I’m developing an obsession with fenugreek.

After our experience with it on eggs this morning (afternoon), it will be difficult for me to keep it away from our late Sunday breakfasts.

It’s not as if there were no other seasonings involved, but the fenugreek I purchased from Nirmala Gupta’s ‘Bombay Emerald Chutney Company‘ at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street is what I remember this time.

• the elements of the meal were eggs and thick bacon from Millport Dairy Farm, toasts from 3 different breads, second-day, or older (that is, a Balthazar baguette, an Orwasher’s multigrain, and a multigrain and seeded Bread Alone loaf), a bit of the green section from a Japanese scallion from Norwich Meadows Farm, tiny pieces of a medium hot Calabrian cherry pepper from Alewife Farm, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’, and bronze micro fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the music was the 1656-1657 ‘Missa Azzolina’ of Orazio Benevolo (or Benevoli), performed by Le Concert Spirituel directed by Hervé Niquet [more on the piece here]

I wasn’t able to get to the Union Square Greenmarket today, but I was still able to get some fresh fish for the evening, because of Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street.

• four 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 more than a teaspoon of a combination of chopped rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm and thinly-sliced Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm, the fish seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, placed inside an enameled cast iron pan and broiled skin side up, 4 or 5 inches from the flames, for about 5 minutes, or when the skin had become crisp and the fish cooked through, sauced with a bit of olive oil in which 2 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, kept warm while the fillets were broiled, finished on the plates with chopped oregano from Stokes Farm, organic Whole Foods Market lemon wedges served on the side
• purple mustard greens from Paffenroth Farms, wilted for only about 10 to 15 seconds in a little live oil in which one clove of sliced rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm had been allowed to sweat, a small amount of a Calabrian medium hot cherry pepper from Alewife Farm added after the greens had wilted, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, finished on the plates with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a Portugese (Alenejo) white, Esporão Reserva White 2015, from Manley’s Wine & Spirits, 35 8th Avenue
• the music was William Duckworth’s ‘The Time Curve Preludes’

Dolphin.

I love this fish, for its beauty almost as much as its tastiness. This time I was able to see, and photograph, a little bit of the former while it stay lay in the fish monger’s bucket in the Union Square Greenmarket.

• one fairly thick Atlantic dolphin fillet (17 ounces) – with skin! – from Pure Vida Seafood, washed, dried, halved crosswise, rubbed with olive oil on both sides, coated with a mix of one half tablespoon of organic lemon zest from Whole Foods Market, an equal amount of lemon juice, sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, then allowed to sit for about half an hour (at first inside the refrigerator, but removed early enough to come to room temperature) while the accompanying vegetable, a corn-husk cherry-tomato-salsa, was assembled, then pan grilled over a medium to high flame, skin side up, for almost 2 1/2 minutes, turned, and grilled with the flesh side up for almost 4 1/2 minutes longer, the fillets arranged on 2 plates, drizzled with a little more lemon juice, scattered with fennel blossom buds, a bit of olive oil poured over the top
• two ears of organic white sweet corn (‘Sugarbuns’) from Alewife Farm, husked, coated with olive oil, rubbed with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, pan-grilled, the kernels cut from the cobs and mixed inside a bowl with a couple handfuls of husked ground cherries from Tamarack Hollow Farm; one red heirloom tomato from Berried Treasures; 2 small Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced; part of a fresh medium hot Calabrian cherry pepper from Alewife Farm; 2 tablespoons of torn basil from a living Stokes Farm plant, tossed with a vinaigrette made with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of half of a small organic Whole Foods Market lemon, the zest from that half lemon, salt and pepper, and, finally, a bit of fenugreek powder from Nirmala Gupta’s ‘Bombay Emerald Chutney Company‘ at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street

Most of the vegetables and the one fresh herb are lined up below.

• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Terredora Falanghina 2016, from Garnet Wines & Liquors
• the music was Beethoven, Piano Concertos Nos. 1and 2, Bruno Weil directing the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra from the fortepiano

..and also a bit of peperoncini.

I think I’ve come to prefer chevre over mozzarella as an accompaniment to the best tomatoes, especially when the cheese is as good as that produced by Ardith Mae.

For the purposes of this meal at least, which, even without buffalo mozzarella (we have buffalo pasta instead), is more Italian than French, I’m going to call this fresh cheese ‘caprino’.

• slices of 3 different colored heirloom tomatoes from Berried Treasures Farm, served with an Ardith Mae chevre (or, humor me here: ‘caprino‘), Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper, some torn basil leaves that had been pulled off of a live plant from Stokes Farm, both tomatoes and cheese drizzled with an excellent olive oil, Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto’ from Eataly
• slices from a loaf of Orwasher’s Multigrain bread

I just noticed that the main course was as vegetarian as the first one. In fact, this pasta dish was almost vegan.

• Japanese cucumbers [It. cetriolo], about a pound, from Berried Treasures Farm, sliced about 1/2″ thick, dried, sautéed inside a very large cast iron pan in a little olive oil over a fairly high flame until they had begun to color, then joined by 2 whole small dried red Calabrian peppers from Alewife Farm and 2 chopped red scallions [It. Scalogno] from Rise & Root Farm, and cooked until softened, tossed with some fennel [It. finocchio] buds from Berried Treasures, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black peppers, after which 8 ounces of Sfoglini’s Riverine Ranch water buffalo milk pasta, cooked al dente, and some of the reserved pasta water were added to the vegetables, stirred over a low-to-moderate flame for a couple of minutes to blend the flavors and the ingredients, transferred to shallow bowls, finished with a drizzle of olive oil and some homemade breadcrumbs scattered on top, micro bronze fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge sprinkled over all
• the wine was an Italian (Veneto) rosé, Bardolino Chiaretto Corte Gardoni 2016, from Eataly Vino
• the music was Johann Wilhelm Hässler’s ‘360 Preludes in All Major and Minor Keys’, performed by Vitlaus von Horn [much more information about the composer here]

It looks as good as it tasted. Mackerel is a super fish, and if the recipe chosen works with its singular qualities, there’s almost nothing better. This recipe is one of my favorites, and in fact so favorited that it’s almost my only one.

And the fillets looked great throughout, from the moment I spied them inside the fisher’s bucket in the Union Square Greenmarket until they arrived on the table.

I’m writing this the next day, and I can smell the heavenly aromas, fish and char, as I revisit them in these pictures.

And look at those lines!

• six Spanish mackerel fillets (a total of about 15 ounces) from Blue Moon Fish, washed, dried, brushed with olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, pan grilled over high heat for 6 or 7 minutes, skin side down first, turned half way through, removed and completed on the plates with a salsa consisting of 7 ounces of gorgeous cherry tomatoes in various colors and sizes from Alewife Farm, halved,  tossed with olive oil, a teaspoon or more of Sicilian salted capers (first rinsed and drained), much of one small red Calabrian chili pepper, half a tablespoon of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a bit of spicy liquid, now slightly-fermented, that remained from a salsa prepared for the meal the night before
• haricots verts from Sycamore Farms, left whole, blanched, drained and dried in the same pan over low-medium heat, shaking, then set aside in a bowl until the fish was ready to be grilled , at which time they were reheated in a little oil inside a heavy well-seasoned cast iron pan, finished with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and mixed with fennel buds from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm
• the wine was a French (Côtes de Provence) rosé, Rosé Chateau des Muraires Seduction 2015, from Garnet Wines
• the music was Mark Anfre’s ‘…auf…’, Sylvain Cambreling conducting the SWR Baden-Baden and the Freiburg Symphony Orchestra

It’s the perfect fast food. And you can enjoy it in the comfort of your own home, especially when Dolores, the wife of the fisherman Phil Karlin, has made the crab cakes.

• two crab cakes from PE & DD Seafood (crab, egg, flour, red & green peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, milk, celery, and parsley), defrosted earlier in the evening, heated with a drizzle of olive oil inside a heavy oval enameled cast iron pan, 3 to 4 minutes to each side, served on a salsa composed of chopped mixed heirloom tomatoes (including one tiny hard green one) from Berried Treasures Farm, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a bit of a bit of a homemade French Basque  piment d’Espellate we had purchased in a small town north of Baie-Comeau, Quebec from the producer’s daughter, much of one small red Calabrian chili pepper from Alewife Farm, and some torn fresh basil pulled off of a very much alive plant from Stokes Farm, both crab cakes and salsa finished with a sprinkling of micro lemon peppercress from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• a salad of arugula and fennel buds, both from Berried Treasures; thinly-sliced red radishes from Row By Row Farm; sliced Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm; chopped baby fennel fronds from Paffenroth Farms, all tossed together with a bit of sea salt; freshly-ground black pepper; Sicilian olive oil from Whole Foods Market; and organic lemon juice from Whole Foods Market

There was a small cheese course.

• portions of two cow cheeses, ‘Pawlet’ and ‘Rupert’, from Consider Bardwell Farm
• toasts from a Balthazar baguette
• some delicious Candice red seedless grapes from Troncillito Farms, their stand in the Union Square Greenmarket.

 

• the wine throughout was a Portuguese (Douro) white, Crasto Douro D.O.C. 2014, from Manley’s Wine & Spirits, 35 8th Avenue
• the music through the meal was from the album, ‘Live from Lugano Festival 2016‘, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, and his ‘Gaspard de la nuit‘

This was the second day in a row that we enjoyed meats from one of our favorite local cheese makers. The first time it was veal, this time it was goat, both as superlative as Consider Bardwell’s acclaimed cheeses.

The sausage was wonderful. It was also so juicy it really didn’t need a sauce or condiment, although I found one and had put it on the table before I realized it hardly asked for it. But, as a combination of cranberries and mustard, it was a perfect match.

With this meal my supply of these very good sweet peppers has finally been exhausted.

• four spicy goat sausage links (one pound) from Consider Bardwell Farm, pan-grilled then arranged on a bed of arugula from Franco’s Berried Treasures [the sausage ingredients included goat meat, salt, spices (including red pepper, paprika, cumin, ground mustard), dextrose, sugar, garlic powder, natural spice extractives (including paprika, pepper), and natural hog casings], served with Inglehoffer  cranberry mustard (yeah, that rightness of that condiment was a surprise to me as well)
• a few super-sweet, red and orange, ‘Cornito” peppers and a dark green poblano, all from Alewife Farm, cut, after the seeds and membranes were removed, into bite-size pieces, sautéed over a high flame until slightly caramelized, slivers of Calabrian pepper, baby fennel, fennel fronds, one sliced Japanese scallion, and a pinch of crushed dark dried habanada pepper added near the end, the mix tossed with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper and some chopped summer savory from Ryder Farm, and served with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (Santa Barbara) red, Rick Boyer Santa Barbara County Syrah 2016, from Naked Wines

There was a dessert.

• blackberries from Locust Grove Orchards, some of them mashed with a little turbinado sugar and a couple teaspoons of Toschi Orzata Orgeat syrup to make a self-sauce, the berries scattered on top of a scoop of some fantastic Riverine Ranch Water Buffalo Sweet Cream Ice Cream [the ingredients are buffalo milk, organic farm eggs, pure cane sugar, organic coconut flour, and salt], and the sauce drizzled over the ice cream and the berries

 

• the music throughout the meal was the album, ‘Beyond‘, with performances by the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet of music by Daníel  Bjarnason, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Christopher Cerrone, Ellen Reid, and Andrew McIntosh

It was almost an insalata caprese, but instead of a mozzarella, the cheese was a local fresh chevre (from a small producer I’ve enjoyed supporting since their fantastic  goat milk cheeses first arrived at the Union Square Greenmarket around 10 years ago).

And it was almost a pork chop, except the meat wasn’t pork but local veal (a ‘by-product’, so to speak, of a farm which produces some of our other favorite local cheeses, since only the girl cows produce milk).

The tomatoes were selected from Franca Tantillo’s beautiful multi-table spread inside her Berried Treasures stall at the Union Square Greenmarket,

and The basil, roots still attached, came from Stokes Farm.

The first course was simple, very simple, but the ingredients made it sublime.

• a terrific chevre from Ardith Mae Farmstead, founded by Todd and Shereen Wilcox, arranged on a plate with sliced heirloom tomatoes from Berried Treasures Farm at the Union Square Greenmarket, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, torn basil, off of a live plant from Stokes Farm, scattered on top, and drizzled with a good Puglian olive oil, Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto’, from Eataly
• slices of a Balthazar Bakery baguette, from Whole Foods Market
• the wine was an Italian (Veneto) sparkling rosé, Bisol Jeio Prosecco Brut Rose

In the main course, the spotlight was shared by veal chops and sweet peppers (there was a red pepper and a dark green poblano as well as an orange, which is the only one shown here),

and with the peppers there was a bit of Japanese scallion.

• a tablespoon of olive olive drizzled onto a small oval platter, joined by some whole sage (5 or 6 large leaves) from Phillips Farm, some very pungent fennel buds from Berried Treasures Farm, and one chopped Rocambole garlic clove from Keith’s Farm, the platter then set aside while 2 small but pretty thick veal rib chops (8+ ounces each) from Tony at Consider Bardwell Farm, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper and drizzled generously with olive oil, were placed on an enameled cast iron grill pan that had been pre-heated over a moderately high flame, cooked, turning once, about 6 minutes per side for medium doneness (with a tent of aluminum foil  for much of the time, because of their thickness, to help the process along), transferred to the platter holding the garlic, oil, and herbs, turned to coat, and more olive oil added to the chops, allowed to rest for about 3 minutes, again tented with foil to keep them warm, while several thick slices of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, brushed with olive oil, were added to the grill pan, cooked until warm and beginning to char, turning once, the veal chops arranged on two plates, along with much of the garlic/sage/fennel oil, the lemon slices placed on top
• a few super-sweet, red and orange, ‘Cornito” peppers and one dark green poblano, all from Alewife Farm, cut, after the seeds and membranes were removed, into bite-size pieces, sautéed over a high flame until slightly caramelized, one sliced Japanese scallion and a pinch of crushed dark dried habanada pepper added near the end, the mix tossed with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper and some chopped summer savory from Ryder Farm, and served with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (Amador) red, Ana Diogo-Draper Amador Touriga/Tempranillo 2015, from Naked Wines

 

• the music throughout the meal was the album, ‘Gloria Dresdensis‘, music of 18th-century composers associated with Dresden for at least part of their creative lives (Giuseppi Antonio Brescianello, Johann Georg Pisendel, Johann Adolph Hasse, Johann Friedrich Fasch, Antonio Caldara, Giovanni Battista Sammartini, and Georg Friedrich Händel), performed by the Dresdner Barockorchester

This is a terrific fish, and I’ve said so before. When I came across this site, where the first writer’s story, written only 4 years ago, pretty much sums up the more usual, negative American attitude toward the ‘sea robin’, or ‘gurnard’. Things may finally be changing however, thanks to some savvy fishers and their loyal customers.

Years ago I was on a small party boat fishing for fluke (a client treating myself and some colleagues), and I was really intrigued by these little guys I was pulling up out of the water. I thought they were “pretty and cute”, as one of the folks in that discussion says. The crew on our boat told us they were good for nothing, and tossed them back into the sea.

I now know how to appreciate them, and I have rhapsodized about them at least once before.  I hope that party boat crew has reconsidered its prejudices.

Here are the 9 fillets lying on the counter before they were cooked.

• nine small sea robin fillets, or ‘tails’, from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rinsed, patted dry, then placed in a pan of sizzling olive oil and sautéed over medium-high heat for barely 2 minutes on each side, transferred to the plates, a little organic lemon from Whole Foods Market squeezed on top, then small spoonfuls of an olive tapenade sauce [see immediately below] spread over or between the fillets, sprinkled with some chopped thyme remaining from the preparation of the tapenade
• the tapenade was made by following this simple recipe; I don’t have a powered food processor, but it’s still easy working with only a chef’s knife; the ingredients were Gaeta olives from Buon Italia, Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm, one well-rinsed chopped anchovy packed in salt from Buon Italia, well-rinsed Sicilian capers packed in salt from Buon Italia, freshly ground black pepper, olive oil, and the chopped leaves from a few fresh sprigs of thyme from Stokes Farm

On Friday, at her Union Square Greenmarket stand, ‘Berried Treasures’, Franca Tantillo had steered me toward some fantastic, very sweet, juicy, tender, and buttery variety of zucchini she had grown this summer, ‘Costata Romanesco‘, an Italian heirloom variety.

Time for a side trip to Franca’s farm, with this short video, ‘A Day at Berried Treasures Farm with Brendan McHale‘.

At home I handled the vegetable pretty much as I often do when simply grilling summer squash, and they really were everything she had advertised. I also mixed them up with basil rather than some form of mint, as I have lately, mostly because the basil I had was in superb condition, something often difficult to arrange.

Here the squash slices are on the grill pan, after they had been turned the first time.

And here they sit waiting for the sea robin to finish sautéeing.

• two Romanesco zucchini from Berried Treasures, sliced, thickly, on the diagonal, tossed inside a bowl with olive oil, finely-chopped Rocambole garlic from Keith’ Farm, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, then pan grilled, turning 3 times, on top of a seasoned 2-burner ribbed cast iron plate, arranged on an oval platter, sprinkled with leaves from a basil plant from Stokes Farm and thin slices of one small Calabrian medium hot cherry peppers from Alewife Farm, seeds and pith removed (although that removed all of their heat, which I think we would have welcomed) and allowed to rest for a few minutes while the fish was prepared
• the wine was a Spanish (Girona) rosé, Espelt Coralí rosé (100% Lledoner negre [Grenache] grapes), from Manley’s Wine & Spirits
• the music was the album, ‘Hand Eye’, from Eighth Blackbird

It’s all about too much of anything, and in this case, something that doesn’t come cheap, but it’s hard to do portion control when the fish don’t cooperate. I’m not sure about sea bass, but many fish species run in schools.  This time the class was all of a size where 4 fillets were an overly generous portion, but 2 would have been inadequate (I have to bring home an even number), at least without the support of another course or another vegetable. I had time for neither last night.

Since they shrink a bit after they’re cooked, and the size of my vegetable was modest, I don’t think we looked like we were being unreasonably overindulgent once the fillets were on the plates.

Also, they were so good, I had no regrets I that I hadn’t skimped.

The bass just out of the oven.

The radicchio in the pot.

The bread on the cutting board.

• four Black Sea Bass fillets from Pura Vida Seafood, totaling about 19 ounces, placed skin side down inside an enameled cast iron baking pan in which a teaspoon or so of olive oil had been poured, seasoned with salt and pepper, sprinkled with a mix of parsley and lovage from Keith’s Farm, sage from Phillips Farm, thyme from Stokes Farm, and a bit of a home-dried heatless, orange/gold Habanada pepper (purchased fresh from Norwich Meadows Farm last fall), the fish topped with a coating of homemade bread crumbs and drizzled with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, placed inside a 425º oven for 8 or 10 minutes, finished on 2 plates with a squeeze of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and a light drizzle of olive oil
• one medium head of radicchio from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced broadly, sautéed until barely wilted inside a large, high-sided tin-lined copper pot with a little olive oil in which one medium Rocambole garlic clove from Keith’s Farm and 2 thin sliced French leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm had already been heated until they had softened, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a little olive oil
• slices of a terrific ciabatta, made with stone-ground organic unbleached wheat flower, organic corn flower, whole organic oats, salt, yeast, fromfrom Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse at the Union Square Greenmarket
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Richard Bruno Clarksburg Chenin Blanc 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Thrive on Routine‘, with performances by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, including John Luther Adams’ stunning, single-movement piece, ‘In a Treeless Place, Only Snow’