We’re really crazy about tuna steaks prepared this easy way, and I don’t object to the fact it’s simpler than pie to do. What surprised me this time was how formidable a rival the vegetable accompaniment I’d chosen turned out to be. It too could hardly have been easier to prepare, which was also a surprise, since I normally go through all kinds of contortions to bring out the best in treviso, or any of the other chicories I love so much.

• two 8-ounce tuna steaks from American Seafood Company, rinsed, dried, seasoned on both sides with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, then rubbed, tops and bottoms, with a mixture of a tablespoon of a wonderful dry Sicilian fennel seed from Buon Italia that had been crushed in a porcelain mortar and pestle along with a little dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, ending, also on both sides, with little more than a pinch of dried golden/orange habanada pepper, pan-grilled above a medium-high flame (for only a little more than a minute or so on each side), finished on the plates with a good squeeze of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market and a drizzle of olive oil, garnished with micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• a small handful of golden cherry tomatoes from Alex’s Tomato Farm, in Carlisle, New Jersey, at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, washed, halved, heated inside an antique enameled cast iron porringer in a little olive oil, sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, garnished with micro red basil from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• one very-thinly-sliced spring garlic stem from Berried Treasures Farm or/and one spring red onion from Norwich Meadows Farm (and maybe a small piece of shallot, also from Norwich Meadows Farm), heated in a tablespoon or more of olive oil inside a heavy pan until softened, before 2 medium heads of early, loose-leaf) treviso from Campo Rosso Farm, roughly chopped, added to the pan, along with some sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, stirring all along until the radicchio had mostly wilted, finished with barely a splash of balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with chopped lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was a Portuguese (Alentejo) white, Esporao Monte Velho White 2016, from Garnet Wines
• the music was New Sounds, streaming

We had a guest, almost a last-minute guest, last night. I did however have enough notice to be able to purchase 3 servings of fish at the Union Square Greenmarket earlier in the day, and also one beautiful head of radicchio larger than one I would normally bring home.

It all went swell.

It was also one of the most relaxed and pleasant small dinner parties either of us can remember, especially considering the fact that we had only met Andrew a few days earlier. Maybe I’m finally getting the hang of this thing.

Or maybe it was just our affable Australian artist, Andrew Nicholls.

We sat down to a salad whose elements seem to have been waiting for just this occasion. Barry had brought home a soft Spanish goat cheese a few days before, to enjoy with the tomatoes which were only now fully ripened.

• one knob of a Spanish goat goat milk cheese, ‘Capricho de Cabra‘, from Whole Foods Market, brought to room temperature and arranged on the plates with sliced ripe heirloom tomatoes in 3 different colors from Berried Treasures Farm which were seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground back pepper, everything sprinkled with chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm, and drizzled with an excellent Puglian olive oil, Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto, from the Flatiron Eataly Market
• slices of an Eric Kayser ‘baguette monge’ [missing in the picture above]
• the wine was an Italian (Sicily) white, Corvo Bianco 2015, from Philippe Liquors and Wine, once we had finished the aperitif wine, a New Mexican (Sierra County) sparkling white, Gruet Brut NV, from Astor Wines & Spirits

The main course was also very Mediterranean, although (like the first, with the exception of that Spanish cheese) the ingredients were almost entirely local.

• three 8-ounce Yellowfin tuna steaks from Pura Vida Seafood, rubbed, tops and bottoms, with a mixture of a dry Sicilian fennel seed from Buon Italia that had been crushed in a mortar and pestle along with a little dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, then seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, pan-grilled above a medium-high flame (for only a little more than a minute or so on each side), finished on the plates with a good squeeze of the juice of an organic lemon from Trader Joe’s Market and some olive oil, served with bronze micro fennel from Windfall Farm
• one large (exactly one pound) head of Treviso radicchio from Campo Rosso Farm, washed, the liquid drained and wiped off, cut lengthwise into four sections, one of them wrapped and returned to the crisper for another day, arranged one cut side up on a medium Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic oven pan (after securing the leaves by wrapping each with string), covered with lots of thyme branches from Phillips Farm, seasoned generously with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, drizzled with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, baked in a pre-heated 400º oven for 12 minutes or so, turned to the other cut side and returned to the oven for 8 or 9 minutes, then turned uncut side up and drizzled with one more tablespoon of oil, baked for about 2 minutes more, arranged on the plates, garnished with a few fresh thyme branches
• half a dozen ripe Sun Gold tomatoes from Franca Tantillo’s Berried Treasures Farm, rolled around for a minute or so, with a bit of olive oil inside a 200-year-old enameled cast iron porringer (I love using that thing), seasoned with sea salt and ground black pepper, sprinkled with a bit of lovage that remained from that which had been chopped for the first course [the tomatoes were introduced largely for the color they could add to the plate]
• the wine was a Spanish (Rias Baixas) white, Martin Codax Albarino 2016, from Philippe Liquors and Wines

There was a dessert, imagined and executed pretty much on the spot, since I found no berries at the Greenmarket that day, and I had not prepared for anything else.

• a small scoop of some terrific, very rich Riverine Ranch Water Buffalo Sweet Cream Ice Cream from the farmer’s stall in the Union Square Greenmarket, topped by a small scoop of Talenti Vanilla Bean Gelato from Whole Foods Market, drizzled with some Toschi Orzata Orgeat syrup, finished with some chopped candied ginger sprinkled on top

 

• the music through much of the meal was from the recordings included in the book, ‘Lead Kindly Light‘, described as a “176-page hardcover, clothbound book with 2 CDs featuring recordings of Rural Southern Music: Old Time, String Band Music from Appalachia, extremely rare Country Blues and African American gospel singing from 1924-1939”; we had pulled out the book and the compact discs during dinner after we learned of our guest’s interest in the culture and music of that era, and area

This dinner was pretty simple, very straightforward, both for the ingredients and, at least for me, their treatment.

The second thing I think worth mentioning is the fact that that this does not look like a December meal: Everything on that table that is fresh (fish, vegetables, herbs, fruit, cheeses [actually, only 3 of the 4], and the bread) came from local farmers trading in the Union Square Greenmarket during the last few days. Only the salt, pepper, olive oil, fennel seeds, dried pepper, and the wine (out of the picture) were not local.

Even the wine we chose might be considered out of such with the season: It was a rosé, one which we have enjoyed a number of times, although normally in warmer months than this one.

 

• one 12-ounce tuna steak from American Seafood at Chelsea’s ‘Down to Earth Farmers Market’ (one block west of us on 23rd Street), cut into 2 pieces, tops and bottoms rubbed with a mixture of a tablespoon of dry Italian fennel seed and a little crushed dried Itria-Sirissi chilis (peperoncino di Sardegna intero) from Buon Italia, the two having been ground together with mortar and pestle, the surfaces of the tuna additionally seasoned with salt and pepper before they were pan-grilled for only a little more than a minute or so on each side and finished with both a good squeeze of the juice of some tiny local lemons from Fantastic Gardens of New Jersey and a drizzle of olive oil
• ten or 12 cherry tomatoes from Alex’s Tomato Farm, in Carlisle, NY, purchased that day at Chelsea’s ‘Down to Earth Farmers Market’, halved, rolled in a little olive oil above a low flame, seasoned with salt and pepper, arranged on the plates next to the tuna and sprinkled with leaves removed from a Full Bloom Market Garden basil plant from Whole Foods, torn
• flat green pole beans from Norwich Meadows Farm, blanched, drained and dried, then reheated in a heavy cast iron pan with olive oil in which 3 chopped thin scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm had first been softened over a low flame, then finished with salt, pepper, and chopped winter savory from Stokes Farm

There was a cheese course.

• the cheeses were, from left to right in the picture, ‘Herve Mons’ Ovalie Cendrée (Poitou-Charentes) goat cheese from Whole Foods; Consider Bardwell Farm’s ‘Reconsider’, which is a one-time event: a cow cheese finished in their ‘Manchester’ goat cheese cave; Consider Bardwell Farm’s ‘Dorset’ cow cheese; and a yet-untitled Consider Bardwell blue goat cheese
• thin toasts from a French sourdough Levain from Bread Alone

 

• the wine throughout the meal was a California (Lodi) rosé, Karen Birmingham Rosé Lodi 2015
• the music, before, during, and after the meal, was Mozart’s 1775 opera, ‘La Finta Giardiniera’, René Jacobs directing the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra

I pretty much hate Xmas, but I can’t help think of that hugely overworked holiday when I look at the picture above.

Sorry.

On the other hand this tuna preparation has become another year-round classic for the 2 of us, although there are subtle variations each time, and it’s one which becomes easier to put together with each outing. The eggplant the accompanying vegetable, is also open to an almost infinite number of possibilities, each of them as simple to prepare as the fish.

• two 7-ounce tuna steaks from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rubbed top and bottom with a mixture of dry Italian fennel seed and a little dried Itria-Sirissi chilis (peperoncino di Sardegna intero) from Buon Italia, which had  been ground together in a mortar-and-pestle, the surfaces of the tuna additionally seasoned with salt, and pepper, the steaks pan-grilled for only a little more than a minute or so on each side, finished with a good squeeze of lemon, scattered with fresh fennel flowers from Rise & Root Farm, and drizzled with a very good olive oil
• one Sicilian (heirloom) eggplant, from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds, brushed with olive oil, chopped garlic form Race Farm, chopped peppermint from Lani’s Farm, salt, and pepper, pan grilled, turning 3 times, removed to a platter, a which time more than a handful of small cherry tomatoes from Stokes Farm were introduced to the hot grill, the tomatoes then shoveled about the ridges until they had softened just a bit, eggplant and tomatoes sprinkled with more chopped mint and brushed with good olive oil, drizzled with a bit of lemon juice and a little olive oil, then put aside to rest for a short while at room temperature while the tuna was grilled
• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia) white, S’elegas Nuragus di Cagliari DOC 2014

• the music was a recording of two wonderful early-1950s radio operas by Hans Werner Henze, ‘Ein Landarzt’ and ‘Das Ende Einer’

[the image at the bottom, of the 21 or 22-year-old Henze, was taken in 1958 by Herbert List, and it’s from Magnum Photos]

 

I couldn’t decide whether to serve tomatoes or peppers with the tuna last night, and then I realized the decision had already been made for me: Since there really weren’t enough tomatoes, and those that I had were very ripe, I ended up combining them with the pepppers.

• two thick 7-ounce tuna steaks from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, rubbed top and bottom with a mixture of dry Italian fennel seed and a little dried Itria-Sirissi chilis (peperoncino di Sardegna intero) from Buon Italia, both ground together in a mortar-and-pestle, their surfaces additionally seasoned with salt and pepper, pan-grilled over a high flame for only a little more than a minute or so on each side, removed to the plates, finished with a good squeeze of lemon from Whole Foods, scattered with some chiffonade-cut red sorrel from Norwich Meadows Farm, and drizzled with a very good olive oil
• four medium banana peppers (light yellow and one darker, one orange) and one green Anaheim pepper, all from a friend’s Lower Hayfields Hudson Valley garden, seeds and pith removed, very roughly chopped, sautéed over a high flame until slightly carmelized, a part of a small red Calabrian pepper from Campo Rosso Farm, finely-chopped, added a bit earlier, the heat turned down and a large handful of small red cherry tomatoes, also from Lower Hayfields, tossed into the pan and heated until they had begun to break down, the vegetables finished in the pan with the addition of chopped fresh oregano leaves from Stokes Farm, and a dash of balsamic vinegar, divided onto the 2 plates, where they were sprinkled with a little micro bronze fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was a California (Central Coast) rosé, 99 Barrels Derek Rohlffs Santa Lucia Highlands Rose 2015

There was a small fruit and cheese course.

• seven striped yellow figs from California, via Eataly, and tiny amount of a terric blue cow cheese, ‘Barden’, from Consider Bardwell Farm

• the music throughout the meal was from Counterstream radio, streaming, and it included at least some of Morton Feldman‘s early ’70s  pieces for voices and Instruments