This is the meal I referred to in my previous post, the dinner I described as less than simple and less than minimal, at least in the context of my usual practice.

I’m no longer sure how I came upon the recipe. It may be that my mind started wandering after I had seen ‘Sea Robin’ on Blue Moon Seafood’s ‘available today’ board. The folks tweet a photo of it early each day they’re at a New York greenmarket. It helps me plan a meal (as long as I get there early enough, before my choice has been sold out). This week however they only had whole ‘Robins’. But I wasn’t anxious to work on the fish that hard, even if $1.50/lb is a mighty good price – for virtually anything!

Somehow I had already come across the ‘Cooking in Sens‘ site, where I noticed that the author’s recipe for Scorpion Fish (aka Sea Robin) included ingredients which I already had, which I was maybe anxious to use very soon, or which I just wanted to experience for the first time.

I was intrigued, and I decided I could work with ‘Scorpion Fish Fillets with Yellow Zucchini‘, using, as it turned out, a fish which is almost as low on the affordability scale as the one she had designated. The Porgy however had the good sense to come fully cleaned.

The result was a good meal, but sort of compromised by my feelings about its relative complexity; it was not really the kind of cooking I prefer, or the kind of dish either of us prefers, especially with a delicate fish.

It was what I could expect from a competent restaurant, and while that doesn’t sound like disapproval, and I don’t mean it to, the dish didn’t really seem to belong in our kitchen, where I try for an emphasis on simplicity and taking minimal steps, relying on the quality of the ingredients probably more than most cooks can, since I have both the time and the access to a magnificent local bounty.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, only substituting a few things, adding one or two.

• 6 porgy fillets (2.5-oz each) from Blue Moon Fish Company; Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm instead of shallots; yellow ‘Goldbar’ zucchini from Sycamore Farms; sweet coppa (capocollo) from Eataly; Mexican limes from Trader Joe’s; ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘ from Whole Foods; most of one small red Calabrian chili pepper from Campo Rosso Farm; a drizzle of Ponti ‘Glassa Gastronomica’ (a heavily-reduced balsamic vinegar glaze); and micro scallions from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• an absolutely beautiful and superb ‘braising mix’ of greens from Keith’s Farm, barely wilted in a little olive oil, seasoned with Maldon salt, freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper
• the wine was a French (Rhône) white, Domaine Isle Saint Pierre Blanc Vin De France 2015
• the music was Roman Haubenstock-Ramati’s album, ‘Konstellationen’

Before I headed out to the Greenmarket on Monday I had noticed that the tomatoes on the windowsill were beginning to gang up on me. I decided I had to incorporate most of them in the entrée that night.

After earlier purchasing 4 porgy fillets, I picked up a young fennel bulb, thinking I would incorporate it in the preparation of the fish. That evening I realized I should probably use the oven to do that best, so I ended up combining the fennel with the tomatoes in a sauté, or braise.

• four 4-ounce Porgy fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dried, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan-seared, along with 3 thinly-sliced very small French leeks from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm Farm, over medium heat inside an oval copper pan in a bit of butter and a little olive oil, the fish basted, more or less continually, using a small brush, with the the leeks, butter and oil for about 2 minutes, the fish then carefully turned over, the heat reduced to low, a cover (I used aluminum foil) placed on the pan and the filets cooked for about another minute before the cover was removed and 2 or 3 tablespoons of mixed fresh herbs thrown in (I used mint, lovage, savory, thyme, tarragon, and basil this time), after which the basting was continued for about another 2 minutes, or until the fish was cooked through, at which time the fillets were arranged on the 2 plates, and the juices and leek fragments (there was very little) scooped up and sprinkled on top (the recipe has been slightly modified from one written by Melissa Clark)
• one young fennel bulb from Norwich Meadows Farm, cut into pieces half an inch to an inch in size, sautéed in a little olive oil inside a heavy cast iron enameled pan along with 3 thickly-sliced garlic cloves and a small amount of very-thinly-sliced ‘cherry bomb’ [or ‘red bomb’] pepper, both garlic and capsicum also from Norwich Meadows Farm, removed from the heat once the fennel had begun to caramelize, then tossed with 2 chopped heirloom tomatoes (one yellow-orange, one red) from Down Home Acres, and a dozen slightly-punctured ‘The Best Cherry Tomatoes’ (red) from Stokes Farm, stirring until all was mixed together, lemon juice squeezed in, and chopped fennel fronds added, the vegetables divided on the plates and sprinkled with fennel flowers from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm
• the wine was a French (provence) rosé, Chateau de Trinquevedel AOP Tavel 2015, whose wine merchant here is Kermit Lynch
• the music was an album of symphonies of Johann Wilhelm Wilms, Anthony Halstead
  conducting the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra

Only after I had plated fish and the vegetables did it occur to me that they would have looked so much better had I thought ahead and included some color, like any one or more of the tomatoes in various colors sitting on the window sill across from the table. Still, even unembellished, the entrée was scrumptious; I don’t think it could have been improved.

Porgy is a magnificent fish, as I’ve written here before, and these pale-green long eggplants (I did not get their name from the farmer, but I will ask) were incredibly juicy and sweet.

 

• two 5 1/2-ounce Porgy fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dried, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan-seared, along with a thinly-sliced red scallions from Rise & Root Farm, over medium heat inside an oval copper pan in a bit of butter and a little olive oil, the fish basted, using a small brush, with the the scallion butter and oil for about 2 minutes, more or less continually, then carefully turned over, the heat reduced to low, a cover (I used aluminum foil) placed on the pan and the filets cooked for about another minute before the cover was removed and 2 or 3 tablespoons of mixed fresh herbs thrown in (I used parsley, lovage, tarragon, savory, thyme, and mint this time), after which the basting continued for about another minute, or until the fish was cooked through, at which time the fillets were arranged on the 2 plates, and a small handful of stemmed oxalis from Alewife Farm was thrown into the pan, stirred for a few seconds, scooped up with the juices and sprinkled on top (the recipe has been slightly modified from one written by Melissa Clark)
• three medium long pale-green eggplants from Campo Rosso Farm, split lengthwise, scored, brushed with a mixture of oil, finely-chopped garlic from Keith’s Farm, and chopped fresh budding oregano from Stokes Farm, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan-grilled for a few minutes, turning once, then sprinkled with fennel flowers from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm [the basic recipe is here]

 

There was fruit, for a simple dessert.

• six small green figs (unfortunately, their origin unknown) from Eataly

 

• the wine throughout the meal was a South African (Paarl) white, J. Joostenberg Estate Die Agteros Chenin Blanc 2015, purchased at Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music included symphonies/sinfonias by Franz Josef Haydn and WIlhelm Friedmann Bach, performed by Giovanni Antonini conducting Il Giardino Armonico

It’s strange that neither of us remembered that porgy was not unlike mackerel in its slight oiliness, but more like mackerel light, and I mean that as a compliment.

The entire entrée was as delicious as it was colorful.

 

• four 2 1/2-ounce Porgy fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dried, seasoned with salt and pepper, pan-seared along with two thinly-sliced red spring onion scallions from Hawthorne Valley Farm over medium heat inside an oval copper pan in a bit of butter and a little olive oil, the fish basted, using a small brush, with the the scallion butter and oil for about 2 minutes, more or less continually, then turned over, the heat reduced to low, a cover (aluminum foil) placed on the pan and the filets cooked for about another minute before the cover was removed and 2 or 3 tablespoons of mixed fresh herbs thrown in (I used parsley, lovage, garlic chives, thyme, and chervil this time), after which the basting continued for about another minute, or until the fish was cooked through (the recipe was slightly modified from one written by Melissa Clark)

 

• organic yellow flat pole beans, or Romano beans, from Norwich Meadows Farm, parboiled, drained, dried by tossing over heat inside the emptied pot in which they were cooked, later reheated in a cast iron pan in a little olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and finished with micro basil from Two Guys from Woodbridge

 

• a rich and deeply-colored ensemble of wilted ‘reds’ (and a few greens), which began with one sliced young red onion from Bodhitree Farm softened in a large cast-iron enameled pot, then several handfuls of purple amaranth from Tamarack Hollow Farm added and heated until wilted, torn leaves of radicchio from Hawthorne Valley Farm stirred in, and finally a handful or more of arugula from Hawthorne Valley Farm, seasoned with some dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, and some Balsamic vinegar

 

 

• the wine was a French (Loire) white, from Vignoble Gibault, their Sauvignon Blanc Touraine 2014, descibed here, although purchased in our neighborhood, from Landmark Wine & Spirits
• the music was Jean-Philippe Rameau’s ‘Dardanus’, in a performance by Les Musiciens du Louvre, and Le Choeur des Musiciens du Louvre, directed by Marc Minkowski

lots of herbs

 

and unltimately lots of alliums as well

 

The meal tasted far more luxurious than the amount of money which exchanged hands at the fishmonger today would have suggested. Also, the availability of ramps and asparagus made for an entrée fit for a king, or at least a somewhat unpresuming monarch.

• four 3-ounce Porgy fillets from Blue Moon Fish, pan-seared over medium heat in a bit of butter with thinly-sliced spring garlic from Bodhitree Farm and salt, the fish basted at least several times with the the garlic butter for about 2 minutes, then turned over, the heat reduced to low, a cover placed on the pan and the filets cooked for about another minute or two, the cover removed, 2 or 3 tablespoons of mixed fresh herbs thrown in (I used parsley, mint, lovage, savory, thyme, and oregano this time) and the basting continued for about another minute, or until the fish was cooked through (the recipe was slightly modified from one written by Melissa Clark)
• an equal mix of ramps from Berried Treasures and asparagus from Phillips Farm, rolled in olive oil with salt and pepper, the ramp greens separated from the bulbs, and the asparagus and bulbs pan-grilled until cooked through and grill marks appeared, removed, replaced briefly by the ramp greens, then all of the vegetables combined on a warm platter and distributed to plates
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Richard Bruno Clarksburg Chenin Blanc 2015
• the music was from the album, ‘Barbary Coast’ (Red Light New Music), and mostly just Liam Robinson, Chris Cerrone, and Ted Hearne