Hake is a great fish, and this is a terrific way to appreciate it so its flavors can shine, especially when it’s as fresh as this fillet was last night.

The eggplant had been too beautiful to pass up at the Union Square Greenmarket on Friday. Like most of my vegetable purchases, they were free agents [did I just use a sports metaphor?] until one hour before I began to prepare this meal, when I decided they would be an excellent accompaniment of the hake.

• one thick 15-ounce hake fillet from P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company, halved, dredged in seasoned flour and dipped in a beaten egg from Millport Dairy, sautéed in olive oil along with a handful of sage leaves from Keith’s Farm inside a heavy tin-lined oval copper pan for about 8 minutes, turning the sections half way, then sprinkled with organic lemon juice from Whole Foods Market and the small amount of pan juices that remained, arranged on 2 plates, garnished with chopped herbs (lovage from Keith’s Farm and parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm), served with lemon wedges on the side
• five different kinds and colors of baby eggplant, each cut into half-inch slices, mixed with a little olive oil , 6 or 8 Kalamata olives olives from Whole Foods Market, pitted and halved, finely-chopped garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, sea salt, and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, pan-grilled over a brisk flame, turning once, and, just before the heat was turned off, joined by 8 or so small multicolored cherry tomatoes from Alex’s Tomato Farm stall in Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market, sprinkled with torn basil leaves from Stokes Farm, arranged on the plate and drizzled with a bit of olive oil
• a small Orwashers ‘Chardonnay Miche’ (a dark wheat-based wine bread made with Chardonnay starter from Long Island Vineyard), from the 23rd St Farmers Market
• the wine was a California (Andrus, in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta) white, Jacqueline Bahue Albarino Gomes Vineyard California 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Music For A Medieval Banquet’, the Newberry Consort conducted by Mary Springfels, with singers Judith Malafronte and Drew Minter

Almost half of this meal was composed of leftovers.

I was already eager to try the goat sausage I had recently picked up at our local farmer/purveyor’s stall in the Greenmarket, and then I remembered that just inside the refrigerator I already had a sauce that would probably be perfect for the kind of richness they seemed to promise. Last night I confirmed it.

The beet greens, also a leftover, were a last-minute addition, and their sweetness was the perfect foil for the meat and the meat-derived sauce.

The boiled potatoes of course were a natural.

• four spicy goat sausage links from Consider Bardwell Farm, pan-grilled then arranged on top of a rich sauce that remained from an osso buco entrée we enjoyed last week
• some beet greens, also leftovers from a previous meal, heated and drizzled with a little olive oil
• new potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, boiled in salted water, drained, dried in the pan, halved, rolled in butter, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, tossed with chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm and chopped parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm

There was a dessert, and, only by coincidence, that meant there was more goat.

This may have been the first time I had ever prepared gooseberry anything, having always been afraid of their notorious tartness. I had bought them a week ago, and they look and taste the same as they did then, on the eve of the Fourth of July. That seems to say something about their sturdiness, and I already knew how wonderful they taste. I washed ‘ended’ the berries with a sharp kitchen shears, and boiled them with an amount of sugar less than I thought they were going to need, but which turned out to be perfect.

Last week I had in fact purchased 3 different kinds of berries.

• about a quarter of a pint of gooseberries from Wilklow Orchards, gently heated in a small high-sided pan with a few drops of fresh water and a few tablespoons of turbinado sugar until the berries had softened and the sugar dissolved into their juices, spooned over scoops (one for each serving) of Lā Loos ‘Vanilla Snowflake’ goat milk ice cream from Whole Foods Market that had themselves been centered on the top of 2 slices a delicious ‘cream cheese pound cake’ from Wilklow Orchards, the farm which had also been the source of the berries

I have more sauce, and still more gooseberries, so we’ll have another meal or two in the near feature featuring the homely ‘great American leftover’.

And I haven’t even started on the blueberries.

• the wine was a California (Lodi) red, F. Stephen Millier Black Label Old Vine Zinfandel Lodi 2015, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Legrenzi: Invenzioni E Stravaganze’, with Fabio Biondi conducting the ensemble Europa Galante

I almost tripped over a little outpost of India on Saturday at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market, Nirmala Gupta’s ‘Bombay Emerald Chutney Company‘. I had gone up the street that day only to buy a few beets to augment the few I already had, since those weren’t going to be enough to put together one of my favorite accidentally-vegan dishes later this week, ‘‘spaghetti with rubies“.

I ended up purchasing 2 cauliflower-potato rotis, a delicious coconut chutney, and a small bottle of dried fenugreek from Nirmala.

I know I’ll be enjoying the chutney, even outside Indian entrées, and I’m determined to find uses for the ‘Greek hay‘, since I’ve been enamored of that exotic name for, well, maybe decades. What does it taste like? I think I can go with this description, at least for now: “..a slightly sweet, nutty flavor often described as a cross between celery and maple.”

I immediately made plans for a Sunday breakfast which would be unlike any I had put together before, eventually inspired to make some otherwise luscious but possibly redundant beet greens a part of it. I found this simple recipe which I used as the basis for the side; I was missing a few key ingredients, but I substituted a few of my own.

The breakfast was of course vegan.

The only thing missing was the lassi.

I used to say that for practical reasons alone (storage and shelf space, access to the ingredients), not to mention a relative ignorance of the food cultures, I couldn’t imagine trying to cook meals from traditions radically different from the European, but after my modest experience with this simple breakfast, and with Nirmala’s help, I may be willing to occasionally adjust my practice.

• two cauliflower and potato-filled roti from Bombay Emerald Chutney Company (Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market), heated for a few minutes over medium heat inside a large enameled cast iron pan, turning several times
• half of a teaspoon of mustard seeds and one dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia allowed to crackle a bit in about a teaspoon of olive oil inside a large enameled cast iron pot, joined by one small new onion from Neversink Organic Farm, chopped finely, and one ‘Calabrian Rose’ rocambole garlic clove from Keith’s Farm, also chopped finely, the alliums stirred in the flavored oil for about 2 minutes, the finely-chopped greens from a small bunch of beets purchased from Alex’s Tomato Farm, also at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market, added to the pot along with a pinch of freshly-ground nutmeg and a pinch of fenugreek, a little salt, and a few torn leaves of basil from Stokes Farm, stirred until cooked a bit, served alongside the roti
• some ‘Royal Coconut Chutney’ from Bombay Emerald Chutney Company, purchased from the Bombay Emerald Chutney Company stall in the 23rd Street farmers market

I love this fish, and have sung the praises of sea perch on this blog more than once before. The only hesitation I ever have in dealing with it comes while I pause to decide which recipe to use.

Last night I went with the one which involves anchovy, because the rest of the plate pretty much said ‘Mediterranean’.

• six red sea perch fillets (totaling 15 ounces) from American Pride Seafood Company, their stall in Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, brushed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil mixed with about a teaspoon of chopped ramp bulbs from Berried Treasures, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, placed inside an enameled cast iron pan and broiled skin side up, 4 or 5 inches from the flames, for about 4 minutes when the skin had become crisp and the fish cooked through, sauced with a bit of olive oil in which 3 salted anchovies from Buon Italia, rinsed and filleted, had been heated over a very low flame for about 5 minutes until the anchovies had fallen apart (the sauce had just been prepared, but I could have been done a little earlier and kept warm while waiting for the fish to cook), the fillets finished on the plates with chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm, lemon wedges served on the side
• four large cherry tomatoes from Alex’s Tomato Farm, via Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market, halved, gently warmed and slightly softened in a little olive in which a very small amount of chopped ramp bulbs from Berried Treasures Farm had been warmed until the allium had begun to be fragrant, sprinkled with torn leaves of basil from Stokes Farm
• one small head of treviso from Campo Rosso Farm, washed, the moisture drained or shaken off, halved lengthwise, most of the V of the root ends cut away (and immediately eaten by the cook, as I love chicory in any form), arranged cut side up on a medium Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic oven pan (after securing the leaves with toothpicks and/or string), covered with an abundance of thyme branches from Keith’s Farm, seasoned generously with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, drizzled with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, baked in a pre-heated 400º oven for 12 minutes or so, turned over, returned to the oven for 8 or 9 minutes, then set cut side up again and drizzled with one more tablespoon of oil, then finished baking until the root was tender when pierced with a knife, or about 2 minutes more, arranged on the plates and sprinkled with a very little bit of balsamic vinegar
• the wine was an Italian (Langhe) white, Azienda Agricola Rivetti Massimo Aurelia Arneis Langhe 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was the album, ‘Musica Baltica’, Reinhard Goebel conducting Musica Antiqua Köln (basically, performances of music composed in the Baltic Sea Hanseatic courts during the seventeenth century)

We might have been satisfied with a single 10-ounce Spanish mackerel fillet rather than 2. It would have meant we’d each get only about 5 ounces of fish for dinner, which would have been a bit skimpy. The alternative was to bring home 2 of them, which is what I did on Friday.  They fit perfectly inside my favorite oval copper fish pan, but on the plates 10 ounces ended up looking like a lot of food, and I have to admit that sometimes too much of a good thing can be both good and too much.

Both of those, because, and even if, served with some gorgeous mushrooms.

And beautiful young beet greens.

• two Spanish mackerel fillets (a total of 20 ounces) from Pura Vida Fisheries, seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper, sautéed fairly gently with butter and a little olive oil inside a large, thick oval copper pan, flesh side first, then turned after about 3 minutes and the other side cooked for about the same length of time, removed and arranged across the center diameter of 2 plates when done, covered to keep warm (or, if convenient to do so, placed inside a barely-warm oven), 2 tablespoons of butter added to the pan, and then when the butter had melted about 8 ounces of roughly-chopped yellow oyster mushrooms from Blue Oyster Cultivation, tossed into the pan, sautéed, stirring, until lightly cooked, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, a couple tablespoons of chopped parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm, plus about a tablespoon (or a little more) of lemon juice added to the pan, everything briefly stirred with a wooden spatula, and the herbed mushrooms and their juices spooned on top of the mackerel, which was finished with a little more of the chopped parsley [the parsley appeared after the photo above was taken]
• some very sweet beet greens from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, wilted inside a large enameled cast iron pot with several halved garlic cloves (‘Calabrian Rose’ Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm), which had first been been allowed to sweat in olive oil, the vegetable seasoned with salt and pepper, arranged on the plates, and drizzled with fresh olive oil
• The wine was a California (grapes from the Sacramento River Delta with a small amount of Viognier from Lodi) white, Miriam Alexandra Chenin Blanc California 2016, by Alexandra Farber, from Naked Wines
• the music was Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3,  Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the Orchestre Métropolitain

When I spotted Lynn Haven’s stall in the Greenmarket on Wednesday I was reminded that I hadn’t even thought about goat meat in quite a while. After a discussion about what was inside the freezer boxes that day, and a reflection on how much cooking heat I might be able to tolerate in the kitchen on a July night, I decided on one of her tiny racks. I picked the loin, mostly because it looked so perfectly compact, but also because its weight seemed just right for a modest serving of meat for 2 people.

• one goat loin rack (.82 pounds) from Lynn Haven in the Union Square Greenmarket, dry-marinated in the refrigerator for almost 4 hours in a mixture of rosemary leaves from Stokes Farm, removed from their stems; one medium crushed bay leaf from Westside Market; a bit of zest from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market; a small part of one crushed dried dark habanada pepper; sea salt, and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, allowed to sit, covered, inside the refrigerator for a few hours, then brought to room temperature over an hour before ready to be roasted, at which time it was dried with paper towels and coated lightly with olive oil, the oven preheated to 425º and a heavy oval enameled cast iron pan placed inside for 10 minutes, the goat arranged one of its flesh sides down inside the hot pan and roasted in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes (for rare to medium rare doneness), allowed to rest 7 minutes or so, the ribs separated into 4 chops with a heavy knife and arranged on 2 plates, finished with a squeeze of the lemon from which the zest had been removed earlier, drizzled with a bit of olive oil, garnished with ‘Bull’s Blood’ micro beet from Windfall Farms
• four large cherry tomatoes from Alex’s Tomato Farm, in Carlisle, NY, from Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market, halved, placed cut side down inside the pan from which the goat had just been removed and allowed to begin to soften, turning once, arranged on the plates and sprinkled with Maldon salt and Tellicherry pepper
• two thick stalks of celtuce from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, the leaves removed from the ‘stalks’ and washed several times, wilted in a bit of olive oil and set aside, then the stalks themselves peeled and cut into discs, briefly par-boiled in a low-sodium vegetable broth, drained, dried, and sautéed in a little olive with a tiny amount of finely-chopped red spring onion stems from Alewife Farm over a moderate flame for a minute or two, then tossed with a sprinkling of pine nuts which had earlier been heated in a cast iron pan until they had begun to brown, the celtuce leaves reserved earlier now gently reheated and distributed onto the plates and the sliced stalks and pine nuts placed aside and a little on top of them

• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) red, David Akiyoshi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Clarksburg 2014, from Naked Wines
• the music was a magnificent performance of Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe

I had intended to serve these tender young squid with some terrific-looking celtuce I had brought home from the Union Square Greenmarket, but I got carried away writing about dinner the day before, took too much time at the task, and ended up without enough time for its preparation.

For vegetables otherwise I knew I had some cucumbers, but there were only 3, and they were very small. I did have plenty of small tomatoes, but since they were likely to overwhelm the cucumbers, I decided to ration the amount, and I took this opportunity to improvise further, and that’s exactly what I did.

I found a sweet allium, then 2 different kinds of fresh greens, and I knew I was set.

The cephalopods were as delicious as usual, and the improvised vegetable was awesome.

• a large rectangular enameled cast iron pan heated on top of the stove until quite hot, its cooking surface brushed with olive oil, and once the oil was also quite hot, just under one pound of rinsed and carefully dried squid from Blue Moon Fish Company, bodies and tentacles, quickly arranged inside, immediately sprinkled with some super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, part of one dried Sicilian pepperoncino, also from Buon Italia, some sea salt, and a bit of freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, followed by a drizzle of a few tablespoons of juice from an organic lemon which had come from Whole Foods Market, and some olive oil, the pan placed inside a pre-heated 400º oven and roasted for only 5 minutes, then removed, the squid distributed onto 2 plates, ladled with a bit of their cooking juices, which had been transferred into a sauce pitcher
• the vegetable mix began with sautéing 4 halved sweet spring red onions from Alewife Farm until they had softened and begun to brown, followed by the chopped segments of 3 small cucumbers from Norwich Meadows Farm, also cooked until they had begun to brown, finished with 8 orange-red cherry tomatoes from Neversink Organic Farm, punctured to control their bursting once on the plates, heated until just beginning to soften, the mix arranged on the plates on top of a dressed spray made up of a few leaves of purple lettuce from Norwich Meadows Farm and arugula from Stokes Farm
• the wine was an Italian (Tuscany) white, Teruzzi & Puthod Terre di Tufi 2014, which we believe came from our local spirits shop, from Philippe Liquors
• the music was Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, from a recording of Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe

I can’t explain how I ended up preparing this very untraditional dish on the American Fourth of July, but it was probably just because I ran out of time the day before and was unable to pick up a steak.

I think it was mostly an Italian meal, with a touch of Austria.

Its pleasures however were beyond nationality or occasion, and huge.

I had never cooked sliced cross-cut veal shanks before, but after being shown a small package of 2 pieces by Alex of Consider Bardwell Farm, one of my favorite meat purveyors (although primarily a producer of cow and goat cheese), I decided I wanted to give it a try.

I mostly used this very simple recipe, which was delicious. I was surprised and very pleased with how little it heated up the kitchen, and how the cook wasn’t needed at all for the last full 2 hours of the process.

The vegetable was a mix of green and yellow Romano beans (flat pole beans), and they were very sweet and extraordinarily fresh.

• two thick cross-cut sections of veal shank from Consider Bardwell Farm, dredged in seasoned local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, seared and browned on all sides in a tablespoon or more of olive oil inside a heavy medium tin-lined copper sauce pan over medium-high heat (allow 10 or 12 minutes), removed and placed on a plate, the heat reduced to medium-low, one small red onion and one small yellow onion, chopped, both from Norwich Meadows Farm, plus 2 large chopped cloves of Christopher Garlic Ranch garlic from Eataly added to the pan and sautéed until tender (about 3 or 4 minutes), the shanks returned to the pan along with any liquid which had accumulated, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-chopped Tellicherry pepper, followed by one 14-ounce can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes, 7 ounces of a good low-sodium chicken broth, and an equal amount of white wine, 1/2 teaspoon of some very pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, and 1/4 teaspoon, or a little more, of zest from an organic lemon from Whole Food Market, brought to a simmer, then covered most of the way with a flat tin-lined copper lid, and simmered on the lowest possible flame, cooking for 2 hours, no attention needed, or until the meat was very tender and beginning to fall off of the bones, arranged on 2 plates and served topped with a gremolata consisting of one tablespoon or a little more of chopped parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm, one minced garlic clove, and another 1/4 teaspoon or more of lemon zest [the dish can be prepared 3 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated, and it’s likely to taste even better than if eaten the first day; also, should there be any leftover sauce, there are many ways it could be the highlight of another meal]
• two potato dumplings [Kartoffelklöße], ‘Melle’s Best Kartoffel Knödel’, purchased frozen from Schaller & Weber, defrosted the day before, boiled for about 12 minutes in salted water, drained and arranged on the plates on top of the osso buco sauce and drizzled with some more
• a combination of green and yellow Romano beans from Norwich Meadows Farm, parboiled for a few minutes, drained, dried, reheated in butter inside a heavy tin-lined copper pan, tossed with chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-chopped Tellicherry pepper, arranged on the plates and sprinkled with chopped micro fennel from Windfall Farms

There was a small cheese course.

• a bit each of ‘Danby” goat cheese and ‘Rupert’ cow cheese, both from Consider Bardwell Farm, served with a few dried cherries from Whole Foods Market

And there was the rare appearance of a proper dessert (after all, it was the Fourth, and they made a decent red/white/blue image).

• raspberries from Wicklow Orchards, some of them mashed with a little orzata, to make a self-sauce, scattered on top of a medium scoop of Lā Loos ‘Vanilla Snowflake’ goat milk ice cream from Whole Foods Market, and topped with a bit of maple candy ginger that I had purchased in the Union Square Greenmarket and keep in the freezer compartment, but I no longer know the identity of the makers

 

• the wine through the first 2 courses was an Austrian (Carnuntum) red, Blaufränkisch, Markowitsch 2015, from Astor Wine & Spirits
• the music throughout the meal (as we were thinking of America, and Americans), was Leonard Bernstein’s 1956[+] opera, ‘Candide’, a 1989 recording with the composer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Chorus, with soloists including Adolph Green, Christa Ludwig, Nicolai Gedda, Jerry Hadley, and others

Continuing a series of minimal dinners, last night I placed one great fish and one great vegetable on the table, using a pretty light hand in preparing each.

I got to the Greenmarket just in time to pick up the last of Haifa’s and Zaid’s Japanese eggplants (the last of the day, that is).

• two 7-ounce sea bass fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dipped in a mixture of an egg from Millport Dairy and several tablespoons of chopped parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm, the fish then dredged in a local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, sautéed inside a heavy oval tin-lined copper pan for a couple minutes in a mixture of butter and olive oil, first skin side down, then turned and cooked for another 2 minutes, or until the fish was cooked through (the time will vary with the size of the fillets and the height of the flame), removed from the pan and arranged on the plates, where it was sprinkled with the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods, and dressed with the pan juices which had been mixed with still more chaopped parsley after the fillets had been removed
• six quite small Japanese eggplants from Norwich Meadows Farm, each cut in half  lengthwise, brushed with a mixture of olive oil, finely-chopped Christopher Garlic Ranch garlic from Eataly, chopped peppermint from Lani’s Farm, sea salt, and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, the eggplant pan-grilled, turning once or more, then arranged on an oval platter, sprinkled with more chopped peppermint, and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was a California (Lake County) white, Dancing Crow Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Lake County 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Vivaldi’s 1738 opera, ‘L’oracolo In Messenia’ Fabio Biondi conducting Europa Galante

A remarkably delicious meal for one so simple and easy to put together, which was the reason for my picking it last night.

It’s a classic in our home, and there’s also this equally-classic version which skips the anchovies. But it seems I hadn’t served either in some time.

• while the water for boiling 8 ounces of Afeltra spaghetti chitarra from Buon Italia was being readied in a large stainless pasta pot, 3 large garlic cloves, coarsely-chopped, were heated over a low-medium flame inside a large enameled cast iron pot until they had begun to soften and turn golden, after which 2 salted anchovies, rinsed thoroughly, filleted, and roughly chopped, were added and stirred until they had broken up, followed by part of a dried Sicilian pepperoncino from Buon Italia, crushed, a tablespoon or two of roughly-chopped parsley from Phillips Farm and about a quarter cup of the pasta cooking water, the mix then allowed to simmer and reduce slightly while the pasta finished cooking (to be removed from the pot after only about 4 minutes, while still a little chewy in the center), at which time the spaghetti was drained, tossed into the pot with the sauce, and, the heat turned up slightly, everything cooked, stirring, for another minute or two, then arranged in 2 shallow bowls, another tablespoon or two of parsley sprinkled on top of each

There had been an antipasto. I didn’t photograph it however because, still distracted by a bad cold, I hadn’t made it look pretty enough on the plates. This is what the Speck should have looked like, but it still tasted absolutely delicious.

• three ounces of La Quercia’s always wonderful ‘Speck Americano’ from Whole Foods Market, drizzled with a very good olive oil (Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto’, from Eataly), served with a lightly-dressed salad of purple lettuce from Norwich Meadows Farm combined with arugula from Lani’s Farm, accompanied by slices of Orwasher’s ‘Grain Bread’ (8 whole grains and honey) from the 23rd Street Saturday greenmarket

 

• the wine throughout was an Italian (Ischia) white, Casa d’Ambra Ischia Bianco 2014, from Garnet Wines & Liquors
• the music throughout was Bruckner’s Symphony No. 2, Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the Orchestre Métropolitain