This hearty ‘fish and potatoes’ dish has been one of our favorites ever since I saw the Mark Bittman recipe in the Times in 1999 (By the way, I’ve learned to use only about two thirds of the suggested amount of olive oil;  any more than that and you’ll probably find the potatoes swimming in it at the end).  We never tire of the dish, and only partly because it can be prepared with so many different kinds of fish, basically any white fish. In Bittman’s list, “Monkfish works very well . . . . But other fillets will give similar results, including red snapper, sea bass, pollock, wolffish, even catfish.”

The fish has to be absolutely fresh, as it certainly was here, and it helps when the olives are the right kind (ideally, black, oil-cured, like those commonly labelled ‘Moroccan’), and when the potatoes end up slightly crisp on the edges (I almost never peel potatoes anyway, and certainly not for this recipe).

• the thick 14-ounce hake fillet was from American Seafood Company in the Greenmarket; the potatoes were Red Norland, from Norwich Meadows Farm; the black oil-cured olives from Buon Italia; the 15 Sicilian bay leaves from Buon Italia
• the beautiful purple Winterbor kale, from Tamarack Hollow Farm, was wilted in olive oil where one garlic clove from S. & S.O. Farm, lightly-crushed and cut into 4 segments, had been heated and allowed to begin to color
• The wine was a California (grapes from the Sacramento River Delta with a small amount of Viognier from Lodi) white, Miriam Alexandra Chenin Blanc California 2015, by Alexandra Farber
• the music was Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s ‘Medee’, William Christie directing Les Arts Florissants

This is a hearty meal which could certainly be served in the summer, but it tastes even better when the season is cooler. It’s something of a harbinger of fall, and it’s a favorite for both of us.

The formula is wonderful, and, making it even more wonderful is its versatility: Its author, Mark Bittman, says, “The recipe can be finished with almost any firm fish fillet.” I’ve run through a small tally myself.

• four monkfish tails, totalling about 18 ounces, from American Seafood Company, roasted with two thirds of a cup of a combination of Moroccan and Kalamata olives from Whole Foods, pits removed, on top of a bed of scrubbed, unpeeled, thinly-sliced and seasoned fingerling potatoes from Lower Hayfields, a friend’s Hudson Valley garden, which had just been roasted (in a very generous amount of olive oil), with more than a dozen (!) dry bay leaves, finished with a sprinkling of purple radish micro greens from Windfall Farms
• indigo rose cherry tomatoes from Lani’s Farm, heated until starting to blister over medium high heat inside a heavy enameled cast iron skillet in which two red scallions red scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced, and one sliced large clove of ‘German hardneck‘ garlic from Race Farm had been already been allowed to heat until fragrant, the heat turned off and the mix allowed to sit for a couple minutes, further softening the tomatoes, which were then seasoned with salt and pepper and sprinkled with torn New York CIty basil from Gotham Greens, via Whole Foods, and chopped parsley from Keith’s Farm
• the wine was a California (Sonoma) white, Daryl Groom Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2015 from Naked Wines
• the music was Q2 Music, streaming

It’s very hard for me to imagine anyone dreaming up this recipe for the first time.  It wouldn’t seem to be a natural approach for preparing any fish, but its author, Mark Bittman, says, “The recipe can be finished with almost any firm fish fillet.”   Here we have a piece, or pieces, of a familiar, undramatic white fish fillet, and slices of white potato, paired with tons of bay leaves and almost a cup of the strongest, most bitter black olives around. The whole idea seems so counter-intuitive, and yet, except for approaches that are even more simple, like this one, I consider it one of the best fish recipes I’ve ever come across.  It’s also one of the easiest, and nearly the most foolproof.

• Three monkfish fillets from Blue Moon Fish Company, weighing just under a total of a pound, and almost a cup of pitted black oil-cured olives, roasted on top of a bed of thinly-sliced and seasoned German Carola potatoes (yellow-fleshed, buttery) from Berried Treasures Farm which had already been roasted in the same pan, until slightly crispy, with a generous amount of olive oil and 15 or so bay leaves from Westside Market, the monkfish finished with a sprinkling of chopped bronze fennel from Norwich Meadows Farm
• a small salad of wild arugula from Lani’s Farm, dressed with good olive oil, a small squeeze of organic lemon, salt, and freshly-ground black pepper, topped with one tiny heirloom tomato, segmented, from Berried Treasures
• the wine was a French (Rhone) white, Côtes du Rhône Samorëns Ferraton Père & Fils 2013
• the music was Sibelius, Symphony No. 2, with Paavo Berglund conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, which premiered it in 1899, when it was conducted by the composer

I don’t cook with mushrooms nearly enough.  I’ve promised myself I’d do better this year.

• monkfish from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, prepared ‘Dijon Style’ using my spring allium variation of this vintage Pierre Franey recipe; my ingredients included Shiitake mushrooms from Bulich Mushroom Farm, one stem of spring garlic from Norwich Meadows Farm, ramps from Lucky Dog Organic, and parsley from Rogowski Farm
• the young rapini from Lani’s Farm, remaining from the previous day’s salmon dinner, wilted with two garlic halves from Whole Foods which had previously sweated a bit in olive oil, all then seasoned with salt and pepper
• the wine was a French rosé, Devois de Perret Languedoc 2014
• the music was Antonio Bertali, chamber works (gorgeous)

The addition of pea sprouts is the only thing that distinguishes this entrée, which is one of our favorites, from this or several other of its antecedents on this site, but it was also enough to bring it gently into this spring season.

• two monkfish tails from American Seafood Company, roasted on top of a bed of peeled, thinly-sliced and seasoned Russet potatoes from Samascott Orchards which had already been roasted (in a very generous amount of olive oil), with a lot of fresh bay leaves from West Side Market and the later addition of half a cup of Kalamata olives from Whole Foods, pits removed, then finished with a sprinkling of pea sprouts from Monkshood Nursery and Gardens
• the wine was a California white, Franc Dusac 2014 Chardonnay Mendocino, from Naked wines
• the music was the third act of Mozart’s ‘Idomoneo’, René Jacobs‘s recording