I thought this would be pretty much a pro forma meal when I started cooking, but sometimes familiar ingredients and a familiar recipe end up as something uncommonly good, and even spectacularly good.

• one nearly 20 ounce hake fillet from from American Seafood Company in the Saturday 23rd Street market, cut into 4 pieces to make an even division for two servings, dredged in local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour that had been seasoned with plenty of sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, dipped into a shallow bowl in which one egg from Millport Dairy Farm had been beaten with a fork, sautéed (“over a brisk flame’, as Kyle Phillips‘ original recipe, for cod, ‘Merluzzo Dorato’, indicates), in more than 2 tablespoons of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ that had been scattered with almost a handful of small sage leaves (once fresh, and now almost completely dried) from Keith’s Farm, inside a heavy vintage oval copper skillet for about 7 minutes, turning the pieces half of the way through, then sprinkled with a little over 2 tablespoons of organic lemon juice from Whole Foods Market and any pan juices that remained, arranged on 2 plates, topped with segments of a tiny ear of corn I had found on the counter of Alex’s Tomato Farm in the 23rd Street greenmarket (it had become detached from a larger ear, and was all that remained of the farmers supply of corn when I spotted it) garnished with chopped parsley, also from Keith’s Farm, and served with lemon wedges

The only accompaniment to the hake was an improvisation, assembled from 4 vegetables I had on hand: 2 small fennel bulbs, 5 red scallions, 1 aji dulce pepper, and 4 very ripe heirloom tomatoes, and nothing else, really.

• two small fennel bulbs from Neversink Organic Farm, stems and fronds removed (the stems and most of the fronds kept for another use, some of the fronds set aside for a garnish), cut into wedges, and, with 3 roughly-chopped fresh spring shallots from Alewife Farm, sautéed inside a heavy high-sided tin-lined medium copper pot over medium high heat until the fennel had just begun to color, at which time one finely-chopped section of an aji dulce pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm was a stirred in and heated briefly to soften it, the heat lowered, the pan covered, the vegetables cooked for another 4 or 5 minutes, the cover removed, and 4 very different sizes and colors of heirloom tomatoes from Alewife farm, roughly chopped, added, the heat turned off and the mix stirred to soften them a bit, everything arranged on the plates and garnished with the chopped fronds of the fennel
• the wine was a Greek (Thessaly/Tyrnavos) white, Domaine Zafeirakis Paleomilos Malagousia 2016, from Flatiron Wines
• the music was the album, Ingram Marshall: Dark Waters, and then, while we lingered long at the table, a significant portion of a long (6-hours) piano piece, ‘Alvin Curran: Inner Cities’, performed by Daan Vandewalle

 

I’ve prepared essentially this same meal a number of times before. Although there are always small variations among the secondary ingredients, if not in both the fish and the greens, I have no idea how one of those meals can end up as exceptionally delicious as the one I put together tonight.

If I had to make a guess, I’d say it was because this time I had incorporated a fairly generous amount of fresh habanada pepper in the coating for the fish, and that these particular Chinese greens, which I had never used before, were pretty extraordinary.

In a related note to file, this cook asks, ‘whatever did cooks do before lemon?’

• * two 8-ounce hake fillets from P.E & D.D. Seafood, dredged in local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour which had been seasoned with plenty of sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, then dipped into a shallow bowl in which one egg from Millport Dairy Farm, about a tablespoon of Trickling Springs Creamery milk, and one chopped fresh habanada pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm had been beaten together with a fork, the filets sautéed in 2 tablespoons of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ along with 5 or 6 large sage leaves from Phillips Farm inside a heavy rectangular enameled cast iron pan for about 7 minutes, turning the hake half of the way through, 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 parsley parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm and chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge, served with lemon wedges on the side
• * purple yu choy sum from Lan’s Farm, washed several times and drained, roughly chopped, wilted inside a large enameled cast iron pot in a tablespoon or so of olive oil in which 2 bruised and halved cloves of Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm had first been allowed to sweat and begin to color, the greens seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on the plates and finished with a squeeze of lemon juice and more olive oil drizzled on top
• * slices from an organic multigrain baguette from Bread Alone
• the wine was a California (Lodi) white, Jacqueline Bahue Albarino California 2015, from Naked Wines
• * the music was a tour de farce, exciting virtuoso performances of an exciting series of baroque arias written by 1733 for Johann Adolf Hasse’s, ‘Siroe, Re di Persia, George Petrou conducting Armonia Atenea, with  Julia Lezhneva, Franco Fagioli, Mary-Ellen Nesi, Max Emanuel Cencic, and others 

I was pretty excited to find cardoons in the Greenmarket on Monday. The excitement continued all the way through its several cooking processes – even while working inside a very warm and humid kitchen – and it survived the entire meal.

Barry, who is crazy about artichokes, which are related to cardoons (both are thistles) was less enthusiastic, because he thought they were too bitter, even after some extended boiling and sautéing (“a bit like eating only the outermost leaves of an artichoke”). I think I have a higher tolerance for weird, medicinal, or bitter flavors (it’s why Barry is almost always the one who tests the wine).

The recipe I used asked for mushrooms. I didn’t have any, although had I known I could have easily brought some home from Union Square. I was reasonably confident I could do without them, and with most recipes that would be possible, but here their presence would probably have moderated some of the acidity. The other recipes for these ‘artichoke thistles’ all seemed to involve either an oven or some deep frying, and I wanted to avoid both expedients.

I think I’ll know better what to expect next time, and there will definitely be a next time. I’ve assembled several new recipes even since preparing last night’s dinner.

There were herbs (there area almost always herbs), sage and parsley for the hake, peppermint for the cardoons.

• two hake fillets (a total of one pound), from P.E. & D. D. Seafood, dredged in local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour seasoned with plenty of sea salt and fresh-ground Tellicherry pepper, dipped in a shallow bowl in which one egg from Millport Dairy and about a tablespoon of Trickling Springs Creamery 2% milk had been beaten together with a fork, sautéed in 2 tablespoons of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’, along with 3 very large fresh sage leaves from Phillips Farms, inside a heavy tin-lined oval copper pan for about 7 minutes, turning the sections half of the way through, 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 parsley from Keith’s Farm, served with lemon wedges on the side
• one stalk of cardoons form Alewife Farm, trimmed, cut into one-inch lengths, prepared (including blanching for about 20 or 25 minutes), along the lines of these instructions, placed without crowding too much, over medium heat inside a large heavy cast iron well-seasoned pan after several tablespoons of the same Organic Valley butter had been placed in it, had melted, and the had foam subsided, the flame reduced to medium-low, the vegetables sautéed, stirring occasionally, until they took on a bit of color, or for about 10 to 12 minutes, followed by one section of an orange/gold dried habanada pepper and one large clove of Rocambole garlic, chopped, from Keith’s Farm, cooked for a very few minutes, or until the garlic was tender, and finally about half a cup of fresh bread crumbs (a white baguette from Whole Foods Market baked a day or two before) and a pinch of salt, the heat turned up to medium-high, and the contents of the pan cooked, stirring occasionally, until the crumbs browned a bit and the cardoons fully tender (and, ideally, sweet), or about 5 minutes longer, the dish seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, arranged on the plates, a bit of lemon juice and some chopped peppermint from Phillips Farm sprinkled over the top
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Richard Bruno Clarksburg Chenin Blanc 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Ligeti, Murail and Benjamin: Musica Viva Vol 22’, George Benjamin conducting the Bavarian RSO and Pierre-Laurent Aimard

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

Golden were the fish and the beets both, but the leeks, micro greens, and Brussels sprouts, also a part of this meal, might better represent the gold of the sun, barely visible in late January (fairly or not, we associate that orb with the green above ground more than the roots below). The date was January 30.

I love this simple recipe, suitable for almost any white fish fillets. I had originally heard about it from the late Kyle Phillips, on the site he had edited, Italian Food on about.com. I have never moved through it the same way twice.

• two flounder fillets (5 ounces each) from P.E. & D. D. Seafood, seasoned with salt and pepper on both sides, coated lightly with well-seasoned North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, then submerged in a shallow bowl containing a mixture of one egg from Millport Dairy, a little whole milk, and a pinch of salt, allowed to stay submerged until the vegetables had been cooked and the remaining ingredients for the fish prepared, then removed from the bowl, placed inside a heavy ton-lined oval copper pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, fried over a brisk flame until golden, barely two minutes for each side, the fillets removed, arranged on warm plates, the heat under the pan turned lower, 3 tablespoons of butter added with 2 sliced scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm, a little golden home-dried habanada pepper (acquired fresh last season from Norwich meadows Farm), salt, and pepper, allowed to cook together, stirring, without browning the butter, for about one minute, then more than a tablespoon of lemon juice introduced into the pan and quickly stirred, the sauce which was produced now poured over the plated fillets, some micro Hong Vit radish scattered next to them

The vegetable accompaniment was a concoction triggered by what I had in the crisper.

• golden (or red) beets from Norwich Meadows Farm, scrubbed, peeled, tossed in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, placed inside a large seasoned Pampered Chef pan and baked at 450º for about 25 minutes, or until softened and only beginning to brown, adding, part of the way through, some very small Brussels sprouts taken from 2 stalks of the little cabbages, also from Norwich Meadows Farm, washed, trimmed, and also tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper

• the wine was a California (Sonoma) white, Scott Peterson Rumpus Chardonnay 2014, from Naked Wines
• the music was Haydn’s 1782 opera, ‘Orlando Paladino’, Antal Doráti conducting the 
  Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, with Elly Ameling, Gwendolyn Killebrew, George Shirley, Claes H. Ahnsjö, Benjamin Luxon, Domenico Trimarchi, Maurizio Mazzieri, Gabor Carelli, and Arleen Augér