The meal included elements of at least three different food traditions, but it wasn’t dominated by any one of them, so naturally we decided to serve a South African wine.

• four links of Schaller & Weber‘s wonderful Bauernwurst, a coarse, smokey, very traditional German country style sausage, placed next to each other inside a medium Pyrex blue Flameware pot which was then filled with cold water, just enough to cover, heated over a medium-high flame until the water had reached a gentle simmer (by which time they were fully cooked), removed, drained, dried on a paper towel, and placed above a high flame inside a seasoned cast iron pan, after its surface had been brushed with a thin layer of olive oil, seared, turning frequently, until colored on all sides, arranged on the plates with dabs of a rich shallot, garlic, paprika and turmeric mustard from Hudson Valley Charcuterie, and a second mustard, Löwensenf Hönig-Dill
• one heirloom tomato from Race Farm, halved horizontally, seasoned with local sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood and freshly ground black pepper, softened on both sides in a little olive oil inside a small copper skillet, arranged on the plates on a bed of olive oil-drizzled baby arugula from Campo Rosso Farm, the  tomatoes sprinkled with a bit of chopped chive garlic seed from Space on Ryder Farm, themselves drizzled with a touch more oil

• one small (5-inch/27 ounce) ‘Blue Ballet’ squash (a variety of Hubbard squash) from Alewife Farm, scrubbed, halved, the seeds and pith removed, cut into just under one-inch wedges and mixed by hand inside a large bowl with a relatively small amount of olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and pieces of golden dried habanada pepper, arranged on a large, unglazed, well-seasoned ceramic pan (Pampered Chef) and roasted in a 425º oven 25 minutes, removed from the oven and transferred to a large heavy copper pot in which 3 crushed cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm had been gently heated in a bit of olive oil, then arranged on the plates where they were tossed with a generous amount of micro chervil from Two Guys from Ridgefield
• the wine was a South African (Western Cape Province/Robertson Valley) red, Stephen de Wet’s Arabella Estate wine, Arabella Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 from Naked Wines
• the music was the album of music by a contemporary of Haydn, ‘Franz Ignaz Beck: Symphonies Op 4 No 1-3’, performed by Michael Schneider conducting the ensemble, La Stagione

We both chose the blowfish on our own, without any visual stimulus, and unanimously (Barry by responding to the photo I had sent him of the fish board that day, via Slack), but the vegetable seemed to have invited itself, once I had spotted two bunches of long beans that remained on the farmer’s table at the Greenmarket on Monday.

Today many of us think that Italians traditionally tend to overcook their vegetables, but author of the recipe on which I based my preparation of these (very un-Italian beans) has a different take:

If you ask me, people don’t overcook their vegetables often enough. The truth is, vegetables can sometimes be absolutely delicious when cooked until there isn’t a trace of crispness left. In fact, some vegetables practically require long cooking—like these long beans braised in tomatoes, which are best only after you’ve cooked them to death.

I can understand the concept, at least in this case.

• eight local blowfish tails (exactly one pound together) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company, dredged in about 2 ounces of a local Union Square Greenmarket-purchased whole wheat flour (from the Blew family of Oak Grove Mills Mills) that had been seasoned with plenty of local P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, about half a teaspoon of Colman’s ground mustard seed, and a pinch or more of some home-dried darker golden habanada pepper, pan-fried in olive oil about an eighth to a quarter of an inch deep inside a very large well seasoned heavy cast iron pan, turning them over once (cooking about 2 to 2½ minutes on each side), by which time they had turned beautifully golden), drizzled with juice of an organic California lemon from Whole Foods Market, and garnished with micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• twelve ounces of purple Asian long beans (the color remains after cooking) from Lani’s Farm, washed, trimmed, cut into 4 or 5-inch lengths, placed inside a large antique high-sided copper pan/pot in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in which 2 medium cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm and a bit of dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia had first been heated over a medium flame, stirring, until the garlic had begun to color, the heat raised to high and cooked, again, stirring, until the beans had become bright purple and begun to sear, 3 to 4 minutes, seasoned with salt and pepper, then most of one can of San Marzano (Italian San Marzano, Italian San Marzano D.O.C.) tomatoes and their juices, the tomatoes themselves first crushed by hand, added to the pan, along with a third of a cup of water that had first been swished around the empty tomato can, the mix brought to a simmer and the heat lowered just enough to maintain that simmer, cooked uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans were very tender and the tomato had reduced to a thick sauce, or about 30 minutes, at which point 2 tablespoons of packed fresh peppermint leaves, also from Lani’s Farm, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil were mixed in [NOTE: this dish could also be served at room temperature, or refrigerated and rewarmed before serving.]
• the wine was a Spanish (Catalonia/Tarragona/Monsant) white, Franck Massard Herbis Verdejo 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was a recording of two symphonies by Karl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787), Michael Alexander Willens conducting the Cologne Academy

The single dolphin fillet was a little smaller than that I’d usually prefer to get for the two of us, but while I was at the fisher’s stand I couldn’t figure out how to bring home more without messing up the aesthetic of the plate. Fortunately I had some wonderful vegetables to help fill in.

I also now realized I had two Mexican herbs, epazote (‘Mexican tea)’ and pericón (‘Mexican tarragon’), to help pull together a meal I ended up feeling had something of a subtle Mexican theme, even more so after the fact: These 2 herbs, plus the dolphin (‘dorado‘), an important fish in Mexico, and the inclusion of a Mexican lemon and some fresh habanada pepper (which was bred from the habañero, native to the Yucatan as well as elsewhere in Central America) didn’t make it a Mexican meal, but it was fun enjoying what they did make of familiar ingredients, and they sure helped make it a good meal.

The herbs appear below as they did in the Union Square Greenmarket, the pericón first, then the epazote (in the center).

• one 10.5-ounce-ounce dolphin fillet, without skin, from Pura Vida Seafood Company, dry-marinated for 45 minutes or so covered with more than half a tablespoon of zest from an organic Mexican lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, half a tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley from Phillips Farms, plus some local Long Island sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood and freshly-ground black pepper, seared in a little Whole Foods Portuguese house olive oil inside a heavy copper skillet for about 3 minutes, then turned over and the other side seared for 3 more, the heat lowered and the pan loosely covered with a universal copper lid for a minute or two, and when that was removed, the fish joined by some very thinly sliced garlic scapes from Phillips Farms, only a portion from one pepper of chopped fresh habanada, (a little goes a long way, as with most seasoning peppers) and some chopped leaves of pericón (‘Mexican tarragon’) from Norwich Meadows Farm, which were together very briefly sautéed along with the fish before it was removed from the pan, followed by the scapes, the habanada, and the herb, and arranged on the plates, with the little bit of rich, savory pan juices poured over the top of the fish from the pan

• roughly 11 ounces of small ‘red potatoes’ from Lani’s Farm, harvested – and purchased – late in July, scrubbed, boiled unpeeled in heavily-salted water until barely cooked through, drained, dried in the still-warm large vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, halved, then rolled in a little olive oil, salt, black pepper, and some chopped fresh epazote from TransGenerational Farm, more of the herb sprinkled on top once the potatoes were arranged on the plates

• one small bunch of young, trimmed, washed, drained, and chopped Redbor kale from TransGenerational Farm, wilted with olive oil in which 2 plump, and still a bit juicy in August, ‘Nootka rose’ garlic cloves, also from TransGenerational Farm, had been allowed to heat until pungent, seasoned with salt, black pepper, a bit of crushed dried peperoncini Calabresi secchia from Buon Italia, and drizzled with a bit more olive oil
• the wine was a Spanish (Rioja) rosé, Muga Rosado 2018, from Philippe Wine and Spirits
• the music was an album of three very late eighteenth-century Scottish trios by the Czech/Austrian composer Leopold Anton Kozeluch

It was delicious, and I think the plate looks good, which makes me almost as happy. Nothing was planned even seconds ahead in the presentation; it just unfolded, the fillet first, then the peppers, finishing with the salsa. The tomato and olive mix was placed close to the fish and not the peppers, because it was definitely an attribute of the former. It was not arranged on or under it because it would have at least partially obscured the beauty of the skin and the herbs with which the bass had been cooked, and because, being room temperature, it would have compromised its remaining warmth.

One other note about last night, something I can rarely say: No allium of any sort was harmed in the making of this meal.

• two 6-ounce black sea bass filets from American Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, whose preparation began, once they had been removed from the refrigerator, with a fresh salsa assembled inside a small bowl about 30 minutes in advance of their cooking, incorporating one cup of sliced green heirloom tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, about half a cup of pitted Gaeta olives from Flatiron Eataly, a little crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchia from Buon Italia in the Chelsea Market, some local P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a pinch of crushed dried (now in powdered form) golden/orange habanada pepper, and a little olive oil, the mix tossed and then set aside while the fish was cooked: two 5 and a half-ounce black sea bass fillets, also from American Seafood Company, seasoned on both sides with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, sautéed over a fairly brisk flame in a little Mac Nut macademia nut oil from Whole Foods Market inside a large vintage oval tin-lined copper skillet, skin side down (because that will be the side seen on the plate later), turned over after about 3 minutes and the flesh side cooked for about the same length of time, or when the fish was done, when it was removed to 2 plates and kept warm while 2 tablespoons of butter were added to the pan and allowed to melt, a couple tablespoons of a mix of chopped spearmint from Stokes Farm and chopped parsley from Phillips Farms (an inspired choice, I think, but there are potentially so many others) tossed in, along with a tablespoon or more of Whole Foods Market organic Mexican lemon juice, all stirred into the butter for a few seconds before the sauce was spooned on top of the plated bass, and the salsa that had been set aside earlier arranged next to the fillets, both fish and salsa garnished with some wonderful pungent dill flowers from Quarton Farm scissored from their stems

• two handfuls of beautiful fresh, fruity (and with no heat) ‘Jimmy Nardello’ sweet Italian frying peppers from Campo Rosso Farm, washed, trimmed, dried, sliced lengthwise, their seeds and piths removed (although there was not much of either), seared and cooked until slightly carbonized inside a large (13″) well-seasoned cast iron pan in a little olive oil (not enough to fully cover the bottom of the pan), turning the peppers once or twice, sprinkling them with salt, and black pepper, as they cooked, and arranged on the plates
• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia) white, Sella & Mosca Vermentino di Sardegna La Cala 2016, from Garnet Wines
• the music was Marin Marais’ 1709 opera, ‘Sémélé’, performed by   Le Concert Spirituel

It seemed like these peppers could have been grown just to accompany this duck, or perhaps the other way around.

Also, they were both assertive in both texture and flavor, so there wasn’t much else to add. I’m glad I forgot about the micro greens at the end; the plate was both complex enough and colorful enough without them.

• one 13-ounce Macelleria duck breast from Flatiron Eataly, the fatty side scored in tight cross hatching with a very sharp knife, the entire breast then rubbed, top and bottom, with a mixture of local P.E. & D.D. Seafood Long Island sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a little turbinado sugar, left standing in an oval plate for about 45 minutes, then pan-fried, fatty side down first, in a scant amount of olive oil inside a small oval enameled cast iron pan over medium heat, normally for a total of about 9 minutes, turning once and draining the oil after the first few minutes (the fat could be strained and used in cooking at another time, if desired), removed when medium rare, or maybe even a bit less, since it will continue cooking while sitting on the counter, cutting the breast crosswise into 2 portions and checking that the center for the right doneness, left to sit for several minutes before it was finished with a squeeze of an organic Mexican lemon from Whole Foods Market, sprinkled with a bit of very fresh and fragrant chopped epazote from Jayne’s TransGenerational Farm, and drizzled with a little Portuguese house olive oil from Whole Foods Market

• ten ounces of ‘lunchbox peppers’ from Campo Rosso Farm, halved or quartered, depending on their size, the seeds and membranes removed (there were very few of either), sautéed over a high flame until slightly caramelized, one sliced small red onion from Norwich Meadows Farm added near the end, a little later still the white section of 2 small some chopped scallions from Alex’s Tomato Farm in the 23rd Street Saturday Greenmarket plus a pinch of the now powdered remains of some light-colored home-dried habanada pepper I had purchased fresh from Norwich Meadows Farm back in 2017, and local sea salt and chopped zaatar [actually, origanum syriacum] from TransGenerational Farm, the vegetables arranged on the plates, sprinkled with more of the ‘oregano’ and drizzled with a bit of balsamic vinegar
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette Valley/Dundee Hills) red, Erath Oregon pinot noir 2016, ordered directly from Erath

There was fruit for dessert. No fussy.

• one perfectly ripe halved medium size Korean melon drizzled with lemon juice and sprinkled with a little salt

 

• the music throughout was a superb performance of Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten’, with Bruno Weil conducting theCapella Coloniensis and the Tölz Boys Choir