Ocean perch. It’s a beautiful fish, and always a treat, even when if one of the diners has to negotiate it while suffering the temporary loss of the use of one hand.

Dealing with the vegetable ended up the larger challenge.

• *four red-skinned ocean perch fillets (18 ounces) from American Seafood Company, rinsed, and dried, both sides brushed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil mixed with a total of little more than one  teaspoon of a chopped Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm and the white section of one thinly-sliced scallion from Phillips Farms, the fish seasoned, also on both sides, 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 4 or 5 minutes, or until the skin had become crisp and the fish was cooked through, finished on the plates with a sauce that had already been prepared by gently heating 2 salted anchovies from Buon Italia, rinsed and filleted, in a bit of olive oil over a very low flame for about 4 minutes until they had fallen apart, the sauce kept warm while the fillets were broiled, the perch garnished with micro buckwheat greens (with a mild sorrel, or lemon flavor), Whole Foods Market organic lemon wedges served on the side
• *one bunch of sweet baby bok choy from Northshire Farm in the Union Square Greenmarket (secretly paid for by an anonymous benefactor), added to a heavy vintage large tin-lined copper pot inside of which 2 bruised and halved Rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm had been heated until beginning to brown, the choy stirred until tender, occasionally introducing some of the water which they had shed after being washed, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on the plates, scattered with some washed, dried, then very roughly cut garlic chives from Lani’s Farm,  drizzled with olive oil
• there was no wine, since it was temporarily forbidden each of us for a few days, for different reasons
• *the music was Vivaldi’s 1726 opera, ‘Il Farnace’, in an extraordinarily beautiful performance led by Jordi Savall; it was now at least our third hearing, not counting this one, from over 12 years ago, in which Vivaldi’s music accompanies Muntean/Rosenblum’s ‘It Is Never Facts That Tell’, the collaborative’s digital projection of a great world emptied and reduced to an enormous landfill, achingly beautiful, even without the music which accompanies its hooded figures

While we really like the recipe I’ve been using for ocean perch fillets for several years, I wanted to try it without the anchovy. Last night I substituted sorrel, because at the moment, with what I had on hand at the moment, it seemed like the most promising alternative.

The result was good, but not exciting; I’m going to keep experimenting with the recipe, perhaps trying some kind of shellfish as the finish, but I also expect to also return to the anchovies, probably in smaller amounts.

I love what these red fillets look like, almost as much as I love their taste and texture.

• six red-skinned ocean perch fillets (18 ounces) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company, rinsed, and dried, both sides brushed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil mixed with a total of little more than a teaspoon of a combination of very small chopped rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm and a thinly-sliced bit from the white section of scallion from from Phillips Farms, the fish seasoned, also on both sides, with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, placed skin side up inside an enameled cast iron pan and broiled, 4 or 5 inches from the flames, for 4 or 5 minutes, or until the skin had become crisp and the fish was cooked through, finished on the plates by drizzling with a small amount of sauce prepared by gently heating a few leaves of baby sorrel from Two Guys from Woodbridge in a bit of olive oil over a very low flame, with fresh leaves added after the heat under the was turned off, Whole Foods Market organic lemon wedges served on the side
• slices of a buckwheat baguette from Runner & Stone Bakery, from their stand in Saturday’s Union Square Greenmarket

• a large bunch of red mustard from Lani’s Farm, wilted in a little olive oil in which several large halved cloves of John D. Madura Farms garlic had been allowed to sweat a bit, seasoned with salt and pepper and finished on the plates with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a French (Loire/Touraine) white, Vouvray Sec, Brisebarre 2014, from Astor Wines
• the music was the 1934 verismo opera, ‘Juha’, by the Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja, Jussi Jalas conducting the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Youth Chorus 

Summer perch.

Last night I decided it might actually be a thing. I think what did for me it were the luscious ripe heirloom tomatoes I chose as the only accompaniment for this wonderful fish.

• nine small (less than 2 ounces each) beautiful orange/red-skinned ocean perch fillets from Danielle Bickleman at American Seafood Company’s stand at Saturday’s Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, rinsed, and dried, both sides brushed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil mixed with a total of little more than one teaspoon, combined, of a chopped Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm and the white section of one thinly-sliced scallion from Lani’s Farm, the fish seasoned, also on both sides, 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 4 or 5 minutes, or until the skin had become crisp and the fish cooked through, finished on the plates with a sauce that had already been prepared by gently heating 2 salted anchovies from Buon Italia, rinsed and filleted, and part of one aji dulce pepper (NOTE: I don’t think the pepper, an innovation of mine this time around, really added anything) in a bit of olive oil inside a small antique enameled cast iron porringer over a very low flame for about 3 minutes, or until the anchovies had fallen apart, and then kept warm, the perch garnished with micro chervil from Two Guys from Woodbridge and organic lemon wedges from Whole Foods Market served on the side

• two large very ripe red heirloom tomatoes from Campo Rosso Farm (the ones on the right above), sliced 1/4″ thick, slid into a medium size copper skillet in which some olive oil had been heating and softening some thickly-sliced sections of a bulbous fresh shallot from Tamarack Hollow Farm, allowed to warm and also soften just a bit, seasoend with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, a number of leaves torn from an almost local  basil plant (Full Bloom Market Garden, Whatley, Massachusetts, from Whole Foods Market), still proudly flourishing in its rich Connecticut River valley soil, mixed in with the tomatoes, carefully arranged on the plates, some of the juices reserved for another day, and sprinkled with a pinch or so of dried fenugreek from Bombay Emerald Chutney Company (that had also been purchased at the Saturday Chelsea Farmers Market),
• slices of a very satisfying rich organic multigrain baguette from Bread Alone
• the wine was a California (Central Coast) rosé, Yian Lu Central Coast Rose 2017, from Naked Wines
• the music was Haydn’s 1777 opera, ‘Il mondo della Luna’, a wonderful opera which we’ve probably heard all the way through half a dozen times, in a great, classic performance with Antal Dorati directing the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and the soloists Arleen Auger, Edith Mathis, Frederica von Stade, Lucia Valentini Terrani, Luigi Alva, et al.

There was neither a cheese course nor a sweet, but there was ein Schlückchen Schnaps. After the table had been cleared, we decided to remain sitting through the end of the opera. We each poured ourselves a little bit of a superb Oregon eau de vie.  It was Clear Creek Distillery’s Douglas Fir Brandy, inspired by the Alsatian, Eau de Vie de Bourgeons de Sapin [clear brandy of fir buds]. A 2009 New York Times piece, ‘The Pursuit and Pleasures of the Pure Spirit‘, provides the context for the inspiration and production of the distillery’s founder, Steve McCarthy.

Mmmmm.

We’re back from California, and I’m back happy to haul local seafood (caught by others) onto our dinner table.

• four red-skinned ocean perch fillets (18 ounces) from American Seafood Company, rinsed, and dried, both sides brushed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil mixed with a total of little more than one  teaspoon of a chopped spring garlic from Berried Treasures Farm, the fish seasoned, also on both sides, 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 4 minutes, or until the skin had become crisp and the fish was cooked through, finished on the plates with a sauce that had already been prepared by gently heating 2 salted anchovies from Buon Italia, rinsed and filleted, in a bit of olive oil over a very low flame for 3 or 4 minutes until they had fallen apart, the sauce kept warm while the fillets were broiled, the perch arranged on the plates on a bed of wild dandelion from Berried Treasures Farm, garnished with chopped fresh summer savory from Stokes Farm, and with Whole Foods Market organic lemon wedges served on the side

• zucchini trifolati, prepared roughly along the lines of the recipe in “Italian Too Easy“, although the ingredients reduced in amounts, made with small yellow zucchini (the yellow variety in the image of summer squash above) from Eckerton Hill Farm, grape tomatoes from Kernan Farms, fresh spring garlic from Berried Treasures, and fresh spicy oregano from Windfall Farms, the preparation allowed to rest 15 minutes before serving
• the wine was an Italian (Piedmont) white, Banfi Gavi Principessa Gavia 2016, from Flatiron Wines
• the music was that of Mozart’s contemporary, Josef Myslivecek (1737 – 1781), the album ‘Il Divino Boemo‘ (love the cover image)

 

Still working on that summer heirloom tomato thing, now heading toward mid-December.

• six beautiful 2 or 3-ounce orange/red ocean perch fillets [aka redfish, or rose fish] from Paul at the Pura Vida Seafood stand in the Union Square Greenmarket, rinsed and dried, both sides brushed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil mixed with a total of little more than one teaspoon, combined, of chopped Keith’s Farm rocambole garlic and a section of one thinly-sliced very small Willow Wisp Farm scallion, seasoned, also on both sides, with local P.E. & D.D. Seafood 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, or until the surface had become crisp and the fish cooked through, finished on the plates with some olive oil that had been heated inside a small antique enameled cast iron porringer over a very low flame for about 3 minutes along with 2 salted, rinsed, and filleted Sicilian anchovies from Eataly that had been rinsed and filleted, the perch sprinkled with marjoram from Willow Wisp Farm, garnished with micro red Russian kale from Windfall Farms, and served with organic California lemon halves from Whole Foods Market on the side
• a small amount of Winterbor kale from Savoie Farm that remained from a bunch prepared for an earlier meal, washed in several changes of water, chopped roughly, wilted in a little with olive oil in which one garlic clove from Chelsea’s 8th Avenue Foragers Market, flattened, then sliced in half, was allowed to heat until pungent, the greens seasoned with salt and pepper, drizzled on the plates with fresh olive oil
• one windowsill-ripened orange heirloom tomato from Eckerton Hill Farm, cut into 4 slices horizontally, sprinkled with salt and pepper, warmed over a medium flame inside a small copper skillet, sprinkled with lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was an Italian (Marche/Matelica) white, Verdicchio di Matelica D.O.C., from Philippe Wines
• the music was a Boston Early Music Festival performance of Lully’s 1675 tragédie en musique, ‘Thésée’