I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner, other than that it would be a pasta, until I looked at the inventory of vegetables and other stuff I keep on line on my Evernote application. I proceeded to write out a number of possibilities on a sheet of scrap paper, then circled some and drew a few diagonal lines between them, and this is what I turned up.

It began with a bag of Melothria.

Also unplanned was being able to incorporate the contents of a half-empty box of rigatoni that our Berlin apartment exchange friends had left us in one of our cupboards.

• a simple sauced pasta which began with a couple tablespoons of olive oil inside a high-sided tin-lined copper pot gently heating roughly half a pound of halved ‘Mexican gherkins’ (not actually cucumbers, but ‘Melothria scabra‘) along with the last fresh habanada pepper of the season, sliced, after which 8 ounces of al dente-boiled De Cecco Rigatoni no. 24 were mixed in, including, oddly, a few ounces of an unlabelled  spaghetti I had also found in that pasta box (I figured it would make the dish look even more interesting), and about half a cup of reserved pasta cooking water added and stirred in the pot until the liquid had emulsified, a bit of juice from a Whole Foods organic lemon squeezed over the pasta, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, part of a heap of micro scallions tossed and stirred into the mix, which was then placed in 2 shallow bowls, topped with a pinch of fenugreek, garnished with the remainder of the micro scallions and drizzled with a little olive oil
• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia) white, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2015
• the music was an album of Luigi Nono Orchestral Works and Chamber Music

How about 2 herring servings for $6 and change? Sure, they had to be prepared at home, but that part was no charge, and a lot of fun (not to mention the bonus of its ensuring we could enjoy the style and comfort of a venue we’d created ourselves).

Herring is, by the way, one of the healthiest protein sources around, and one of the most delicious if cooked sensitively, that is, with some form of acid to complement the dark flesh of the fish.

“One of the great underappreciated dark-fleshed fish..” – Mark Bittman

Barry and I are  very lucky to live in a part of the world where there are an extraordinary number of varieties of seafood in local waters, where most are judged plentiful enough to be harvested by smaller operators, where those fishers want to make them available fresh for retail purchase by ordinary people in a central public market within a short but healthy walking distance, and where I enjoy the time needed to seek them out and prepare them using the best of my skills and some good kitchen tools.

On Monday afternoon, to top it off, I was able to bring home the noble herring praised in the Bittman text above. I thought I had hit the jackpot. The quote, from his book, ‘Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking‘, continues, mentioning that herring is rarely available fresh in the US: “If you are lucky enough to find some, cook it using any mackerel or sardine recipe.”

Even more splendid: My own suppliers had gone through the trouble of filleting these wonderful small fish. making them even more convenient to prepare at home.

Last night I was inspired by this BBC ‘good food’ recipe I found on line that same evening, adjusting it to my kitchen and the ingredients I had on hand. It was one I hadn’t tried before, and I decided on it last night because, after several recent dinners which had included fish fillets and cherry tomatoes, I didn’t want have one in which that fairly obvious ingredient was going to be featured once again.

• * nine small herring fillets (a total of 12 ounces) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rinsed under running cold water, drained, dried, brushed with a little olive oil and seasoned lightly with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on a double cast iron grill pan which had gotten very hot over 2 high burner flames, grilled, skin side down, for l to 2 minutes, turned over and cooked for 1 to 2 minutes more, drizzled with a little olive oil, arranged on 2 plates and served with a sauce which had just been mixed in a small bowl, of mustard (half whole-grain Maille ‘Old Style’ whole grain Dijon, and half Domaines des Vignes ‘extra forte‘ Dijon), the chopped leaves removed from a large bunch of thyme branches from S. & S.O. Farm, a teaspoon of Linden honey from Tremblay Apiaries in the Union Square Greenmarket), the zest and juice from one Whole Foods Market organic lemon, and a bit of olive oil
• upland cress from Paffenroth Gardens, dressed with olive oil, Maldon Salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon

 

• three medium-size unpeeled Red Norland potatoes from Berried Treasures farm, boiled with a generous amount of salt until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried while still inside the large still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, tossed with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a generous amount of lovage from Keith’s Farm
• the wine was a Spanish (Rias Baixas) white, Martin Codax Albarino 2016, from Philippe Liquors and Wines
• the music was Hector Berlioz’s 1846 légende dramatique, ‘La Damnation de Faust’, Myung-Whun Chung conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, with Anne Sofie von Otter, Bryn Terfel, Keith Lewis, Victor von Halem, with others

It was still a simple meal, even though there were two courses. Also, each could be assembled surprisingly quickly.

• four ounces of Applegate ‘Naturels’ prosciutto from Whole Foods Market, drizzled with a very good Sicilian olive oil, from from Agricento, Azienda Agricola Mandranova (exclusively Nocellara olives)
• served with upland cress from Paffenroth Gardens, dressed with the same oil, Maldon Salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon
• slices of a flax seed ‘Armadillo’ from Bobolink Dairy

The primi was as far as we got in courses, although a secondo had never even been contemplated. This pasta had a lot of presence however, and was a bit of an innovation, since it was a beet fusilli, which doesn’t normally appear on Italian menus.

• eight ounces of cooked Sfoglini beet fusilli heated and stirred in a butter sage sauce composed of 3 tablespoons of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ melted in a heavy, high-sided tin-lined copper sauté pan and heated with  a number of fresh sage leaves from from Phillips Farm and my penultimate habanada pepper of the year, from Norwich Meadows Farm, chopped, roughly half of a cup of the reserved pasta liquid added and stirred until the sauce had emulsified, 2 or 3 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano Reggiano Hombre from Whole Foods Market scattered on top once the pasta and sauce had been arranged in shallow bowls
• the wine was an Italian (Lazio) white, ‘Elephas’ Bianco, Castello di Torre 2016, from Astor Wines
• the music, in our continuing informal exploration of twentieth-century symphonies, was Bohuslav Martinu’s 1942 Symphony No. 1, Cornelius Meister conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

It was both breakfast and lunch, and as I’m writing this at nearly nine o’clock that same day, Sunday, I’m only beginning to feel hungry now, after enjoying it 6 or 7 hours ago, our only meal of the day so far.

It was also really, really tasty.

• * the ingredients included terrific rich eggs from Tamarack Hollow Farm; excellent bacon from Flying Pigs Farm; toast from 3 different interesting crusty breads, a whole wheat seeded from Runner & Stone Bakery, an organic multigrain baguette from Bread Alone, and a flax seed ‘Armadillo’ from Bobolink Dairy; spicy and crunchy upland cress from Paffenroth Gardens; the always excellent Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods Market; one of my favorite spices, habanada pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm, dried at home; Japanese scallion leaves, also from Norwich meadows Farm; lovage, an herb that I love out of all proportion, from Two Guys from Woodbridge; micro scallion, also from Two Guys from Woodbridge; fresh oregano from Keith’s Farm, both in their heating and sprinkled on the tomatoes; a pinch of a mix of Nigerian cayenne and Spanish paprika, also sprinkled on the tomatoes; a bit of ‘Italy’ [marked ‘Product of Italy’] olive oil from Whole Foods Market; a dollop or 2 of rich Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ (12 grams of fat) from Whole Foods Market; sea salt, some of it Maldon salt; and very good freshly-ground black pepper, also a Whole Foods Market house brand
• the music was a number of early-eighteenth-century motets by Campra and Couperin, William Christie directing Les Arts Florissants

(the quince chutney hadn’t yet made it to the plate when I took this picture)

 

When was the last time anyone out there had mutton? Like most everyone in the English-speaking world, at least of my age or younger, I’ve only heard about mutton when it was being reviled as unfit for a proper meal.

I’ve been curious about the meat of mature sheep for decades, but i had never come across mutton until this past Friday when I saw a small sign on the Greenmarket table of a farmer with whose products I had only recently become acquainted (and with much satisfaction).

Over the years I had already learned something about what to expect. After a conversation at the stand, about the type of sheep the farm raises (‘hairy breeds‘), the differences between lamb and mutton generally (in this case it would not really be a very old sheep), and the description of good mutton as somewhat like game, I was really excited to try it for the first time. I bought 4 rib chops, which were roughly the size of most lamb chops, because the breed was smaller than sheep. It would be up to me to see that the experience was good.

It was very good, and I was able to bring it to the plate medium rare. Together with quince chutney, and some really good vegetables (all of which were also pretty much out of the ordinary), these mutton chops made a really excellent [*] meal. They were everything i expected, and more.

I’ll definitely be going back.

 

• * four 5-ounce mutton chops from Lowland Farm, in  Warwick, New York, dried thoroughly, grilled on a very hot enameled cast iron ribbed pan for a total of 10 or 12 minutes, turning twice, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper after the first time, finished with a squeeze of juice from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, scattered with micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge, and drizzled with a little olive oil
• * quince chutney remaining from an earlier meal, using this theKitchn.com recipe, incorporating a red shallot from Norwich Meadows Farm, a Rocambole garlic clove from Keith’s Farm, quince from Troncillito Farms, dried sweet cherries (don’t know whether they were local) from Whole Foods, fresh ginger from Lani’s Farm, and apple cider vinegar from Race Farm
• * two small heads of tardivo radicchio from Campo Rosso Farm, prepared pretty much according to this simple recipe, which is to say, washed under cold running water, the moisture shaken off, each head cut in half lengthwise, and a V-cut made inside the root end to allow it to cook more rapidly, the halves arranged inside a ceramic oven pan cut side up, covered with thyme sprigs from S. & S.O. Farm, seasoned generously with salt and pepper, drizzled with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, baked for about 12 minutes, turned over, baked for about 8 minutes more, turned so the cut side is up and once again returned to the oven, this time for only a couple minutes or so, or until the stems were tender [the tardivo can be served hot or warm]
• * less than a pound of small root parsley from Paffenroth Gardens, their beautiful greens cut off when they were first brought home (they can be enjoyed as a strong-flavored parsley, but I didn’t have occasion to do so this time), and 2 sunchokes from Max Creek Hatchery, all of the roots trimmed, scrubbed, and sliced into sections equivalent to small French fries (although their small size and their shapes made something of a mockery of my attempt this time), tossed inside a bowl with a little olive oil, a few pinches of sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, one small fresh habanada pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm, chopped, and fresh whole rosemary leaves from S. & S.O. Farm, spread onto a large Pampered chef unglazed ceramic oven pan, roasted inside a 400º oven for 20 minutes, tossed, then returned to the oven for another 5 or 10 minutes until, ideally, golden on the edges, with crispy ends, but a tender center.
• * the wine was a California (Sonoma) red, ROX Scott Peterson Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma 2015, from Naked Wines
• * the music was a wonderful performance of Haydn’s 1783 opera, ‘Armida’, with  Jessye Norman, Claes H. Ahnsjö, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Robin Leggate, and others,
  Antal Doráti conducting the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra

I didn’t plan it that way, but last night’s dinner looks very much like a summer meal. All of its major elements however came fresh from local producers, and had been in the Union Square Greenmarket this week. Not quite making that cut were the tomatoes, which came from Maine, meaning that, while they weren’t quite local, they didn’t come from thousands of miles away. Otherwise, the real locavore exceptions were the olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, lemon, and vinegar.

The pole beans were a big December surprise, and they were delicious. I managed to gather up the last of them from inside the farmer’s bucket yesterday.

• two 8-ounce flounder fillets from Pura Vida Seafood, lightly seasoned, sautéed  with the flesh side down for about 3 minutes in a tablespoon each of olive oil and butter inside a heavy old, tin-lined copper pan over medium-high heat, turning once and cooking for another 2 minutes or so, placed on the plates, a couple of spoonfuls of ‘tomato butter’ [see the bullet below] arranged on each fillet
• tomato butter, begun by melting 3 tablespoons of melted butter inside a 19th-century enameled cast iron porringer, adding 2 finely-chopped small Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm until they were slightly soft and fragrant, letting the flavored butter cool slightly before being poured over 4 ounces of Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, cut into eighths, adding 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped tarragon from Willow Wisp Organic Farm, the mix seasoned with salt, and adding a few drops of good Spanish Rioja wine vinegar
• some leaves from a live mesclun plant from Two Guys from Woodbridge, dressed with a bit of a very good Sicilian olive oil, Maldon salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a small squeeze from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon
• yellow pole beans from Norwich Meadows Farm, blanched, reheated as later as the fish was finishing cooking in a bit of olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper and finished with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was an Argentinian (Cafayate/Salta) white, Amauta Torrontés 2016 from Phillipe Wines
• the music was Lully‘s 1674  tragédie en musique, ‘Alceste‘, Christophe Rousset directing Les Talens Lyriques, with Judith van Wanroij, Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Emiliano Gonzales Toro, Bre Williams, Etienne Bazola, Bénédicte Tauran, Lucía Martín-Cartón, Enguerrand de Hys, and the Chœur de chambre Namur