The swordfish was beautiful, and very fresh, as were the greens.

About that vegetable: Since there’s almost nothing to the cooking of greens, I thought I could take them pretty much for granted, and concentrate on the swordfish, and even the swordfish was also going to be prepared in a way I’ve done many times before.

The fish turned out very fine, and the greens, which were Komatsuna, a Japanese mustard spinach I’d not cooked before, tasted wonderful, but their larger stems were, well, let’s say, not easily chewed. The entire bunch, leaves and stems, had seemed very tender, but should I have stripped off the leaves on at least the larger stems? I would have had time, but it just didn’t seem necessary to me while I was chopping and washing them before their wilting, and how much vegetable would I have left after that if I did? Alternatively, Should I have just cooked them longer? I had the time to do so, since I was preparing them well before I had started to grill the swordfish, but I was thinking about spinach, which is a close relative to these greens, and I didn’t want them to reduce to almost nothing inside the pot before we had a chance to enjoy them.

Because I want there to be a next time, I’ll just have to remember what happened last night, and hope to make some kind of adjustment when I cook this delicious green again.

The swordfish looks something like a veal steak in the picture at the top, which is mostly the doing of a medium-high flame toasting my mixed assortment of homemade breadcrumbs, in which all shades of brown are represented.

But first came a marinade, which gave the steaks a very festive appearance while they were lying on the counter entertaining me for half an hour.

And at the end of their cooking there was a garnish of 2 different herbs, bronze fennel and young spring ramp leaves, but first both had to be washed and dried under a lamp on the counter, where they looked a bit like a botanical drawing.

• two swordfish steaks (9 ounces each) from American Seafood Company), caught on the fishing vessel ‘Sharon G II’, out of Montauk Harbor, 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 from Stokes Farm, a small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, and a chopped section of a stem of purple spring garlic from John D. Madura Farm, then drained well, 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 as the goal), removed, seasoned with a little Maldon sea salt, a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon squeezed on top, garnished with chopped bronze fennel from Norwich Meadows Farm and 2 leaves of a ramp from  from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, washed, dried, and thinly sliced, drizzled with a little Portuguese Whole Foods house olive oil
• thin slices of a loaf of Bien Cuit ‘Rye & Sunflower’, with white and dark rye, and roasted sunflower seeds, from Foragers Market
• one generous bunch of Komatsuna, a Japanese mustard spinach, washed and cut into 2-inch sections, wilted inside a large enameled cast iron pot in which one thick sliced spring garlic stem had first been softened in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil
• the wine was a Portuguese (Alentejo) white, Esporao Alandra Branco 2016, from Garnet Wines

There was a sweet!

• a scoop of Limoncello ‘Naturally Flavored’ Italian Gelato from Whole Foods Market, served with ‘Sweet Oat Crisps‘ from Schaller & Weber 

 

• the music throughout the meal was Hans Werner Henze’s first 3 symphonies, Marek Janowski conducting the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra

It all tasted as good as it looks.

The swordfish had been very well cared for, and could not have tasted more fresh, regardless of how far the boat had swum since landing it somewhere south of Long Island.

The tomatoes were grown indoors in Maine, in late winter, early spring, but, as usual, they tasted like they had been outside in the summer.

The greens were described by the local farmer as “overwintered”; they could not have been more tender or tasted any sweeter

• one thick 13.5-ounce swordfish steak from American Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, taken from Scott Rucky’s fishing vessel, ‘Dakota’, halved (I’m getting really good at that), marinated for more than half an hour in a mixture of olive oil, a tablespoon of fresh oregano from Stokes Farm, a small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, and a chopped section of a Japanese scallion from Norwich Meadows Farm, drained well, covered on both sides with a coating of homemade dried breadcrumbs, pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 4 or 5 minutes on each side, or until barely fully cooked all of the way through, removed, seasoned with a little sea salt, a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon squeezed on top, drizzled with a little olive oil and garnished with micro bronze fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• three Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods Market, halved, sprinkled with a small amount of sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, briefly placed inside the grill pan just as the swordfish were finishing, arranged on the plates and garnished with chopped thyme from Eataly
• small clusters of overwintered broccoli rabe” (aka rapini) from Lani’s Farm, wilted in olive oil flavored with one small whole dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia and 2 Rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm which had been bruised and heated until beginning to color, then seasoned with salt and pepper, divided onto the plates and drizzled with more olive oil
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) white, Catarratto ‘Vigna del Masso’ Feudo Montoni 2016, from Astor Wines  
• the music was Luigi/Louis Cherubini’s 1791 comédie héroïque, ‘Lodoiska’, Jérémie Rhorer conducting Le Cercle de l’Harmonie and Les Elements Chamber Choir [the composer‘s story and that of the opera are both fascinating: particularly in an era when the world is once again being turned upside down: Cherubini survived, and prospered from the time he was taken up by the Bourbon court in the late 1780s (yeah) as an emigrant, through the Revolution, the Directorate, the Empire, the Restoration, and the July Revolution; the opera premiered 26 days after the royal family, some of whom were his most important patrons, was arrested and escorted back to Paris from Varennes (the theater, until that month named Théâtre de Monsieur, for the king’s brother, was renamed Théâtre Feydeau after the arrest); the best part of the Wikipedia entry: “In a spectacular scene that helped to make the opera a hit in Paris, one of the castle walls is blown up, then crumbles to reveal the battlefield outside.”]

There were no smaller pieces, like those I would usually buy, inside the fisherman’s bucket when I stopped by yesterday, but since the swordfish looked so good (and Warren indicated it was a cut close to the belly), and the price was also very good, I didn’t feel guilty about coming home with a pound and a quarter of such goodness.

Fortunately, that evening I was able to prepare the steaks suitably and grill them à point, but then, unless you fall asleep in the middle of the process, it’s really hard to mess up a swordfish steak.

• two thick 10-ounce swordfish steaks off of Scott Rucky’s fishing vessel, ‘Dakota’, from American Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, marinated for more than half an hour in a mixture of olive oil, maybe half a teaspoon of super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, a small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, and a chopped section of a Japanese scallion from Norwich Meadows Farm, drained well, covered on both sides with a coating of homemade dried breadcrumbs, pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 5 minutes on each side, removed, seasoned with a little sea salt, a little juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon squeezed on top, garnished with purple micro radish from Two Guys from Woodbridge [although they were not drizzled with a little olive oil this time, out of consideration for thos beautiful crusty breadcrumbs, I think I really should have]
• one 5 or 6-inch ‘sugar dumpling’ squash from Tamarack Hollow Farm, scrubbed, halved horizontally, the seeds removed, divided into one-inch wedges, tossed lightly in a bowl with olive oil, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and one section of a golden dried habanada pepper, then arranged on a large, unglazed, well-seasoned ceramic Pampered Chef pan and roasted on one side at 450ª for 15 minutes, turned onto the/an other side and allowed to roast for 15 more minutes, removed from both the oven and the pan, once they had softened inside and the edges of the skin somewhat carbonized and crunchy, stirred inside a large heavy tin0lined copper sauté pan in which 2 whole bruised cloves of Keith’s Farm Rocambole garlic had been gently heated in a bit of olive oil before joined by some roughly-chopped sage, also from Phillips Farms
• hothouse-grown local baby arugula from Eckerton Hill Farm, sprinkled with a tiny bit of Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper, drizzled with a bit of a very good Sicilian olive oil, from Agrigento, Azienda Agricola Mandranova
• the wine was an Italian (Marche) white, Fontezoppa Verdicchio di Matelica 2016, from Garnet Wines
• the music was Mozart’s 1772 opera, ‘Lucio Silla’, Leopold Hager conducting the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Salzburg Radio Chorus, and the Salzburg Mozarteum Chorus., with an amazing cast, Edith Mathis, Helen Donath, Arleen Augér, Werner Krenn, Julia Varády, and Peter Schreier

Stephanie Villani of Blue Moon Fish, the wife of the fisherman, Alex Villani, pointed me to the swordfish; I was immediately charmed by its appearance, even before she spoke of the merits of these particular steaks. Swordfish are classified as an oily fish, but they are also normally quite lean, which impacts its cooking and its tastiness. This one was unusually pink and fatty, both often very good things in seafood

They certainly were this time.

By the way, the rich variety of seafood shown on the board in the image below, taked of the inside the Villani’s fish stall may help explain why I feel like we live in the middle of the Atlantic, and why, with the help of some 5 other fishers, on other market days, we normally eat seafood 3 times a week – 4 if I make it there on Saturday too.

 

Last night’s meal (both courses) was remarkably good and at least slightly remarkable for its odd purpleness.

• * two very fresh, not particularly thick 8-ounce Long Island waters swordfish steaks from Blue Moon Fish, marinated for half an hour in a mixture of olive oil, one small chopped red shallot from  from Norwich Meadows Farm, chopped fresh peppermint from Phillips Farm, and a very small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, the steaks drained well, coated on both sides with some homemade dried breadcrumbs, then pan-grilled in/on an enameled cast iron pan over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes on each side, removed to 2 plates, seasoned with Maldon salt, some of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market squeezed on top, drizzled with a little olive oil, and sprinkled with micro kohlrabi from Windfall Farms (this, a brand-new product for them, is both delicious and a real beauty)

 

• three Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods Market, halved, briefly placed inside the grill pan just as the swordfish had finished, turning once, seasoned with Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• * two small-to-medium heads of purple broccoli from Hoeffner Farm, the florets separated (the upper stems sliced fairly thinly, mixed with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper, and served as an appetizer), tossed in a little olive oil, Sea salt, pepper, and one small crushed section of a dark dried habanada pepper, spread onto a large ceramic oven pan, roasted at 400º for about 20 minutes, near the end of that time joined by the more tender broccoli leaves that had been mixed with tiny bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper, the florets and the now slightly-crispy leaves arranged on the plates and drizzled with very small amounts of little lemon juice and olive oil

 

There was a small cheese course, and it too had a purple element.

• a bit of Portuguese ‘Cardus Casa Lusa‘ goat milk cheese, with a thistle rennet, from Eataly
• a few small ‘beet chips’ (thin slices of red beets, oven-dried) from Lani’s Farm
• slices of a sourdough bâtard from She Wolf Bakery

 

• the wine throughout the meal was an Italian (Langhe) white, Langhe Bianco “Rabel”, Cagliero 2013, from Astor Wines
• the music throughout was Handel’s 1740 London opera, ‘Imeneo’, Fabio Biondi conducting Europa Galante

The swordfish itself, plus the recipe of course, and, yeah, my modest part (which was just taking it off the grill at the right moment) came together beautifully.

And then there was this incredibly good mustard. I had picked it because it would be quick and easy on a night when I didn’t have much time to put a meal together but it was much, much more than just a placeholder.

• one very fresh 16-ounce swordfish steak from Blue Moon Fish, divided into 2 pieces at home, marinated for half an hour in a mixture of olive oil, one spring red onion from N.J. Jersey Farm Produce, Inc., some chopped fresh oregano buds from Norwich Meadows Farm, and a very small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, drained well, coated on both sides with some homemade dried breadcrumbs, and pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, removed to 2 plates, seasoned with Maldon salt, some of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market squeezed on top, drizzled with a little olive oil, and sprinkled with micro lemon peppercress (yes, it really is lemony, and peppery) from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• one bunch of red mustard from Keith’s Farm, wilted inside a large high-sided tin-lined copper pot in a little olive oil in which 2 halved cloves of  garlic from Lucky Dog Organic Farm had been allowed to sweat, then seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, and a very small amount of crushed dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, finished on the plates with a drizzle of juice from an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and a bit of olive oil
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) rosé, Gerbino Rosato di Nerello Mascalese 2016, from Eataly Vino
• the music was the album, ‘Sieur de Sainte-Colombe: Concerts a Deux Violes Esgales’