I’ve only gradually come to realize that the flatfish with which I am most familiar personally, having actually caught a few by rod and reel while drifting in a boat off Long Island (yup, I actually did that), is not merely a fluke; it’s also a summer flounder.

I cooked the fluke I had caught way back then, in the late 1980s, but I don’t remember the details.  I do know it was the first time, but it wasn’t to be the last. It’s a very fine fish, and we’re very fortunate to be living so close to the home waters of one whose numbers, I believe, are not threatened, at least so far.

Persian, or Middle Eastern cucumbers are definitely not threatened, and in fact I think they’re just beginning to be noticed by most home cooks. I expect they’ll soon be very popular.

 

• one 14-ounce flounder fillet from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, seasoned with salt and pepper, sautéed in olive oil and butter over high heat until golden brown (2-3 minutes on the first side, 1-2 minutes on the other), divided into 2 portions and served with a tomato butter composed a few minutes earlier by melting some ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘, then adding one fresh shallot from Lani’s farm, cooking it until softened and fragrant, removing it from the heat, allowing it to cool for 2 or 3 minutes, then tossing it with half a dozen sliced Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, earlier seasoned with salt and tossed with a mixture of chopped pipicha [Porophyllum Linaria], a native Mexican herb, with a taste similar to cilantro, but with a hint of lemon and anise) from Lani’s Farm and chopped summer savory from Stokes Farm, a few drops of red wine (Chianti) vinegar stirred into the mix at the end
• a handful of small Persian cucumbers from Stokes Farm, cut into 2 to 3 cm segments, sautéed in olive oil until lightly browned, seasoned with sea salt, and tossed with chopped calamint (aka mentuccia, nipitella or nepitella, which tastes like a cross between mint and oregano) from Berried Treasures Farm
• the wine was a California (Lodi) rosé, Karen Birmingham Rosé Lodi 2015
• the music was from various streaming online stations

This rather French (yay France!) preparation for flounder turned out better than ever tonight, and I’ve worked it many times before; the vegetables were equally delicious.

• four flounder fillets (3-ounce or more each) from Blue Moon Seafood, sautéed in olive oil and butter over high heat until golden brown (2-3 minutes on the first side, 1-2 minutes on the other, served with a tomato butter composed a little earlier by melting some ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘ and adding one chopped shallot from John D. Madura farm, cooking it until softened and fragrant, removed from the heat, allowed to cool for 2 or 3 minutes, then tossed with half a dozen sliced Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, seasoned with salt, some chopped fresh lovage from Bodhitree Farm, and a few drops of red wine (Chianti) vinegar
• fresh English peas from Eckerton Hill Farm, shelled, boiled briefly in salted water, drained, transferred to another pan and dried over low heat, stirred with butter, a pinch of sugar, sea salt, and freshly-ground Telicherry pepper, served with chopped wild mint from Berried Treasures
• the wine was a French (Anjou) white, Château Soucherie Coteaux Du Layon Vendange à La Main 2014
• the music was Counterstream radio, streaming

One of these days I’m going to get the ‘turning once’ down pat. In the meantime, the plates often end up looking a little bit rough around the edges.

• two flounder fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, sautéed in olive oil and butter over high heat until golden brown (2-3 minutes on the first side, 1-2 minutes on the other, served with a tomato butter composed earlier by melting some ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘ and adding one chopped shallot from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, cooking it until softened and fragrant, removed from the heat, allowed to cool for 2 or 3 minutes, then tossed with quartered/sixth-ed Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, seasoned with salt, and chopped fresh oregano from Stokes Farm added, along with a few drops of red wine (Chianti) vinegar
• young, tender broccoli rabe from from Migliorelli Farm, wilted in olive oil flavored with bruised garlic from Whole Foods, seasoned with salt and pepper, put on two plates and drizzled with more olive oil
• the wine was a California white, F. Stephen Millier Angels Reserve Chardonnay 2014
• the music was two symphonies by Aulis Sallinen, No. 3 and No. 5,  Ari Rasilainen conducting the Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic Orchestra

• barely two ounces of fresh tagliatelle from Eataly’s (Luca Donofrio), boiled until al dente, tossed with a sauce composed of one chopped spring onion, including some of the green stem, and parts of one red and one yellow ‘cloud pepper’ from Norwich Meadows Farm, which had been heated together in olive oil until softened, sprinkled with homemade breadcrumbs which had been browned in a cast iron pan
• the bread was from a loaf of Eataly’s ‘rustic classic’

 

• four 3-and-a-half-ounce flounder fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, sautéed in olive oil and butter over high heat until golden brown (2-3 minutes, then 1-2 minutes on the other side, served with a tomato butter made by melting some ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘ and adding one chopped shallot from Whole Foods, cooking it until softened and fragrant, removed from the heat, allowed to cool for 2 or 3 minutes, then tossed with quartered Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, seasoned with salt, and chopped tarragon from Eataly added, along with a few drops of red wine (Chianti) vinegar
• micro arugula greens from Lucky Dog Organic served on a small pool of very good olive oil
• I had used more butter than I should have in the ‘sauce’, so I was happy to have more of Eataly’s excellent rustic bread on the table
• the wine through both courses was a super-delicious Spanish (Galicia) white, Benito Santos Egrexario de Saiar Albariño 2014
• the music, also throughout the meal, was by the much-neglected Johann Adolf Hasse, his magnificent baroque opera, ‘Cleofide‘, performed by William Christie and the Cappella Coloniensis, with Derek Lee Ragin, Emma Kirkby, Dominique Visse, Randall K Wong, Agnès Mellon, and David Cordier  (NOTE: I shivered at the beauty of the music of the Aria, ‘Dov’e se affretti’, and especially Derek Lee Ragin’s performance, in Act III Scene 9); the entire opera can be heard here, on Spotify; also, by the way, unlike Kirk McElhearn, in the review linked to above, I liked the recitatives, but then, I’m pretty German; and I didn’t miss the tenors and bases at all)

Because flounder, or any of several related species found within New York waters, is such a great dining fish, because it’s so freely available, extraordinarily fresh, from our local fishermen, but also because, for many months of the year, we’re also fortunate to live with a huge bounty of tomatoes, I end up rearranging this basic recipe over and over again. And it seems to get better each time. But, just as important as any of those considerations, there’s the fact that it’s a very simple and very quickly-prepared entrée.

• two 6 or 7-ounce Long Island waters flounder fillets from P.E.&D.D. Seafood, lightly seasoned, cooked in a pan over high heat for a few minutes, turning once, then placed on plates, a couple of spoons of ‘tomato butter’ [see below] placed on top
• tomato butter, made by cooking, until slightly soft and fragrant, a tiny amount of shallot from Norwich Meadows Farm in a generous amount of butter, then letting the flavored butter cool slightly before being poured over three different small, fresh, very ripe heirloom tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, chopped, then combined with a tablespoon of tarragon, chopped, from Stokes Farm, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a few drops of red wine vinegar
• arugula, from Ryder Farm, dressed simply in some good olive oil, lemon, Maldon salt, and freshly-ground black pepper
• the wine was a California (Sonoma) white, Scott McLeod, Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2014 
• the music was the album, ‘Time Curve – Music for Piano By Philip Glass and William Duckworth‘, performed by Bruce Brubaker