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream in the pasta mix (moral: never rush even the simplest of recipes).

• thinly-sliced Alto Adige/Südtirol Speck from Eataly, drizzled with Lamparelli olive oil from Buon Italia
• arugula from from Migliorelli Farm, dressed with the same oil, drops of lemon juice, salt, and pepper
• slices of ‘Rustico Classico” from Eataly
• the wine was an Italian white from the Marche, Falerio dei Colli Ascolan 2013, from Saladini Pilastri

• pasta shells, Grano Armando Lumache from Compania, via Eataly, boiled for a few minutes with chunks of cauliflower from Sycamore Farms, drained, then tossed in a large bowl with San Marzano canned tomatoes, roughly-grated pecorino and fontina, a bit of ricotta, a little more than half of a chopped jalapeño pepper from Paffenroth Gardens, a teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes, the mix arranged in an enameled cast iron pan with the top dotted with butter, and finally put into a hot oven for 25 minutes or so (the recipe is from “Cucina Simpatica“, here minus the 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream I forgot to add to the bowl)
• the wine was a Sicilian white, Tenuta Rapitalà Terre Siciliane Piano Maltese 2012

 

The desert was Ciao Bello Dark Chocolate Gelato, topped with shavings of candied ginger (sorry, I forgot to take a picture).