I’ve cooked all 3 parts of this meal before, in fact each of them many times, but there were subtle differences last night.

The swordfish was introduced to tarragon in my kitchen for the first time; the potatoes were graced with some beautiful dried red shishito pepper, which I’ve never used on anything before; and although the greens, a mustard, were familiar, this time they were truly a baby mustard, and so were a first on our table.

• one 15-ounce swordfish steak from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, halved, marinated on an ironstone platter for about 45 minutes, turning once, in a mixture of a few tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of fresh chopped tarragon from Stokes Farm, a small amount, chopped, of a yellow grenada seasoning pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, a bit of peperoncino Calabresi secchia from Buon Italia, and the chopped white section of 2 very small scallions from Berried Treasures Farm, after which the swordfish was drained well, both sides covered with a coating of homemade dried breadcrumbs, and pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 3 or 4 minutes on each side, or until just barely (or not quite) cooked to the center, then removed from the pan and arranged on 2 plates, sprinkled with a little Maldon salt, some of the chopped greener parts of the 2 scallions, and several large whole tarragon leaves, drizzled with a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon and garnished on the side with a little red micro mustard from Windfall Farms

• eleven ounces or so of La Ratte potatoes from Berried Treasures, scrubbed, boiled in salt water, drained, dried in the pan, rolled in a little olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, sprinkled with some chopped fresh oregano from Stokes Farm and one small crushed dried red shishito pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm

• a few handfuls of very tender baby mustard greens from Lani’s Farm, wilted in a little olive oil in which 3 roughly-chopped rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm had been allowed to sweat a bit, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, finished on the plates with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a Greek (Fteri, Mantinia, Tripolis, Arcadia) white, Troupis, Moschofilero ‘Fteri’ 2017, from Flatiron Wines
• the music was Handel’s 1734-1735 opera seria, ‘Ariodante’, Nicholas McGegan conducting the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra

We’re leaving for Los Angeles in a few days, so I’ve been putting more simple meals than usual on the table, and working with whatever fresh ingredients we have on hand before we go. Consequently this pairing was at least partly an accident, although it seemed more like a brilliant inspiration once we sat down to try it.

• one swordfish steak (13.5 ounces) from American Seafood Company picked up the same afternoon at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, halved vertically, marinated on an ironstone platter for a little more than half an hour, turning once, in a mixture of olive oil, a tablespoon of fresh torn peppermint from Keith’s Farm, a small amount, chopped, of an aji rico pepper (medium spicy/hot) from Alewife Farm, and the white sections, chopped section of 2 very small scallion from Berried Treasures Farm, after which the swordfish was drained well, both sides covered with a coating of homemade dried breadcrumbs, pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 3 or 4 minutes on each side, or until just barely fully cooked all of the way through (think of the texture of a fresh good cheesecake), removed from the pan and arranged on 2 plates, sprinkled with a little Maldon sea salt, some of the chopped green parts of the scallions, and drizzled with a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon squeezed, garnished with purple micro radish from Windfall Farms

• a very cool, sort of sweet-sour fresh green salsa assembled from half a pound of tiny, mostly tart, green tomatoes from Berried Treasures Farm, halved; a bit of peperoncino Calabresi secchia from Buon Italia; a portion of one finely chopped aji dulce (sweet) pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm; one small sliced and chopped red onion from Quarton Farm; a little turbinado sugar; a pinch of sea salt; some scissored garlic chives from Echo Creek Farm in the Saturday Chelsea Farmers Market (through December on the north sidewalk of 23rd Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues); and some chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was an Italian (Marche) white, Le Salse, Verdicchio di Matelica, 2016, from Flatiron Wines
• the music was a new recording of Monteverdi’s ‘Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria’, John Eliot Gardiner conducting the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir in a live recording from The National Forum of Music in Wrocław

On Monday we’re going to be leaving the state for 5 days, so I’ve been carefully addressing the current apartment food stocks, to avoid leaving anything in the refrigerator that wouldn’t survive well.

I worry about the success of meals working under those constrictions, but so far it seems that I needn’t have.

• one thick triangular 13 and a half-ounce swordfish steak from Pura Vida Seafood Company, halved horizontally (making them, separately somewhat thinner than would be my preference), marinated on an ironstone platter for more than half an hour, turning once, in a mixture of olive oil, a tablespoon of fresh oregano from Keith’s Farm, a small amount of finely-chopped small ahi rico peppers (medium spiciness) from Alewife Farm, and a chopped stem of a small scallion, also from Keith’s Farm, drained well, the steaks covered on both sides with a coating of homemade dried breadcrumbs then pan-grilled over medium-high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until just barely fully cooked all of the way through, removed from the pan and arranged on the plates, sprinkled with a little Maldon sea salt, and a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon squeezed on top, garnished with micro chervil from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• just under a pound of quite small ‘blue eyes potatoes’ from Berried Treasures Farm (I haven’t been able to find the potatoes on line), boiled with a generous amount of salt until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried while still inside the large still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, tossed with some good Portuguese olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on the plates, where they were garnished with flowering dill from Rise & Root Farm

• ten or more ounces of small pink and yellow cherry tomatoes, also from Berried Treasures Farm, punctured with a small fork to keep them from exploding when pierced on the plates, heated in  a little olive oil inside a 10″ copper skillet, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, tossed with torn leaves of a Full Bloom Market Garden basil plant from Whole Foods, both before and after they were arranged on the plates
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) white, Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco 2017, from Garnet Wines
• the music was a magnificent piece, Henry Brant‘s huge ‘Autumn Hurricanes’, described as “A Spatial Cantata for Widely Separated Vocal and Instrumental Groups”, from the album, ‘Henry Brant Collection Vol. 5’

The swordfish, I understand, is a terrific game fish, but my personal experience with its greatness has been limited to the kitchen and dining table.

Although I’ve heard some reports that it may not be for everyone, I think xiphias gladius is one of the best tasting fish anywhere, and we’re very lucky that this migratory giant regularly visits our own waters. It’s also one of the easiest seafood to prepare. Aside from a modest responsibility of ensuring that there be at least one sympathetic herb on hand, and one or more responsible seasonings, it’s mostly about knowing when to stop cooking, rather than how.

• one 16-ounce swordfish steak from American Seafood Company picked up that afternoon at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, halved, marinated on an ironstone platter for more than half an hour, turning once, in a mixture of olive oil, a tablespoon of fresh oregano (mostly buds) from Norwich Meadows Farm, a small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, a bit of fresh habanada pepper from Oak Grove Plantation, and a chopped section of a stem of Japanese scallion from Berried Treasures Farm, drained well and the steaks covered on both sides with a coating of homemade dried breadcrumbs, pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 3 or 4 minutes on each side, or until just barely fully cooked all of the way through (think of the texture of a fresh good cheesecake), removed from the pan and arranged on the plates, sprinkled with a little Maldon sea salt, a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon squeezed on top, and garnished with red micro mustard from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• three quarters of a pound of some amazing sweet, fresh ‘White potatoes’ from Jersey Farm Produce Inc., boiled with a generous amount of salt until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried while inside the large, still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware glass pot in which they had cooked, a tablespoon or so of olive oil added, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, tossed with torn fresh sage from Echo Creek Farm, also in the 23rd Street market
• five different kinds and colors of baby eggplant, collected over several visits to Norwich Meadows Farm in the Unions Square Greenmarket (hence no photograph), each cut into 4 slices, mixed with a little olive oil, 6 or so Kalamata olives from Whole Foods Market, pitted, finely-chopped garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, pan-grilled over a brisk flame, turning once, sprinkled with torn spearmint leaves from Keith’s Farm, arranged on the plates and finished with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) white, Liotro Inzolia 2016 (100% Inzolia grapes), from Garnet Wines
• the music was the album, ‘C.P.E. Bach: Concertos & Symphonies’

This rather simple meal was one of the best I’ve ever put onto a table.

Both the fish and the vegetable were extraordinarily fresh, which is a great start, and I’d already worked with both of the recipes fairly often.

Swordfish had been a favorite of mine since I was quite young (I can hardly believe we enjoyed it as often as we did, in 1940’s and 1950’s Detroit), and I’ve always been fond of peas, except when they arrive in metal.

When I was growing up there was only one kind of pea, pisum sativum, and it usually arrived in the kitchen as a frozen box, an innovation of Clarence Birdseye had introduced almost a hundred years ago. Years later, along with other Americans, I discovered snow peas [pisum sativum var. saccharatum], which I still associate with wok cookery, although they had been cultivated in Europe since the nineteenth century, and it seems like only yesterday that the sugar snap pea [pisum sativum var. macrocarpon] arrived on the scene, although apparently it was actually the late 70’s.

• one thick 13-ounce swordfish steak from Pura Vida Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, halved marinated for more than half an hour in a mixture of olive oil, a tablespoon of a mix of fresh spicy oregano from Windfall Farms, a small amount of crushed dried pepperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, about the same amount of crushed dried golden/orange habanada pepper, and a thinly-sliced section of a spring red onion from Norwich Meadows Farm, after which it was drained, covered on both sides with a coating of homemade dried breadcrumbs, pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 4 minutes on each side, or until barely cooked all of the way through, removed, seasoned with a little Maldon salt, a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon squeezed on top, a bit more sliced spring red onion, drizzled with a little olive oil, garnished with micro bronze fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge, lemon wedges on the side

• small sugar snap peas from Sycamore Farms in the Union Square Greenmarket, washed, their stems and strings trimmed, parboiled for just over a minute inside a large vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot, drained, dried in the same pot, shaking it over a low flame, then set aside, and just before serving, warmed inside a heavy, broad, tin-lined copper pot in which a small sliced stalk of spring garlic from Berried Treasures Farm had first been softened with a little olive oil over a moderate flame, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, tossed with chopped spearmint from Keith’s Farm
•  the wine was a Portuguese (Douro) white, Crasto White 2016, from Garnet Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Antonio Rosetti: Piano Concerto; 2 Symphonies‘