This dish has appeared here a number of times already.  Although we both like it very much as it is, this time I tried to introduce a new element. It didn’t really work.

• seven 2 to 3-ounce mackerel fillets from Pura Vida Seafood, washed, dried, brushed with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan grilled over high heat for 6 or 7 minutes, turning once, removed and completed with a salsa consisting of halved Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods tossed with olive oil, wild brined capers which had been rinsed and drained, juice from a strange large, heavily-seeded lemon grown by Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, salt, and pepper, sprinkled with ‘micro fennel’ (sprouts) from Alewife Farm. [in fact, I think the subtlety of the cut fennel sprouts was somewhat lost in the intensity of this strong-flavored fish]
• about a quarter of a pound of turnip greens from Alewife Farm, wilted in olive oil along with two garlic cloves from Whole Foods which had been lightly-browned in the oil just before
• the wine was a Spanish (Rioja) white, Monopole Cune white Rioja wine 2014
• the music was chamber works by Aulis Sallinen, on this album, those which had not been heard the night before, again performed by the Sinfonia Finlandia, and the Jyväskylä Sinfonia Wind Quintet

 

We’re both very fond of Mackerel, even when we are unable to bring it home.  It’s become a very popular fish on our table, so popular that I’m going to have to come up with more alternatives to this excellent, and very simple Sicilian-inspired recipe from Michael White.

 

• ten small Boston mackerel fillets from Blue Moon Fish Company, washed, dried, brushed with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan grilled over high heat for six minutes or so, turning once, transferred onto two plates and completed with a very simple salsa of halved small red cherry tomatoes from Stokes Farm completed minutes before starting the fish, a mix of olive oil, salted capers which had been rinsed and drained, some finely-sliced fresh garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a bit of finely-chopped hot peppers from several greenmarket farms
• two small Japanese eggplants from Lani’s Farm, split lengthwise, scored, brushed with a mixture of oil, finely-chopped early garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, and fresh oregano from from Rise & Root Farm, then seasoned with salt and pepper and briefly (they were very small) pan-grilled, turning once
• some fennel stems, left in the crisper after I had roasted the bulb a few day ago, trimmed, rolled in a little olive oil, salt, pepper, finely-minced garlic, pan-grilled until tender, then tossed with fennel fronds and torn peppermint leaves from Phillips Farm
• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia) white, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2013
• the music was from streaming Q2, and included Arvo Pärt’s ‘Tabula Rasa’, as well as the Finnish composer Jaakko Mäntyjärvi‘s remarkable, ‘Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae‘

Well, that was invigorating.

I had been told that these Jalapeños could be safely consumed alone after they had been sautéed until they blistered, something in the manner of Shishitos or Pimientos de Padrón, but without the gamble.  They were given to us by our gentlefolk weekend farmer friends, who assured us that they weren’t actually hot (maybe it was something about the strong yanqui ‘microclimate’ of the area north of New York where they were grown).

Barry and I aren’t wimps when it comes to the hotter representatives of the capsicum family, but these peppers upstaged our experiences with the most unforgiving batch of their cousins, the ones which you can count on being hot only ten to fifteen percent of the time. It was [almost] fun while it lasted, and, as I said at the top, they did get our attention.  In the end however we couldn’t finish them, especially as we were worried we wouldn’t be able to taste the main course.

 

HOUSEHOLD HINT: How to cool your mouth after a pepper assault?  I know this is totally anecdotal, but I got almost nothing else to give:  Try putting a little salt on your tongue, following up with some cold water.  It worked for us this time, even before we reached into the freezer for some cold sorbetto (which worked as more of a palate cleanser than ever on this occasion).

 

The entrée, served about twenty minutes later, was soothing, and without incident.  It was a recipe which I have come to depend on (perhaps too much however; I’m going to have to do some thinking about alternatives).

• four three and a half ounce Spanish mackerel fillets from Blue Moon Fish Company, washed, dried, brushed with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan grilled over high heat for six or so minutes, turning once, transferred to plates and completed with a salsa of halved small red and orange cherry tomatoes, also from Garrison, which were tossed with olive oil, salted capers which had been rinsed and drained, some finely-sliced fresh garlic from Phillips Farm, lemon juice, salt, and pepper
• some excellent, very sweet curly kale (I think it was Russian kale) from the same friends’ up rivergarden, torn form its stems and cut in a rough chiffonade, braised in a heavy pot in which slightly-crushed garlic from Phillips Farm had previously been heated in some olive oil, then finished with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of more olive oil
• the wine was a French white, Anne Pichon Sauvage Vermentino Vaucluse 2014
• the music was Monteverdi’s ‘L’Orfeo’ performed by Concerto Italiano

Mackerel, Spanish or Boston mackerel, is one of the most beautiful fish in the sea [here, some fillets in full sunlight], whether whole or filleted, and one of the most delicious. It’s a pity so many people avoid it because of the adjective “oily’ that is so casually attached to it, generally with a negative connotation.  But it’s precisely the full flavor and, yes, the oiliness of mackerel and other non-whitefish, like salmon, trout, and tuna (as well as the smaller species, such as anchovies, herring, and sardines), that is prized by others, including myself.  Of course there’s also the health factor, but most people don’t actually eat food counsel.

The secret for enjoying mackerel, or any oily fish, is the same as for any other food is finding the right recipe.  This is just one, and it’s very simple.

• 2-ounce Boston mackerel fillets (a total of 8 for the two of us) from Pura Vida Fisheries, brushed with olive oil and seasoned, pan-grilled briefly over high heat (both sides, skin side down first), then transferred to warm plates and half-covered with a Sicilian-style salsa of halved cherry tomatoes from Toigo Orchards, capers, lemon juice from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, salt, pepper, and a bit of chopped winer savory from Whole Foods
• a mixture of kale and collard greens from Rogowski Farm, roughly chopped, wilted with olive oil in which one lightly-crushed garlic clove from ‘music garlic’ heads from Migliorelli Farm, cut in two, had been heated, the greens seasoned with salt and freshly-ground pepper, and drizzled with more olive oil
• the wine was a Spanish white, CVNE Cuna Monopole Rioja Blanco 2013
• the music was Bach, partitas played by Jeremy Denk

Very easy, and quickly-assembled.

• 6-ounce mackerel fillets from Blue Moon Fish, brushed with olive oil, seasoned, pan-grilled over high heat for 5-6 minutes, then transferred to a plate and half-covered with a Sicilian-style salsa of halved cherry tomatoes from Berried Treasures, capers, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and a bit of finely-chopped yellow Thai pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm
• young, tender broccoli rabe from Hawthorne Valley Farm, wilted in olive oil flavored with bruised garlic from Berried Treasures, seasoned with salt and pepper, then put on the plate and drizzled with more olive oil
• the wine was a Portuguese Alentejo, Herdade do Esporao V Verdelho 2013