This is a pretty familiar entrée for us, but we never get tired of it.

The greens were a little novel, but they made for a side dish almost as plain as one could be. Although I’ve served it even more simply, not introducing it to any heat, I thought that this time it would be better to move it, however briefly, into a warm pan.

• twelve or 14 ounces of scrubbed, dried, and thinly sliced Natasha potatoes from Phillips Farms, arranged, overlapping, on the bottom of a glazed earthenware oven pan covered with 3 tablespoons, or slightly more, of a good Trader Joe’s Italian Reserve extra virgin olive oil, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a pinch of an Eckerton Hill Farm crushed dried hickory smoked Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper, and 10 fresh whole get Italian bay leaves from Buon Italia scattered on top, and then more oil (another 2 tablespoons or so) poured on top, the pan placed inside a 400º oven for about 20 minutes, turning it back to front halfway through, by which time the potatoes should have begun to brown, then two thirds of a cup of pitted Sicilian black oil-cured olives from Buon Italia [fewer olives would definitely not impoverish the flavors of the entrée, and I think I’ll try for that the next time) were scattered about them, and 2 monkfish tails (17 ounces) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood placed on top of everything, the fish sprinkled with salt and pepper and the pan returned to the oven for another 10 or 12 minutes more, or until the monkfish was tender but not overcooked, arranged on the plates garnished with a little micro red Russian kale from Windfall Farms 
• a handful of very beautiful and absolutely delicious ‘frizzy mustard’ greens from Norwich Meadows Farm, only barely heated in a little olive oil in which 2 halved cloves of ‘music garlic’ from Windfall Farms 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 Portuguese (Beira) white, Quinta do Cardo White ‘Companhia das Quintas’ 2016, from Astor Wines

There was a cheese course

 

• the music throughout was the third act of Wagner’s ‘Parsifal’, the 1962 live Bayreuth Festival House performance, in which Hans Knappertsbusch conducts the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and the Bayreuth Festival Chorus, with soloists Hans Hotter, Jess Thomas, Gustav Neidlinger, Irene Dalis, Niels Moller, Gerd Nienstedt, Sona Cervena, Ursula Boese, Gerhard Stolze, Georg Paskuda, Gundula Janowitz, Anja Silja, Elsa-Margrete Gardelli , Martti Talvela, George London, Rita Bartos, and Dorothea Siebert

We were entertaining guests from Berlin, one of whom hadn’t been to our apartment for dinner before, at least while we were there (we had exchanged apartments for a month). Neither meat nor pasta could be on the menu. I wanted to serve something which we would all appreciate, and which also would allow me to be a part of the conversation even as I was cooking.

The monkfish looked terrific at the market that afternoon, and I had a great Mark Bittman recipe which by this point I could process blindfolded. Unfortunately the ‘tails’ (the term almost always used to describe monkfish bodies, probably because their heads are disproportionately huge and pretty horrific in appearance), were larger, and, more importantly, much thicker than any I had worked with before, their cooking time was way longer than what I had anticipated. Luckily the potatoes were very forgiving about having to endure a longer stay in the oven, and the meal actually turned out well. 

I did end up learning a couple of useful lessons because of the delay: Consider carefully the surprising  mathematics of ingredient sizes, and buy smaller monkfish the next time.

We hung out in the breakfast room (the dining room that evening) nibbling on our archetypal small spread of breadsticks, roasted chick peas, and Fiori di Puglia Taralli al Peperoncino, all from Buon Italia.

• the wine was a really good Italian (Veneto) sparkling, Sommariva, Prosecco di Conegliano Brut, NV, from Flatiron Wines

There was a bit of an interval before we sat down for the main course, for the reason recounted above.

• an overflowing cup of a mix of black oil-cured olives from Buon Italia and a few kalamata olives from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, all pits removed, spread on top of a bed of 3 large (8-ounce) scrubbed and thinly-sliced Kennebec potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, the slices slightly overlapping inside an enameled cast iron oven pan after the potatoes had first been seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, sprinkled with a bit of crushed dried orange/gold habanada pepper, and topped with 17 dry Italian bay leaves, roasted in a very generous amount of olive oil (a third to half of a cup) inside a 400º oven for about 20 or 25 minutes, depending on the potato variety and their thickness, reversing the direction of the pan inside the oven halfway through, then 2 monkfish tails, each weighing a full pound, from Pura Vida Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, rinsed, halved, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, placed on top of the potatoes, roasted at the same temperature for, maybe, 20 minutes [I lost track of how long the monkfish cooked this time, so I couldn’t include the precise timing in this text], arranged on 2 plates and garnished with micro red chard from two Guys from Woodbridge

• most of 2 beautiful small-to-medium Savoy cabbages from Norwich Meadows Farm, washed, quartered, cored, sliced into one-half-inch ribbons, sautéed in a scant tablespoon of olive oil inside a large enameled cast iron pot until wilted but still crunchy, stirring occasionally, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, a teaspoon and a half of just-toasted cumin seed mixed in, finished with a third to half of a teaspoon of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, the mix stirred and cooked another couple of minutes (the cabbage was also patient about the delay in cooking the monkfish)
• the wine was a really wonderful Spanish (Priorat) white, Priorat Blanco, Mas La Mola 2016, the generous gift of our guests

The cheese course, unusually, had a little bit of everything: In addition to the 4 cheeses, there was bread, dried and fresh fruit, a micro green, and a good wine, so we lingered, also maybe a bit longer than usual.

• four cheeses: an unnamed washed rind buffalo milk cheese, like a Munster or havarti, a new cheese from Riverine Ranch, now in the process of development; Manchester goat cheese, Danby goat cheese, and Bardem Blue cow cheese all from Consider Bardwell Farm
• a garnish of micro chervil from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• thin slices of an excellent crusty ‘table bread’ from Philadelphia’s Lost Bread Company
• bosc and bartlett pears from Locust Grove Fruit Farm
• dried Calabrian (Amantea) figs from Buon Italia in the Chelsea Market
• the wine was a Spanish (Galicia) white, Bodegas Avancia, Godello ‘Cuvee De O’ 2016, from Flatiron Wines

 

• the music throughout was our conversation, at one point including a discussion of our love for Mexico, which suggested playing the album, ‘Mexico: Fiestas of Chiapas and Oaxaca‘

In spite of its somewhat grand appearance in the picture above, it’s one of the most perfect minimal meals I know, and it’s been very popular with Barry and me for years. This time it was even more spectacular, for a reason probably related to a decision to include some habanada pepper in the mix.

Monkfish is the ideal choice, but almost any firm white-fleshed fish would work.

Also, I don’t think I had ever before included the particular potato cultivar, Nicola, that went into dish last night, although we had already enjoyed it in other dishes several times before. I  picked out medium sizes while at the Greenmarket stall yesterday. While researching it today and looking for a link to use, I learned this potato had its origins in the Lüneburger Heide [Eng. Luneberg Heath] in Lower Saxony.

The original recipe, from Mark Bittman, appeared in the New York Times almost 20 years ago.

These images show the dish as it looked just before it went into the oven with the fish, and as it looked coming out 10 or 12 minutes later:

• * four monkfish tails (a total of 20 ounces) from American Seafood Company, rinsed, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, roasted at 400º for 10 or 12 minutes with three fourths of a cup of black oil-cured olives from Buon Italia, pits removed, on top of a bed of a full pound of very thinly-sliced unpeeled Nicola potatoes from Hawthorne Valley Farm that had been scrubbed, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper and already roasted for about 40 minutes (reversing the direction of the pan once) in a very generous amount of olive oil (1/4 of a cup) with 13 dry Italian bay leaves, also from Buon Italia, and a pinch or so of a mix of both crushed dried orange/gold and crushed dark habanada pepper inside a large enameled cast iron pan, the potatoes having been removed when they had softened and their edges had begun to crisp, the contents of the pan, after the fish was cooked through, arranged on 2 plates and garnished with micro red amaranth from two Guys from Woodbridge, with a little undressed watercress from Eataly nestled on the side
• the wine was a California (Napa) white, Sterling Vintner’s Collection Pinot Grigio 2016, from Philippe Liquors
• the music was Mozart’s 1775 opera, ‘Il Re Pastore’, Ian Page conducting the Classical Opera, with soloists Sarah Fox, John Mark Ainsley, Ailish Tynan, and Benjamin Hulett

It was a very long and leisurely Thanksgiving meal, shared with good friends. The star on the table was not a roast turkey, but a braised three-and-a-half-pound Scottish hare, which was, as the fish in the first course, quite wild (one of our guests found a buckshot in his serving). There were no cranberries, although there was chutney, sweet potatoes, and greens, the ingredients in these all totally local. There were also many hours of American music, although none of it could be described as remotely hummable.

The vegetables, herbs, fruit, and creme, like everything other than the hare, came from local farmers and fishers in the area, and were purchased in the Union Square Greenmarket.

We toasted the day and our friendship with an American sparkling.

• we nibbled on some rustic Italian breadsticks, Mario Fongo grissini integrali, from Buon Italia
• the wine was a California sparkling white, Eponina Brut California NV, from Naked Wines

The first course was basically assembled, with a little help from the Greenmarket.

• pieces of smoked monkfish from Blue Moon Fish, served with some Ronnybrook Farm Dairy crème fraîche mixed with Whole Foods Market lemon zest and juice, fresh lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge, grated horseradish root from from Gorzynski Ornery Farm, chopped small red scallion from Hawthorne Valley Farm, ground white pepper, and sea salt, arranged with some purple frizzy mustard greens from Lani’s Farm and salanova lettuce from Neversink Organic Farm, dressed with a very good Puglian olive oil, Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto’ from Eataly, Maldon salt, and freshly-ground black pepper
• slices of a whole wheat sourdough Miche, or Pain de campagne, from Bread Alone
• the wine was a German (Rheingau) white, Robert Weil Riesling Estate Trocken 2016, the gift of a friend when we were in Berlin recently

The main course was Scottish wild mountain hare (the FDA does not allow us to buy any form of game bagged inside the US, but apparently trusts the Scots) purchased from brother Frank at Ottomanelli’s on Bleecker Street in the West Village, and supplied by Simpson Game, in the Scottish highlands.

(the chutney didn’t make it to the plate in time for the picture)

• one three and a quarter pound Scottish mountain hare (“may contain shot”) from Ottomanelli’s Market, prepared, with some alterations, along the lines of an ancient recipe. ‘Lepre alla Cacciatora‘, that I had found in Anna Teresa Callen‘s ‘Food and Memories of Abruzzo, Italy’s Pastoral Land‘: the hare, once separated into pieces whose size would depend on the cook’s preference, placed inside a large bowl under running water for half an hour, drained and the hare returned to the bowl along with 1/4 cup of a good Italian white wine vinegar (Aceto Cesare Bianco) and enough cold cover to cover, left standing 20 minutes or so, the hare removed and half of the pieces placed inside a heavy enameled cast iron pan, half a cup more of the vinegar poured in, plus 4 sliced cloves of Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm, 2 sprigs of rosemary (each broken into 2 sections), several myrtle berries and leaves, one good-size piece of a crushed dark dry habanada pepper, 2 whole dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, followed by the remaining pieces of hare, fresh water added more than half way up the level of the meat, followed by a fourth of a cup of olive oil, the pot brought to a boil, the heat reduced to low and the hare allowed to cook at a simmer, without stirring, but shaken a few times, for about an hour, maybe more, but in any event only until it was tender, at which time a sauce ahould have been produced at the bottom of the pan [NOTE: I found that it had not been reduced enough, so I removed the hare pieces, boiled the liquid down until it was the proper consistency, and then, when it had slightly cooled, I added a few tablespoons of cold butter, stirring it in], finishing the now-sauced hare on the plates with some chopped parsley.
• quince chutney, made 2 days earlier, in order to fully develop its flavors, using this theKitchn.com recipe, using a red shallot from Norwich Meadows Farm, a Rocambole garlic clove from Keith’s Farm, quince from Troncillito Farms, dried sweet cherries (don’t know whether they were local) from Whole Foods, and fresh ginger from Lani’s Farm, apple cider vinegar from Race Farm
• two pounds of Japanese sweet potatoes from Lani’s Farm, sliced thinly, seasoned with salt and pepper, arranged in 4 layers, each separated in succession by a portion of 2 cups of heavy cream that had been mixed in a blender with one chipotle pepper and a small amount of adobo sauce, inside a 8″x12″ glazed ceramic casserole dish, baked inside a 350º oven for about one hour, or until the cream had been absorbed and the potatoes browned (this gratin recipe, one I’ve used many times, is from ‘Bobby Flay’s Bold American Food‘, it appears as ‘Sweet Potato Gratin with Smoked Chiles’)
• collard greens from Keith’s Farm, the stems torn off and the leaves sliced thickly, washed several times and drained, transferred to a smaller bowl very quickly, in order to retain as much of the water clinging to them as possible, wilted inside a heavy oval enameled cast iron pot in which 3 halved Rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm had first been allowed to sweat in a bit of olive oil, the greens finished with a little sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (Napa) red, Duckhorn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, the very generous gift, earlier in the year, of 2 New York friends

There was a cheese course, which included local cheeses, also from the Union Square Greenmarket, a choice of local apples, and more of the local bread, this time in the form of very thinly sliced toasts.

• the cheeses were all from Consider Bardwell Farm: ‘Manchester’ goat milk cheese, and 2 cow cheeses, ‘Pawlet Reconsided’, and ‘Bardem Blue’
• the apples were all from Samscott Orchards: ‘Newtown Pippin’, ‘Ashmead’s Kernel’,and ‘Stayman Winesap’
• the toasts were from the loaf of whole wheat sourdough we had enjoyed with the first course
• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Falanghina “Sannio” Terra di Briganti 2015, from Astor Wines

Our guests had brought with them from Brooklyn a really fantastic pear cheesecake, from Choice Market, on Lafayette Avenue, which we enjoyed later in the evening.

 

• the music throughout the meal was a playlist of modern works by American composers that Barry had assembled early in the day, from Spotify

if I were asked to describe a savory fish dish, this would be it

 

I’ve worked with this recipe many times, and it never misses the mark. That mark includes simple, virtually foolproof preparation, ingredients likely to be on hand, ability to remain warm, singularity, and, of course, tastiness.

I think we’ve enjoyed it in warmer months, but it really comes into its own during the colder. In fact, when I texted Barry from the Greenmarket on Saturday, including a shot of the fishmonger’s menu, and asked him to pick from it, he came back almost immediately, “Monkfish, since it’s cold?”. He was describing another of its virtues: Forty or forty-five minutes in a warm oven means a cozy breakfast room with a window open a crack for fresh air.

The recipe came to me years ago, via the New York Times, from Mark Bittman, who suggests it also works with “almost any firm fish fillet”. He mentions red snapper, sea bass, pollock, among others, but I would also include hake, haddock, and cod, remembering to be careful about removing the fillets from the pan when done.

• one 18-ounce monkfish tail from American Seafood Company, roasted with three quarters of a cup of Moroccan and Kalamata olives from Whole Foods, pits removed, on top of a bed of scrubbed, unpeeled, thinly-sliced and seasoned Russet potatoes from Keith’s Farm which had just been roasted (in a very generous amount of olive oil), with 10 or 12 (!) fresh bay leaves from West Side Market, then finished with a sprinkling of ‘Hong Vit‘ Asian radish micro greens from Windfall Farms
• a side dish of hydroponic watercress (sold looking like a bouquet of flowers, as they are sheathed in plastic, to protect the leaves and their roots) from Two Guys from Woodbridge, and a handful of quartered Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, dressed simply with a good olive oil and a squeeze of juice from one half of a tiny lime-like lemon (lemon-like lime?) from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island
• the wine was a Spanish (Rueda) white, Naia D.O. Rueda 2014, from Verdejo old vines
• the music was Handel’s ‘Giulio Cesare’, Alan Curtis conducting Il Complesso Barocco, with Gianluca Buratto, Milena Storti, Karina Gauvin, Filippo Mineccia, Johannes Weisser, Romina Basso, Emöke Barath, and Marie-Nicole Lemieux