it’s called a ‘walleye’ (they also sell it whole, here Spanish mackerel below, bluefish above);

on our kitchen counter, seasoned, ready to be floured;

and on the plate.

 

It’s a wonderful fish.

While growing up in Michigan and Wisconsin, I thought of the walleye, or ‘walleyed-pike’, or just ‘pickerel, as a very big thing, virtually the subject of fable, and not just because Algonac, where our turn-of-the-20th-century porched cottage sat on the St. Claire River, is the home of the nonpareil Algonac Pickerel Tournament  [slideshow of 1949 parade here].  To tell the truth, I was actually always much more excited by the scary Muskellunge, or ‘Muskie’.  It was a catch which might have been more elusive, but their angry bared-teeth heads were everywhere, mount-it-yourself trophies hung above the garage doors (or in dens) of successful pursuers, much like the antlers which land hunters, who also sought out size (numbers of ‘points’ on ‘racks’), still display to invite the admiration of their peers.

But me, I stuck with perch and sunfish.

That’s the background for my excitement five years ago when I found, while visiting The Lobster Place, a small sign for and display of beautiful white fillets of ‘pike’, specifically, ‘wild West Virginia pike’.

Looking on line, I’ve just learned that the Chain Pickerel [Esox Niger], so named because of its scale figuration, is an eastern variant of the pickerel, found in all kinds of  waters, in West Virginia probably most notably in the main channel of the Ohio River.  It seems that it was this pike that I first took home from The Lobster Place.

Lately the Chelsea Market shop has been showing pike labelled, ‘wild: Great Lakes’.  The fish guy told me he thought it came from Wisconsin waters, but he wasn’t certain.  For sure I can go with Wisconsin; it’s where my parents’ families have lived for nearly 200 years, and Grandfather Wagner’s farm there bordered Lake Michigan; it’s also where I spent parts of many summer vacations (when we were not in Algonac),

The American pike is very close to the European ‘zander‘, or ‘pike-perch’, which we’ve enjoyed as very special treats in Germany.

Last night we enjoyed it at home in Chelsea.

• pike fillet from The Lobster Place, prepared more or less as Badischer Grashecht mit Speck gebraten (Baden Zander with Speck), a recipe I found, described in “Culinaria Germany”  It asks for the fish (whole, in the book) to be seasoned and lightly-floured, sauteéed on both sides at high heat in clarified butter (I used olive oil and butter in combination), removed to a buttered pan and placed in a 350º oven for 10 minutes covered by thin slices of ‘streaky bacon’ (I substituted Guanciale from Buon Italia), followed for another 10 minutes with the addition of a small finely-chopped yellow onion from a friend with a garden in Garrison, New York, sprigs of thyme (I substituted fresh fennel seed this time) and white wine, after that the “bacon” is removed and the fish dotted w/butter, returned to the oven until the skin is crispy, and served with the cooking juices spooned over the fillet
• small boiled Norland Red new potatoes from Berried Treasures Farm in the Union Square Greenmarket, finished with butter and parsley from Keith’s Farm
• yellow flat pole beans from Norwich Meadows Farm, blanched, drained and dried, then reheated in a little butter, seasoned with salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• the wine was a German (Pfalz) white, Becker Family Pinot Blanc, 2013, which Appellation Wines was kind enough to special order for us when we asked, having enjoyed it very much at our local excellent ‘Swiss brasserie’, Trestle on Tenth
• the music was Mahler’s 6th symphony, Valery Gergiev conducting the London Symphony Orchestra

 

More than just a vehicle for some wonderful late-season tomatoes, this simple pasta dish paraded every one of its ingredients.

• Setaro spaghetti from Buon Italia, mixed with a sauce of garlic, from John D. Madura Farm, heated in a large non-reactive pot with olive oil over medium heat until fragrant, about one quarter of a cup of roughly-torn Gotham Greens Brooklyn rooftop basil from Whole Foods added, the drained pasta introduced to the pan, along with a little over a pound of multi-colored heirloom and orange and red cherry tomatoes [also heirloom?] from Norwich Meadows Farm (diced as fairly large pieces), freshly-ground pepper, one small, crushed dry peperoncino, the mix stirred briefly over very low heat with some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid until it had emulsified, then blended with another quarter of a cup of basil and some fresh fennel seeds from Lani’s Farm, once the pot was removed from the range
• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia) white, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2013
• the music was Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8, performed by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Alan Gilbert 

I wasn’t even going to buy tuna on Friday, but I was sort of taken by the rich color of the Albacore steaks at the fish stand in the Greenmarket. I decided to try it, because it was new for me.  I was I also interested in learning how it would differ from Yellowfin, which I think is what has always been the ingredient in one of my favorite dishes.  I looked on line and found that opinions about tuna species were all over the map;  after trying it myself, my thoughts, our thoughts, at least as respects searing the steaks is concerned, was that Yellowfin is better, for its taste and, even more, for its firmer texture.

I had also brought home lots of tomatoes on Saturday, so some of them were destined to end up on the same plate, and a bunch of turnips (Hakurei) which I had selected mostly for the beauty of their greens.  The turnips roots themselves will show up here soon.

• two 7-ounce tuna steaks from Pura Vida Fisheries, rubbed with a mixture of dry fennel seed and one dried pepperoncino, ground together, additionally seasoned with salt and pepper, then pan-grilled for only a little more than a minute or so on each side, finished with a good squeeze of lemon, a sprinkling of fresh fennel seed from Lani’s farm and a drizzle of olive oil
• six red grape tomatoes, slow-roasted with dried Italian oregano from Buon Italia, olive oil, and garlic cloves, halved lengthwise, from John D. Madura Farm
• turnip greens from Norwich Meadows Farm, wilted in olive oil along with one halved garlic clove from John D. Madura Farm which had been lightly-browned in the oil earlier
• the wine was a French rosé, Côtes du Rhone Parallèle 45 Rosé 2014
• the music was, among other work by other composers, Franz Anton Hoffmeister’s Symphony in C Major, which was likely composed around 1780

We feel particularly virtuous about our dinner choice tonight. Sardines are (without question) very good for us all; they are also among the most sustainable  seafood species; they require a minimum of preparation and a fairly modest amount of cooking time; [The recipe, found in Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers’ ‘Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Cafe‘, is very simple.]; and last, but not the least considerations, they are very beautiful on the table and are absolutely delicious.

Grilled zucchini, especially when prepared as plainly as this, are a perfect accompaniment to such virtue.

• six very fresh whole Maine sardines, cleaned by the staff at The Lobster Place, seasoned, placed inside an oiled ceramic dish exactly the size for accommodating them in one layer, sprinkled with organic lemon zest, a combination of both Gaeta and black oil-cured olives from Buon Italia, pitted, and a handful of Costa Rica grape tomatoes from Manhattan Fruit Exchange (I had forgotten to bring home local tomatoes from the Greenmarket the day before) which were first pricked then baked beforehand for 15 minutes at 400º, the assembled dish drizzled with more olive oil, baked for 10 minutes in a 400º oven, served with a slight drizzle of olive oil and organic lemon segments
• very small zucchini from Berried Treasures Farm, sliced in half lengthwise, tossed with olive oil, minced garlic from John D, Madura Farm, salt, and pepper, then pan grilled and finished with chopped peppermint from Phillips Farm
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) white, Corvo Insolia 2013 from Philippe Wine in Chelsea, which is located on our corner
• the music was Josep Soler’s Violin Sonata No, 2 and Alban Berg’s Piano Sonata, which is an amazing album