The first course, of rillettes, with a condiment, was the fruit of an impulse purchase.

• pork rillette (pastured pork, quatre épices, bay, garlic, vinegar, and brandy) from Hudson & Charles,  served with a Bergamot marmalade from Westside Market, and slices of whole wheat bread (formerly labeled ‘Integrale’) from Eataly

The hake appeared on the table on Saturday because we hadn’t enjoyed that noble fish in three months, and because I had spotted some very fresh-looking fillets at the Greenmarket earlier in the day.  As I had once before, again trying to avoid turning on the oven on a summer evening, I used a recipe originally calling for cod, merluzzo dorato, I substituted hake (making it nasello dorato), as the two fish are very similar.  It’s the late Kyle Phillips‘s terrific recipe.

• hake fillets from Seatuck Fish Company, dredged in seasoned flour and dipped in a beaten egg from Millport Dairy, sautéed in butter, along with a handful of chopped fresh oregano from Lani’s Farm, then sprinkled with lemon juice and the pan juices that remained
• their outer petals peeled off and discarded, stems and tips trimmed, baby artichokes from S. & S.O. Produce Farms, quartered lengthwise (each placed in a bowl of water and lemon juice while being processed) and drained when all were ready to cook, added to a layer of olive oil over a medium flame in a large non-reactive pan (in this case, enameled cast iron), seasoned with salt and pepper, stirred 5 to 7 minutes until slightly browned, some red pepper flakes, two finely-chopped fresh garlic cloves from Lucky Dog Organic, and a couple tablespoons of chopped parsley from Keith’s Farm added to the pan, the vegetables finally transferred to plates and sprinkled with a few drops of a chianti wine vinegar

 

• the wine was a Spanish white, Naia D.O. Rueda 2014, from Verdejo old vines
• the music was Mozart’s ‘Così Fan Tutte‘ the Karl Böhm recording with Ludwig, Schwarzkopf, Kraus, and Schmidt,