{"id":4771,"date":"2015-07-28T05:48:09","date_gmt":"2015-07-28T05:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=4771"},"modified":"2015-07-28T05:48:09","modified_gmt":"2015-07-28T05:48:09","slug":"sea-robin-fillets-with-tapenade-okra-heirloom-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=4771","title":{"rendered":"sea robin fillets with tapenade; okra; tomato salad"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"sea_robin_tapenade_okra_tomatoes\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Note to self: \u00a0The fish was astoundingly good, in both taste and texture, and the\u00a0vegetables, which actually happened to be what I had on hand, excellent accompaniments.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There really are other fish in the sea. And some of them are scrumptious.<\/p>\n

Please do not tell anyone about the ‘sea robin’, or\u00a0<\/b>‘gurnard’<\/a>,\u00a0<\/b>who might not discover\u00a0this post on their own; \u00a0its\u00a0impecunious devotees might become\u00a0very angry with me if the news of its virtues were broadcast too widely. \u00a0This delicious, yet\u00a0widely and unfairly disparaged fish, is incredibly tasty, very inexpensive, and, in our experience on this occasion at least, without bones. \u00a0 Found in abundance in\u00a0seas\u00a0from Southern New England and New York to Cape Hatteras, the species\u00a0is among the least expensive, and apparently least endangered, of any of those harvested from our\u00a0local waters; I can attest to their numbers anecdotally, having actually gone out into local coastal waters to pull\u00a0in some\u00a0cousins of theirs who are\u00a0generally regarded as a far more desirable catch.<\/p>\n

Now I can also attest to their toothsomeness.<\/p>\n

The price of Sea Robin reflects\u00a0its demand (pretty weak) and its supply (a seeming abundance). \u00a0$5.45 was enough to bring home the six fillets, which weighed\u00a0a total of about .82 pounds, an\u00a0amount which worked out perfectly as\u00a0portion for two.<\/p>\n

I found almost no information on their\u00a0cooking (even Mark Bittman is silent on this species, in his book<\/a> and anywhere else on line), but since our\u00a0Sea Robin\u00a0is related to the Mediterranean Rascasse<\/a><\/em>, I searched under that name and came up with this recipe<\/a>, for Rascasse \u00e0 la tapenade<\/em>. \u00a0Since deciding to use it, I’ve come across a couple more, and I expect to take advantage of my new,\u00a0small inspirational ‘index card’ recipe bounty following\u00a0future\u00a0visits to my\u00a0local\u00a0fish mongers.<\/p>\n