Zowie.

• one 13-ounce tilefish fillet from Pura Vida, halved, dried, seasoned, then pan-seared and finished, after this Melissa Clark recipe, this time using three fresh spring garlic from Eataly, thyme from Keith’s Farm, mint and thyme from Eataly, tarragon from Whole Foods, parsley from Rogowski Farm, and local (Long Island) lemon juice from Dave Tifford’s Fantastic Gardens of Long Island
• collard greens from Rogowski Farm, cut as thin ‘noodles’ and, following the collards part of this delicious recipe), stirred into a pan in which uncured diced Colameco pancetta from Whole Foods had sautéed until starting to brown before the addition of minced Christopher Ranch garlic from Eataly and a little butter, finished with juice from the same local Fantastic Gardens of Long Island lemon
• Maine cherry ‘cocktail’ tomatoes from Whole Foods, placed in the pan with the tilefish near the end of its cooking, removed and seasoned, finished with sliced green ends from the Eataly spring garlic
• the wine was an Italian white, le Salse Verdicchio di Matelica 2013
• the music was Ferdinand Ries‘s Symphony No. 4

Note to self:  Despite the circumstances of its genesis, this meal was very, very good.

Having been reminded yesterday that there probably wouldn’t be be time to put meals together on three of the next six nights (because of performances which would get us home pretty late), I made a list of the more perishable vegetables I had on hand, determined not to lose any of them to advancing age.  The list included upland cress; leeks, both regular and baby; spinach; spring, or green garlic; cherry tomatoes; kale, and most of my fresh herbs.

Last night, after a certain amount of on-line research and mental juggling, I managed to assemble a meal which put a good dent in those stores.  I had been concerned that my ‘expiration date’ priorities might compromise the best prescription for the beautiful 12-ounce tilefish fillet I had brought home from the Greenmarket earlier in the day, but, as it turned out, I needn’t have worried:  The entire entrée was a small triumph, thanks to the suppliers, the internet and two recipes which were totally new to me.

Together, Melissa Clark’s, ‘Pan-Seared Tilefish with Garlic, Herbs and Lemon‘, and Mary Ann Esposito’s, ‘Cherry Tomatoes with Leeks and Thyme [Pomodorini con Porri e Timo]’, seemed to have been created with both my situation and my particular tastes in mind.  Using them in combination, I was able to use at least some of the two forms of leek, most of the tomatoes, a good portion of the herbs, two of the three pieces of spring garlic, and all of the spinach I had painstakingly separated from those leaves which had not quite made it while waiting a few days to be used.  My only innovations were the addition of spinach to the leek-and-tomato dish, the very generous amount of herbs I lavished on the tilefish, and my decision to not remove its skin.

I had never heard of the tilefish (the species in our waters is Lopholatilus Chamaeleonticeps, aka Great Northern Tilefish, Golden Tilefish, etc.) until six or seven years ago, but I’ve been delighted with it both times I’ve cooked it.  I roasted it each time, first with a lot of butter and fresh breadcrumbs, later on a bed of leeks and bacon pieces.  Yesterday I sautéed it, and baby leaks and herbs were pretty front and center this time.

It’s a magnificent fish.

Looking forward, tonight we will enjoy two small filet mignon the Greenmarket’s from Millport Dairy, which will open up a number of possibilities for using the perishable vegetables and herbs which remain.  I’m hoping I’ll be able to squeeze in at least one root as well.

But this is what we enjoyed last night:

• Pan-seared tilefish from American Seafood Company in the Greenmarket, prepared after this Melissa Clark recipe, using two stems of fresh, or spring garlic from Rogowski Farm and one of baby leek, also from Rogowski, thyme from Eataly, mint from Eataly, chives from Whole Foods, and tarragon from Whole Foods
• Maine Backyard Farms cocktail tomatoes from Whole Foods and a large leek from S. & S.O. Produce Farms, prepared following this recipe, using thyme from Eataly and a bit of Malawi raw cane sugar (spooned out of my sugar bowl, where it is stored with one whole vanilla bean), and finished with a large handful of washed baby spinach from Rogowski Farm
• Italian semolina bread from Baker’s Bounty
• the wine was a Portuguese white, Quinta do Alqueve Fernão Peres 2010
• the music was Ferdinand Ries‘s Piano Concerto No. 2

 

I had bought the very last Tilefish from Nadia of American Seafood at the Greenmarket, and when I said something about wishing I had photographed it before packing it in my insulated bag, she was kind enough to unwrap and lay it out on fresh ice for this picture:

 

 

Memory and my own documentation suggests that last night’s meal appears to be only my second exposure to Tilefish, in my kitchen, or possibly anywhere else, and I can’t understand why this delicious fish has been such a stranger.

I don’t think the species is very well known here, and it may have a narrow harvest window, but I recommend the fish for its flavor above all else, and for the fact that it remains a very good bargain.  Tilefish has a mild, sweet flavor, apparently shaped by what it largely feeds upon at the bottom of the Continental Shelf, and that includes crab, shrimp, and snail.

The fact that Tilefish catches, off Long Island at least, seem to get high marks for sustainability is an additional encouragement, and the fish that we bring home all comes from small boats, not factories.

I am assuming that the Golden Tilefish, or Lopholatilus chamaelonticeps, pictured below, is the species whose fillets I purchased at the Greenmarket on Friday:

• two leeks from Lucky Dog Organic, sliced, and some thick, country-style bacon from Millport Dairy, chopped both tossed with olive oil, spread in an oven pan, roasted at 425º for 10 minutes, after which a tablespoon of thyme leaves and 1/4 cup of white wine were added, the pan returned to the oven for 20 minutes more, before two seasoned Tilefish fillets from Pura Vida were placed in it, brushed with olive oil, and all once again placed in the oven until the fish was done, removed and garnished with more thyme
• parsnips from Lucky Dog Organic, scrubbed and cut into 1/2″ slices, tossed with olive oil and salt, a few unpeeled cloves of garlic, also from Lucky Dog Organic, spread in a single layer on an unglazed ceramic oven pan, dotted with butter (yeah, that process was a little dainty), roasted at 425º, seasoned with a little more salt and pepper, sprinkled with parsley from Eataly
• upland cress from Two Guys from Woodbridge, splayed
• the wine was a French white, a Sancerre, Somme Doré 2013
• the music was Mahler’s 7th, Solti, Chicago

 

[second image from Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council]

I had bought two packages of smoked fish salad at the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday, thinking we’d need that much for 4 people, but we only opened one of them that night. The 2 of us would share the contents of the other container on Monday and Tuesday.

• a composed smoked fish salad, or pâté, using local fish caught by Phil Karlin, whose wife, Dolores Karlin, made it, consisting of more than one white fish species, mayonnaise, red onion, and celery, from P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company (the salad was perfectly seasoned), served on slices of a loaf of ‘table bread’ from Philadelphia’s Lost Bread Co. that had just been toasted over an open gas flame on our ‘Camp-A-Toaster’
• leaves of loose small arugula from Norwich Meadows Farm, dressed with some very good unfiltered olive oil from the 6th Avenue Trader Joe’s, Maldon salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a drizzle of organic lemon juice from Chelsea Whole Foods Market

The main course, however, was all new. It was dominated by seafood as well, which, coincidentally, had come from the same fishers who had brought us both the fish in the pâté and the cod we had enjoyed on Saturday.

Also new – and quite old – was the very large tin-lined copper pan I used to cook the fish. Although they weighed barely a pound altogether, the area the fillets would occupy was larger than any pan surface I had (that is, other than a pretty enormous, beautifully-seasoned carbon steel long-handled fish skillet, which I could have used, since there would be no acid involved in the cooking).

The new pan was a triumph.

• eight small (2-ounce) Porgy fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rinsed, dried, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, pan-seared, along with 4 small thinly-sliced Japanese shallots from Norwich Meadows Farm, over medium heat inside a newly-acquired and newly-retinned 13″-round shallow antique copper pan in a bit of butter and a little olive oil, the fish basted with the contents of the pan more or less continually for about 2 minutes, using a small brush, then carefully turned over, and the heat reduced to low, a cover placed on the pan (I used a new, tempered-glass universal lid that almost fit snugly between the handles) and the filets cooked for about about another 2 minutes before the cover was removed and a mix of 2 or 3 tablespoons of 7 different fresh herbs thrown in (this time I used thyme and spearmint from Chelsea Whole Foods; parsley from Norwich Meadows Farm; lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge; oregano from Phillips Farms; tarragon from Flatiron Eataly; and basil from a friend’s indoor garden), after which the basting was continued for about minute, or until the fish was cooked through, the fillets then arranged on the 2 plates, the pan juices and scallion fragments, together with the juice of one organic Whole Foods Market lemon, poured over the top, and a few chopped green segments of scallion scattered over everything (the recipe has been slightly modified from one written by Melissa Clark)
• the greens from 2 bunches of French breakfast radishes purchased from Eckerton Hill Farm (most of the radishes themselves had been enjoyed at the beginning of the meal on Saturday)

 

• the wine through both courses was a Spanish (Galicia) white, Valdesil, Godello ‘Montenovo’ 2017, from Flatiron Wines [more about the area, ‘the golden valley’, including a picture of the vintner, Borja Prada, who is interviewed here (we love Galicia)]

 

There was a dessert this time, which is something of a rare occurrence at our table.

• small dishes of delicious La Loos goat milk ice cream, ‘Snowflake vanilla’, from Chelsea Whole Foods

• the music throughout was Rossini’s beautiful 1814 opera buffa, ‘Il Turco In Italia’, Riccardo Chailly conducting the Milan Teatro alla Scala Orchestra and the Milan Teatro alla Scala Chorus (the composer was 22 at the time it premiered; it was first staged in New York City in 1826

 

[the image above, a portrait of Gioacchino Rossini in a super dressing gown, or banyan, by an unidentified artist, is apparently from the Theaterwissenschaftliche Sammlung – Universität zu Köln, via Pinterest (which does not load)]

This concept is brilliant!

How about the possibility of  serving a delicious homemade-like pasta without boiling anything, meaning no waiting, no heating up the kitchen in summer. I picked up a single package of this gnocchi while at Eataly a few days ago, because I had been thinking about gnocchi, and the immediate selling point, at least as much as discovering the minimal and natural ingredients, was that its ‘use by’ date lay somewhere in March.

That was only my first surprise. When I was ready to serve it last night, of course I looked closely at the cooking  instructions on the package, and then I looked again, because I had read, “pour the gnocchi directly from the package to the pan with your favorite sauce…”.

Except for introducing a little ‘leftover’ cabbage and later some grated cheese, I basically I did just that, and then, continuing the directive, I added a half cup of water, gently stirred everything for about 2 or 3 minutes, and, ecco!

Of course I’m going back for more. It will become our go-to-returning-after-an-evening-out dinner, even quicker to the table even than ordering a pizza. I bought the classic, but there are several variations each with one additional ingredient or flavor.

Since it takes so little time to make, there’s little excuse for avoiding at least one additional course, an antipasto or a cheese or fruit course, or both. Last night we had cheese and toasts.

• 400g (14.1 ounces) of ‘mama gnocchi made with steamed fresh potatoes‘ from the Flatiron Eataly, stirred into a large vintage, high-sided, tin-lined copper pot in which 4 tablespoons of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ and maybe 40 small stemmed fresh sage leaves from Philipps Farms had been heated until the butter had become light brown, after which a large handful of shredded Savoy cabbage from Norwich Meadows Farm that had not been used in the meal the night before tossed in and wilted, slightly, up to half of a cup of fresh water added, the heat turned up a bit and the gnocchi and butter mix stirred until most of the liquid had been absorbed, when a generous grating of Parmigiano Reggiano Hombre from Whole Foods Market was mixed in, the finished dish served in shallow bowls

There was a cheese course, dominated by 2 excellent blue cheeses.

 

• three Consider Bardwell Farm cheeses, a goat blue, unnamed; a cow blue, ‘Bardem Blue’; and, in the middle an ‘un-blue’, their goat milk ‘Manchester’, as something of a palate cleanser
• toast from a loaf of She Wolf Bakery sourdough bâtard

the wine through both courses was an Italian (Tuscany) white, Marchesi Antinori Vermentino 2016, from Flatiron WInes

After the cheese, and after the few dishes were washed, there was also a digestif

• the drink was a fairly rare Italian (Sardinia) digestif, Tremontis Mirto dell’Isola di Sardegna, from Eataly Vino, served in small 150-year-old sturdy pressed glasses I’ve had for almost 50 years [love them]

 

• the music throughout the meal was Gottfried von Einem’s 1944-1946 opera, ‘Danton”s Tod’, with Lothar Zagrosek conducting the Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Austrian Radio Chorus, in a 1983 recording, with Theo Adam, Werner Hollweg, Horst Hiestermann, Kurt Rydl, Marjana Lipovsek, Krisztina Láki, Helmut Berger-Tuna, Wilfried Gahmlich, Franz Wyzner, Ingrid Mayr, Alfred Muff, and Karl Terkal