We love whiting, but because we have it so seldom I’m only reminded of just how much once we sit down to enjoy it again.

This meal was an excellent reminder.

• one 12-ounce whiting fillet from Pura Vida Seafood, rinsed, dried, cut into 2 pieces, seasoned with salt and freshly-ground pepper, placed inside a heavy tin-lined oval copper pan and prepared something like this terrific Melissa Clark recipe (which can be used for almost any white fish fillet), using one thick thick scallion from Alex’s Tomato Farm (the 23rd Street Satuday market), Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’, at least 4 tablespoons of a mix of 7 different chopped herbs (this time a combination of peppermint, bush basil, and oregano from Norwich Meadows Farm, summer savory and thyme from Stokes Farm, fennel frond from Alewife Farm, and dill flowers from Eckerton Hill Farm), briefly improvising a little aluminum foil for the cover mentioned in the recipe, and using a wooden spoon to repeatedly spread/ladle the scallion-herb butter over the fillets (there was plenty of room in the pan this time); the lemon juice was from an organic fruit from Whole Foods Market

But there’s much more to a good dinner than its protein stars, however wonderful they may be. These images include [most of] the herbs and vegetables I used this time, while they waited to dry, occupying virtually all of the counter surfaces of our kitchen.

• one white ‘Boothby’ cucumber from Willow Wisp Farm, sliced thickly, dried, sautéed inside a large high-sided tin-lined copper pan in a little olive oil over a fairly high flame until the pieces had begun to color, turning once, then joined by several baby French Leeks (using the white sections and some of the lighter green) from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm and some sliced fennel stems, both from Alewife Farm, everything sautéed until somewhat caramelized, sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper added, and, when the heat had been turned off, a large handful of very ripe small golden cherry tomatoes, also from Alewife Farm, rolled around inside the pan with the rest of the vegetables until warmed through but still whole, the vegetables arranged on the plates and garnished with micro nasturtium leaves from Two Guys from Woodbridge

There had also been an antipasto.

• Applegate Naturals prosciutto from Whole Foods (a 4 ounce package), wrapped around the tines of a large fork, arranged on 2 plates, drizzled with a good olive oil, Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto’ from Eataly
• some really good red dandelion leaves from Norwich Meadows Farm, seasoned with Maldon salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, drizzled with the same oil and a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon
• slices of a small “Medieval Baguette’, from Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse in Union Square Greenmarket

 

• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette) white, Carabella Vineyard Pinot Gris Estate Chehalem Mountains 2014, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Vivaldi’s only surviving oratorio, his 1716 ‘Juditha Triumphans’, a breathtaking work – and performance, Alessandro de Marchi conducting the Academia Montis Regalis

Because we loves porgy, I chose porgy from among the selections offered by one of our local fisher families at the Union Square Greenmarket on Monday.

Soon after that I spotted some small, seductive, perfect specimens of 2 vegetables I immediately imagined combining to compliment the fish on a warm summer evening.

When I arrived home, I was reminded that I also had a perfect tomato on the windowsill.

I looked around on line, searching for results under ‘corn and fennel’, and I found this recipe, and it included tomato. I knew I would have to take liberties with some of the other ingredients, but dinner was now on the way.

• four 4-ounce Porgy fillets from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, dried, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, pan-seared, along with 3 thinly-sliced ramp bulbs from Berried Treasures Farm, over medium heat inside an oval 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, the heat reduced to low, a cover (I used aluminum foil) placed on the pan and the filets cooked for about about another 2 minutes before the cover was removed and 2 or 3 tablespoons of mixed fresh herbs thrown in (I used mint, lovage, summer savory, thyme, tarragon, and basil this time), after which the basting was continued for about minute, or until the fish was cooked through, at which time the fillets were arranged on the 2 plates, and the juices and ramp fragments scooped up and sprinkled on top (the recipe has been slightly modified from one written by Melissa Clark)
• two small ears of organic early white sweet corn (‘Sugarbuns’) from Alewife Farm, shucked and kept whole, along with 2 small fennel bulbs from Central Valley Farm, thinly sliced crosswise, corn and fennel rolled in olive oil, pan grilled until beginning to char, both vegetables removed and allowed to cool, while a vinaigrette was prepared with olive oil, a little white wine vinegar, Aceto Cesare Bianco, from Buon Italia, an equal amount of the juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods  Market, a smaller amount of Linden flower honey, sea salt, Freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper, a couple pinches of super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, part of one dried Sicilian pepperoncino, also from Buon Italia, crushed, after which the grilled corn kernels, now cut from the 2 cobs, and the grilled fennel were added to the bowl along with almost a cup of a roughly-chopped heirloom tomato from Norwich Meadows Farm, three sliced red scallions from John D. Madura Farms and some torn basil leaves from Stokes Farm, the salad served on the plates, at room temperature, garnished with chopped garlic flowers from Windfall Farms
• in order to take full advantage of the awesome juices from both fish and the vegetables spread across the plates, there were several slices from a loaf of Orwashers ‘Chardonnay Miche’ (a dark wheat-based wine bread made with Chardonnay starter from a Long Island vineyard), purchased from the baker’s stall at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd St.
• the wine was a beautiful French (Savoy) white, Philippe & Sylvain Ravier Vin de Savoie Les Abymes 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was Handel’s ‘Admeto, re di Tessaglia’, Il Complesso Barocco conducted by Alan Curtis, with René Jacobs, Rachel Yakar, Ulrik Cold, Rita Dams, James Bowman, Jill Gomez and Max van Egmond

It’s an excellent fish. Unaccountably, it’s less expensive than many of its culinary cousins (hake, cod, halibut, sea bass, tilefish, pollock, ocean perch, or porgy, among others) but demand and celebrity dictate these things in the food world, and the restaurant world, pretty much the same as they do everywhere else.

It’s also a good-looking fish, even when the original parts aren’t all there.

• two 9-ounce whiting fillets (a size larger than what I usually bring home, but that was what was available), from Pura Vida Seafood, rinsed, dried, seasoned with salt and freshly-ground pepper, placed inside a heavy tin-lined oval copper pan and prepared something like this Melissa Clark recipe, using over 4 tablespoons of a mix of chopped herbs (this time a combination of finely-chopped red sorrel from two Guys from Woodbridge, rosemary from Eataly, peppermint and oregano from Lani’s Farm, parsley from Norwich Meadows farm, and basil leaves off of a living plant from Whole Foods), briefly employing a little aluminum foil for a cover, and using both a small brush and a wooden spoon to repeatedly spread/ladle the scallion-herb butter (Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter) over the fillets, although last night the fish was finished on the plates with a garnish of micro bronze fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge (because it was there in the refrigerator, and I love fennel anything).

I was originally going to serve only a green vegetable accompaniment, but I knew the fish would enjoy being around some boiled potatoes as well.

• two medium Carola potatoes from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, boiled, drained, dried in the pan, cut into smaller pieces, rolled in the clear pyrex pan, tossed with a tablespoon of butter, seasoned with Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper, and sprinkled with a little zest from a local sweet lemon from David Tifford of Fantastic Gardens of Long Island, and lovage from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• one bunch of collard greens and half that amount of mizuna (remaining from what had not been used in an earlier meal) from Norwich Meadows Farm, torn into small sections (all of the mizuna and most of the collard stems were tender enough to include in the cooking), washed several times and drained, transferred to a smaller bowl very quickly, in order to retain as much of the water clinging to them as possible, wilted inside a heavy oval enameled cast iron pot in which 2 halved garlic cloves from John D. Madura Farm had first been allowed to sweat in a bit of olive oil with a little crushed dried Sardinian pepperoncino from Buon Italia, the greens finished with a little salt, freshly-ground pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (Lodi) white, David Akiyoshi Reserve Chardonnay 2015, from Naked Wines
• the music (well, it was ‘Good Friday’) was Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 (1903-1904-1906), Rafael Kubelik conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra [“Es gibt doch nur eine VI. trotz der Pastorale.” – Alban Berg]

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