If I’m rushed enough to decide it’s time for a quick prepared fresh pasta, and too rushed to think about what to do with it, I often give myself a break and look on this site for inspiration, and sometimes for a complete model.

On Thursday that’s exactly what I did. Some 9 months after enjoying the original (or maybe just something repeating the original), the results were very good, and the dish didn’t even seem familiar.

• two chopped garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows Farm heated inside a large tin-lined high-sided copper pan in a little olive oil until pungent, most of one orange dried Habanada pepper, crushed, added to the pan and stirred over medium heat for a minute, a large handful of cherry tomatoes from Stokes Farm, halved, and some chopped lovage from Central Valley Farm introduced, followed by a generous amount of pine nuts (pinoli) from Whole Foods Market that had been toasted earlier in a cast iron pan, and finally a 10-ounce package of cooked and drained Rana spinaci e ricotta [spinach and ricotta] ravioli from Eataly was spilled into the pan, as was some of the reserved pasta cooking water, carefully mixed with the sauce over medium heat to emulsify it, the pasta finished in bowls with a drizzle of olive oil, and a scattering of garlic flowers from Windfall Farms
• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Cantina di Lisandro Alabranno Fiano 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was the album, ‘Wassenaer Attr Pergolesi: Concerti Armonici‘, orchestral pieces composed in 1740, Karl Münchinger conducting the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra

The results were not spectacular this time (by the way, I would say that these were close to nonpareil), but while the scallops were certainly not big, I blame their shortcomings on the way I cooked them (the height of the flame, the amount of the oil, too long?). Still, it would be very hard to ruin a dish described as scallops stuffed with Italian basil and garlic.

And the basil, ‘Genovese‘ this time, was superb.

The ‘greens’ were pretty wonderful as well (I don’t remember rainbow chard ever being as sweet as I’ve found it to be this season – or its colors so brilliant).

• 17 medium sea scallops (13 ounces) from Blue Moon Fish Company, rinsed, dried, slit horizontally with a very sharp knife almost all of the way, stuffed with a mixture of Genovese basil from windfall Farms, one medium-size clove of garlic from Stokes Farm, sea salt, and black pepper, all chopped together very finely, the stuffing ingredients removed to a small bowl where just enough olive oil was added to form a paste, the stuffed scallops then rolled around on a plate with a little more olive oil, drained, pan grilled little more than a minute on each side, removed to 2 plates, an organic lemon from Whole Foods squeezed over the top, garnished with chopped garlic flowers from Windfall Farms
• rainbow chard from Alewife Farm, wilted in a little olive oil in which 2 halved garlic cloves from Norwich Meadows Farm had first been heated, finished with a squeeze of juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette) white, Carabella Vineyard Pinot Gris Estate Chehalem Mountains 2014, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was the magnificent album, ‘James Tenney: Spectrum Pieces‘

I had no idea this meal would end up so well.

The whelks were a big surprise. They had been an impulse purchase the day before, when I had picked up some finned seafood for a dinner that night. They had already been cooked, making it easy for me, as long as I could come up with a way to serve them.  After looking at a number of sites on line, I ended up I pretty much winging it, with the help of a well-stocked larder.

Super, and the salad looked pretty nice too.

I had decided early on that the main course would be a pasta.  Remembering that I had a terrific local grain box of artisanal ‘trumpets’, it was easy to imagine them associating with some sautéed early season cucumbers (2 kinds) that I had also purchased on Monday. At that point my dinner had become a thing.

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And it was delicious.

• five ounces of cooked whelks from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, sliced thinly and mixed with some finely-sliced ramp bulbs from Berried Treasures Farm, minced garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, crushed dried pepperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, olive oil, juice from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, a bit of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, chopped stems of baby fennel bulbs from Central Valley Farm, chopped lovage from Central Valley Farm, chopped parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm, all kinds of chopped herbs left over from the preparation of the Porgy the day before, sea salt, and Freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, served on flat plates on top of leaves of a purple frizzy oak leaf lettuce from Norwich Meadows Farm topped with a drizzle of olive oil
• five cucumbers, of 2 different kinds, from Norwich Meadows Farm (their names still undetermined when I left the farmers’ Union Square Market stand, but I may be able to fix that later, sliced about 1/2″ thick, dried, sautéed inside a large enameled cast iron pot in a little olive oil over a fairly high flame until they began to color, and then joined by one whole red Calabrian pepper from Campo Rosso Farm and several chopped red onion scallions from John D. Madura Farms, the vegetables then seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper before joined by half a pound of Sfoglini rye blend ‘trumpets’ (and some of the reserved pasta water) which had been cooked seriously al dente, the trumpets tossed with the cucumbers and onions and stirred over a low-to-moderate flame for a couple of minutes to blend the flavors and the ingredients, served finished with a drizzle of olive oil, some homemade breadcrumbs (dry crumbs of a homemade rye bread) which had been heated with a little olive oil and a pinch of sea salt, the pasta finished in shallow bowls sprinkled with chopped garlic flowers from Windfall Farms
• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Benito Ferrara Greco di Tufo 2014, from Garnet Wines
• the music was Haydn’s 1781 opera, ‘La fedeltà premiata’, a late 1970s recording, Antal Doráti conducting the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in the first performance of the work in almost 200 years

Because we loves porgy, I chose porgy from among the selections offered by one of our local fisher families at the Union Square Greenmarket on Monday.

Soon after that I spotted some small, seductive, perfect specimens of 2 vegetables I immediately imagined combining to compliment the fish on a warm summer evening.

When I arrived home, I was reminded that I also had a perfect tomato on the windowsill.

I looked around on line, searching for results under ‘corn and fennel’, and I found this recipe, and it included tomato. I knew I would have to take liberties with some of the other ingredients, but dinner was now on the way.

• four 4-ounce Porgy fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dried, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, pan-seared, along with 3 thinly-sliced ramp bulbs from Berried Treasures Farm, over medium heat inside an oval copper pan in a bit of butter and a little olive oil, the fish basted with the contents of the pan more or less continually for about 2 minutes, using a small brush, then carefully turned over, the heat reduced to low, a cover (I used aluminum foil) placed on the pan and the filets cooked for about about another 2 minutes before the cover was removed and 2 or 3 tablespoons of mixed fresh herbs thrown in (I used mint, lovage, summer savory, thyme, tarragon, and basil this time), after which the basting was continued for about minute, or until the fish was cooked through, at which time the fillets were arranged on the 2 plates, and the juices and ramp fragments scooped up and sprinkled on top (the recipe has been slightly modified from one written by Melissa Clark)
• two small ears of organic early white sweet corn (‘Sugarbuns’) from Alewife Farm, shucked and kept whole, along with 2 small fennel bulbs from Central Valley Farm, thinly sliced crosswise, corn and fennel rolled in olive oil, pan grilled until beginning to char, both vegetables removed and allowed to cool, while a vinaigrette was prepared with olive oil, a little white wine vinegar, Aceto Cesare Bianco, from Buon Italia, an equal amount of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods  Market, a smaller amount of Linden flower honey, sea salt, Freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, a couple pinches of super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, part of one dried Sicilian pepperoncino, also from Buon Italia, crushed, after which the grilled corn kernels, now cut from the 2 cobs, and the grilled fennel were added to the bowl along with almost a cup of a roughly-chopped heirloom tomato from Norwich Meadows Farm, three sliced red scallions from John D. Madura Farms and some torn basil leaves from Stokes Farm, the salad served on the plates, at room temperature, garnished with chopped garlic flowers from Windfall Farms
• in order to take full advantage of the awesome juices from both fish and the vegetables spread across the plates, there were several slices from a loaf of Orwashers ‘Chardonnay Miche’ (a dark wheat-based wine bread made with Chardonnay starter from a Long Island vineyard), purchased from the baker’s stall at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd St.
• the wine was a beautiful French (Savoy) white, Philippe & Sylvain Ravier Vin de Savoie Les Abymes 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Handel’s ‘Admeto, re di Tessaglia’, Il Complesso Barocco conducted by Alan Curtis, with René Jacobs, Rachel Yakar, Ulrik Cold, Rita Dams, James Bowman, Jill Gomez and Max van Egmond

I used 3 different grill pans in putting this meal together. That may be a first. It may also have been the first time I included some form of garlic in each element of an entrée, although probably not.

But I forgot to include the color.

The image is embarrassingly monochromatic; I hadn’t thought about the aesthetic effect until I was arranging everything on the plates. It’s still no excuse, but the treviso and the eggplant happened to be the only real vegetables in the crisper last night (both in smaller amounts remaining from larger, the majority of which had been used in earlier meals, and each of them almost begs for garlic under most circumstances).

A little red, or orange, or yellow on the plates themselves would definitely have been nice. but to be fair, the vegetables had at least started out with real color.

Still, it was a terrific dinner. The treviso and the eggplant were stars, and while at first I had some doubts about the steaks (mostly related to the decisions of the butcher), we very quickly came to appreciate both the flavor and the texture of this excellent grass-fed beef.

• two 8-ounce rib steaks (roughly 8 ounces each) from the Union Square Greenmarket stand of Lowland Farm, brought to room temperature, dried, well-seasoned with Maldon salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, placed on a very hot cast iron pan grill for just under 5 minutes on each side, removed and arranged on the plates, a little organic lemon juice from Whole Foods Market squeezed on top, sprinkled with some chopped summer savory from Stokes Farm, drizzled with a little olive oil and finished with some chopped garlic flowers from Windfall Farms
• one small head of treviso from Campo Rosso Farm in the union Square Greenmarket (the farm, located in Berks County, Pennsylvania, specializes in chicories, other greens and other vegetables) halved, tied to maintain their shape, marinated for half an hour in a mix of garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, then pan-grilled, untied, and finished with some of the reserved marinade
• 3  baby eggplant (3 different kinds and colors), each cut into 3 slices, mixed with a little olive oil , 5 pitted and sliced Kalamata olives olives from Whole Foods Market, a little finely-chopped garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, sea salt, and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, pan-grilled over a brisk flame, turning once, sprinkled with torn basil leaves from Stokes Farm, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a bit of olive oil
• the wine, a perfect pairing with the food, was a California (Napa) red, Jac Cole Mosaico Napa Valley 2015, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Il Filosofo’, which is “..the second release in the Basel-based Joseph Haydn Stiftung Foundation’s collaboration..in recording all of Haydn’s 107 symphonies…“

Nothing unusual going on here. It was pretty much Sunday breakfast as usual, although the plate may have been a little less busy than some have been.

But there was that  sprinkling of garlic flower on top of the eggs.  I could get very used to that garnish, but it’s clearly defined by a short season.

• there were small very fresh eggs from Echo Creek Farm, of Salem, New York (a stall at Chelsea’s Saturday Down to Earth Farmers Market); thick bacon from Millport Dairy Farm; small cherry tomatoes from Stokes Farm, cooked with a little red spring onion and torn basil, also from Stokes Farm; one section of a small dried golden habanada pepper, crushed on top of the eggs; one small chopped garlic flower from Windfall Farms, also on the eggs; slices of lightly-toasted Balthazar rye boule, from Schaller & Weber; and a dab of a sun-dried chilli-pepper harissa from NYShuk Pantry
• the day’s liturgical music was Messiaen, ‘Vingt regards sur l’enfant Jésus‘, performed by Joanna MacGregor [it’s supposed to be contemplative, a prayer to a divine child, but I think of it as a noble homage to the birds]

To be honest, this time the vegetable, some truly delicious fresh snap peas, upstaged the fish, and we’re very fond of swordfish.

• one halved 16-ounce swordfish steak from American Pride Seafood Company at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd St., marinated [‘soused’] for half an hour in a mixture of olive oil, 2 finely-chopped red scallions from John D. Madura Farms, some chopped fresh peppermint from Berried treasures, and a very small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, then drained well, coated on both sides with some homemade dried breadcrumbs, and pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, removed to 2 plates, seasoned with Maldon salt, some juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market squeezed on top, sprinkled  with chopped garlic flowers from Windfall Farms, then drizzled with a very small amount of little olive oil
• five small cherry tomatoes from Stokes Farm, halved, heated inside a small pan in which  a couple small red scallions from John D. Madura Farms, chopped, had been heated in a little olive oil until wilted and pungent, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, tossed with a few small leaves of basil from Stokes Farm, torn
• sugar snap peas [French: Mangetout] from Berried Treasures Farm, parboiled for about a minute, drained, dried in the pot in which they had cooked, shaking it over a flame, then set aside, and just before serving, warmed inside a heavy tin-lined copper pan with a little olive oil, tossed with lemon zest, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, finished with chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm
• the wine was a California (Lodi) rosé, Karen Birmingham Rosé Lodi 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Johann Baptist Vanhal: Four String Quartets’, performed by the Lotus String Quartet

[If the fish looks like a fishing boat, it’s pure chance, and not a cute conceit of the cook.]

 

The recipe for this dish, which almost never happened, at least in my kitchen, produced the best bluefish I have ever tasted – or looked at.

The fillets were obviously very, very fresh on Friday (more even than most seafood generally, bluefish, like mackerel, must be absolutely fresh because of its high oil content), and my fish seller pointed to them even before I looked like I might welcome some curation.

Once at home however, after looking for a recipe I could get excited about and wouldn’t require much time – especially oven time – I realized I didn’t have anything that I could get excited about. Then I found a loose paper with the heading, ‘BLUEFISH FILETS GREEK STYLE’ above a list of really refreshing ingredients that seemed to scream ‘summer’, and a pretty sketchy description of the procedure that was supposed to do the trick. I knew I could still work with it, and while the oven was involved, it would only be for about 15 minutes (an estimate, not in the recipe, but gleaned from bluefish recipes that had already appeared on my own blog).

Today I searched on line for the origin of a recipe I now cannot praise enough. I found it inside a discussion on Chowhound, where it had appeared 5 years ago, under ‘Great Bluefish recipes?’, as only a friendly recommendation, delivered in a short narrative, more than a proper formula. The contributor was Bacardi1.

I bow to Bacardi1, and thank her for a great meal, and presumably many more to come.

This is what the fish looked like inside the pan, with its intimate accompaniments, just before going into the oven.

Fortunately I had picked up a couple of fantastic heirloom tomatoes the same afternoon that I found the bluefish; they were the first of the season, at least at the stand of one of my favorite farmers, and one of them was perfectly ripe for joining the 2 fillets.

The  side dish was built around a generous amount of baby zucchini, which may also have been the first of the summer, again, at least first for the farmer offering them. Normally I would pan grill these sweet summer squash, but it was late by the time I had sorted out what I was going to do with the fish, so in order to save time I halved them lengthwise and sautéed them with a very few small spring onions until they had begun to caramelize, producing much the same effect, and at least as much taste, as the grill would have.

And, confirming once again that New Yorkers are blessed with all kinds of food ‘extras’, there were garlic flowers, both for their flavor and for their aesthetic, as a garnish on top of the vegetables.

• two bluefish fillets (1.04 pounds) from Pura Vida Seafood; sherry vinegar; dried wild Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia; dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi, also from Buon Italia; one small red onion from Norwich Meadows Farm; one thinly-sliced ripe heirloom tomato, also from Norwich Meadows Farm; 8 or so Kalamata olives, pitted and halved, from Whole Foods Market; and slices of an organic lemon, also from Whole Foods Market, the ingredients used in preparing a dish using this description, mostly, by the author of the recipe [noting that I cooked the dish inside a tin-lined oval copper gratin pan for 15 minutes]:
  

  My favorite way of preparing nice Bluefish filets (when I can get them) is “Greek” style. I rub the filets with extra-virgin olive oil & a dash of red wine vinegar, sprinkle liberally with dried oregano & some crushed red pepper flakes, & then cover with thinly sliced red onion, thinly sliced tomato, crumbled feta cheese, chopped fresh oregano if available, & thinly sliced lemon. Sometimes I’ll add some pitted chopped Kalamata olives as well. I then bake until done.

• baby zucchini from Berried Treasures, halved, sautéed, along with 3 halved red spring onions from Alewife Farm (the 3 were all I had left in the crisper last night) inside a very large seasoned cast iron pan, turning zucchini and onions once, until they had begun to caramelize on all sides (the onions having to be removed earlier, since they cook faster), seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, tossed with a generous amount of peppermint, chopped, from Berried Treasures Farm, finished with chopped garlic flowers from Windfall Farms and a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a French (Bordeaux) rosé, Château de Fontenille Rosé Bordeaux 2016, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was the album, ‘Rameau’s ‘Pièces De Clavecin En Concerts’, five suites published by Jean-Philippe Rameau in 1741, performed here by Kaori Uemura, Christophe Rousset, and Ryo Terakado

Do this at home. You’ll love it.

It was, literally, a ‘wonderful’ treat. Monkfish is the delicacy the French know as Lotte, the Italians as Coda di rospo, the Spanish as Rape, the Germans as Seeteufel (the English call it Anglerfish, which in fact is what it is).

It is a very special fish.

Before I had prepared this particular dish I have to say that I had no idea just how wonderful it could be, even though we’ve enjoyed Monkfish often in the past, and I’ve also had fun preparing it.

Where did this recipe come from? I didn’t want to turn on the oven on Wednesday, so that eliminated one of my favorite routines. Also, I wanted to try something other than my usual alternatives, even though we had always thoroughly enjoyed what had become our standards over the years.

I was about to give up the search, through my files, my cookbooks, and then on line, when I came across a recipe attributed to Florence Fabricant that intrigued me for its simple assembly and for its modest, yet slightly odd list of ingredients.

But I was skeptical about the instruction to coat the fish with flour and sautéed on only one side, and also for “no more than a minute or so”; I had never heard of doing such a thing in preparing fish, or meat.  I double-checked the text elsewhere for accuracy, and the same lines came up.

I decided to take a chance (even though I made a note to myself that I might have to flip the fish over, and/or keep it above the flame a little longer). It came together beautifully. Fortunately I had the sense in time to realize the monkfish I had brought home were all about twice the thickness of those described in the recipe, so I sliced them in half horizontally.

This is going to become my new favorite monkfish preparation. I think that the idea of starting with ground mustard seed is a brilliant touch, and I think I payed a modest homage to it by sprinkling some mustard-colored nasturtium blossoms on top at the very end.

• monkfish with caper butter prepared following this great recipe, starting off, I believe, with 6 tails (14 ounces total) from Blue Moon Fish Company; local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour seasoned with salt, pepper, and ground mustard seed; unsalted Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter; several minced ramp roots from Berried Treasures Farm (substituting for the shallots); Sicilian salted capers, thoroughly rinsed; organic lemon, juice and wedges, from Whole Foods Market; chopped tarragon leaves from Keith’s Farm; and, my own innovation, a few nasturtium blossoms from Berried Treasures Farm, chopped, on the very top, to finish the dish
• two large handfuls of tomatoes (2 large red and a number of small multicolored cherry tomatoes) from Alex’s Tomato Farm, allowed to warm and begin to soften inside a tin-lined copper pan in which several halved red spring onions from Alewife Farm had already been sautéed in a little olive oil until they had begun to caramelize, a little minced garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm added near the end, before they had, the tomatoes and alliums seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, and finished with torn basil from Stokes Farm
• the wine was a California (Central Coast) white, Rick Boyer Coastal White Blend 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was Handel’s ‘Flavio’, René Jacobs conducting Ensemble 415

I’ve prepared this wonderful dish several times before, and at least once since initiating this food blog, and it never fails to dazzle me, visually as well as tastily. It’s perfect: it cannot be made more complicated, or improved. It’s Michele Scicolone‘s “Spaghetti with Rubies”, and I don’t know of an entrée which better shows off the beauty of the red beet.

There’s another thing going for it: Theater. Each time I make it, even I will forget that it’s going to happen, until it does so once again: It’s an amazing experience to watch the very neutral shade of cooked pasta gradually take on color as the beets are stirred into the mix, and then suddenly it ends up a solid ruby red.

• eight ounces of beetroot, most of them from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, a few from Alex’s Tomato Farm (the latter in Chelsea’s Down to Earth Market), roasted in a 400º oven for about an hour while wrapped in tin foil, cooled, peeled, then roughly chopped, tossed, and heated inside a large enameled cast iron pot in which 2 cloves of chopped garlic from from Norwich Meadows Farm and part of a dried Sicilian pepperoncino from Buon Italia, crushed, had been warmed in olive oil until fragrant, followed by 8 ounces of Afeltra spaghetti, from Buon Italia, cooked al dente and drained, the whole then warmed, stirring, along with some of the pasta cooking water, until the spaghetti had turned an even deep ruby red

There had been an antipasto.

• three ounces of La Quercia ’Speck Americano’ from Whole Foods, drizzled with a very small amount of Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto from Eataly, and accompanied by arugula from Stoke’s Farm, the greens seasoned with Maldon salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, and dressed with the same good oil and a squeeze of organic lemon from Whole Foods Market
• slices from a quarter section of a Balthazar rye boule purchased at Schaller & Weber

 

• the wine throughout was a California while (Clarksburg) white, Karen Birmingham Pinot Grigio Clarksburg 2016 from Naked Wines
• the music throughout was the album, ‘The Golden Dream – 17th Century Music from the Low Countries’