I haven’t gotten this dish down to where I can say it always works out perfectly, even if we’ve always enjoyed it’s seductions, but I’m hoping to get there eventually.  The ideal would be whites just set, yokes still slightly runny, and I’m pretty sure it’s as much about the mass and type of ingredients as it is about the timing.  Part of my problem may be that I keep changing the rules, by which I mean, the ingredients used.

Incidentally, I had intended to add halved or sliced boiled potatoes to the mix this time, which would have made the dish more of a dinner course than it was, but I forgot to do so while I was rushing the light-handed improvising.

• two cazuelas brushed with olive oil, layered with a few leaves of white cabbage from Foragers and one branch of winter kale (including the chopped stem) from Rogowski Farm, both already briefly blanched, drizzled with a little cream, followed by sliced and halved Backyard Farms Maine cocktail tomatoes from Whole Foods, and one slice of Colameco’s uncured Capocollo and three eggs from Millport Dairy broken onto the surface of each, thinly-sliced baby leeks from Rogowski Farm scattered on top, everything seasoned with salt and pepper, and the dishes baked at 375º for about 20-25 minutes, or until the whites were set, which was just before shredded Parmesan cheese was added on top only a couple of minutes before
• slices of Trucio from Sullivan Street Bakery
• the wine was an American red, Pinot Noir, Smoking Loon 2012

…plus that wonderful February surprise, baby leeks.

 

I was at the American Seafood stall in the Greenmarket, looking for something which I had not prepared recently, but also something which was not particularly expensive. Both conditions would be important last night, because once again a commitment would keep us away from the apartment for part of the evening and I wasn’t really going to have much time to make a dinner.

I feel compelled to say that the event was Cynthia Carr’s fascinating illustrated talk about David Wojnarowicz, at the Anthology Film Archives.

I had spotted the pollock fillets almost immediately.  I thought I could remember my earlier encounter with the fish had been a success, but I double checked by using my phone to look at our food blog (it’s actually why the site was created in the first place) before I made my choice.

This time I tried a treatment which was very different from my earlier outings with the great North American pollack.

• smallish German Butterball potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, parboiled in salted water until nearly cooked through, drained, steamed dry, halved, and spread in an oven pan with halved Backyard Farms Maine cocktail tomatoes from Whole Foods, both vegetables seasoned with salt and pepper, nestled with two 7-ounce pollock fillets from American Seafood seasoned and wrapped in four slices of Colameco’s prosciutto, the pan then scattered with one sliced baby leek from Rogowski Farm, and drizzled with olive oil [the recipe was basically that of Kate McCullough, via Jamie Oliver)
• Brussels sprouts from from John D. Maderna Farm, tossed with salt, pepper, and some olive oil, and roasted in a 400º oven for about half an hour
• the wine was a South African white, Bayten Sauvignan Blanc 2013

I knew that we did not have much time to put together a meal after returning from another fantastic Target Margin Theater Lab productions tonight, so, planing ahead yesterday, I picked up two very special small steaks from Dickson’s Farmstand Meats on a slushy trip to the Lobster Place in what turned out to be an almost completely deserted Chelsea Market (the storm alerts seemed to have done their job).  I already had several kinds of winter roots at home, and an abundance of fresh January kale (he smiles here), so the meal I planned for what was, after all, a school night, would definitely not involve an overlong process.

• two wonderful boneless chuck short ribs (a total of 15 ounces) from Dickson’s Farmstand, brought to room temperature before being fried on an extremely hot well-seasoned cast iron pan with a few drops of canola oil for a few minutes, turned and seasoned part of the way through, then turned again, removed from the heat and allowed to rest for five or six minutes, while drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with chopped rosemary from John D. Maderna Farm
• one small celery root from Norwich Meadows Farm, and one medium parsnip from Rogowski Farm, both sliced as French fries, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, roasted for about 25 minutes at 400º, with one thinly-sliced baby leek from Rogowski Farm added in the last five minutes
• kale from Rogowski Farm, wilted with olive oil in which thinly-sliced garlic from Migliorelli Farm had been heated, then seasoned with salt and pepper, and drizzled with more olive oil
• the wine was a Chilean white, Pura Fe, Cabernet Sauvignon Maipo Valley 2012

Because of the fairly severe weather conditions yesterday, before I headed down to Union Square and the Greenmarket for fish, I checked the online notice of who was there and who was not.  I learned that there would be no seafood, and in fact that there would be almost no Greenmarket at all, so I headed to the Lobster Place, taking the market news as a sign that for a change it might be a good idea to do something with shrimp, which of course is not a local catch.  When I got to the store I was immediately distracted by a bowl of cleaned baby squid, with tentacles, advertising themselves as Rhode Island natives.  Immediately smitten with both the image and the sign, I decided that the shrimp would have to wait for the next North Atlantic storm.

• pangrattato made from two-day-old Bien Cuit Miche (fermented rye and whole wheat bread) from Foragers, stirred with olive oil in a pan with unpeeled garlic cloves from Lucky Dog Organic and one ‘red hot finger pepper’ from Manhattan Fruit Exchange until the crumbs were crisp and golden, removed from the pan and spread onto paper toweling, the pan then wiped dry; meanwhile Ruby Crescent fingerlings from Berried Treasures and small La Ratte potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, boiled, drained, halved and kept warm while preparing the cephalopods, baby (Rhode Island) squid from the Lobster Place, dried, seasoned, then sautéed in the same pan along with thin slices of lemon, turning all once, squid and lemon removed and distributed on plates on top of the potatoes and scattered with the pangrattato and sliced parsley from Eataly    [most of this recipe was inspired by Jamie Oliver’s Calamari in Padella con Limone e Pangrattato, from ‘Jamie’s Italy‘]
• the wine was an Italian white, Filippo Gallino Roero Arneis 2012

This dinner had the ingredients, aromas and feel of a hearty stew on a wintry night, although no pot had left the kitchen cupboard.

• two small veal loin chops from Consider Bardwell Farm, rubbed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, brought fully to room temperature, seared, rubbed with crushed garlic from Lucky Dog Organic, roasted in a 375º oven for seven or eight minutes, flipping once, removed and allowed to rest on warm plates for five minutes while being drizzled with the pan juices, lemon, and olive oil, and scattered with finely-sliced baby leeks from Rogowski Farm and chopped thyme leaves from Manhattan Fruit Exchange
• red and orange carrots from Monkshood Nursery and Gardens, rolled in olive oil, salt, and pepper, roasted at 400º for about half an hour, removed from the oven and sprinkled with chopped parsley from Eataly
• radicchio from S.&S.O. Produce Farms, quartered lengthwise, placed in an unglazed ceramic oven pan, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper, roasted at 400º for about 15 minutes, turning once, finished with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, scattered with shavings of Parmesan cheese from Buon Italia
• the wine was an Italian red, Colpasso Nero d’Avola Terre Siciliane 2012

Last night was quick and easy.  I simply lit the oven to heat the remaining spaghetto with tuna sauce in cazuelas, then sprinkled some fresh parsley on top.

But before putting the bowls in the Magic Chef I assembled a fresh beforepasta.  I had more than enough late-season radicchio from the Union Square Greenmarket to (probably) use as a side dish for tonight’s dinner, and I also try to keep some form of salume in the refrigerator for emergencies.  With that, together with a few flourishes, my first course was quickly lined up.

• radicchio from S.&S.O. Produce Farms, washed and torn, tossed in a bowl with a few sultanas, ‘spring garlic’ from Rogowski Farm, parsley from Eataly, good olive oil, a small amount of white balsamic vinegar , salt, and pepper; served with Colameco’s uncured Calabrian salame (only one ounce on each plate!) from Eataly, drizzled with the same good olive oil; and slices of a fresh Trucio, from Sullivan Street Bakery, which had been purchased on our way home from a couple Chelsea galleries, and Postcards From the Edge, at Luhring Augustine Gallery only two hours earlier
• the wine was a red Italian, Filari de Sant’Antonī Negroamaro Rosso Salento 2012

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]

This simple meal became a standard in our kitchen from the day I first tried it.  It follows a classic and delicious Mark Bittman recipe which can be put together entirely with ingredients normally always on hand, meaning it’s perfect for those times when the cook has not had a chance to get to a market of any kind.  Bittman describes the parsley ‘garnish’ as optional, and so the dish maintains my boast, but I can’t imagine not including what is the most common herb in the kitchen, if at all possible.

• spaghetto with a tuna sauce of canned San Marzano tomatoes, chopped, chopped onion from Hoeffner Farms, crushed dried red pepperonini, salted capers which were rinsed and drained, black pepper, good olive-oil-packed Italian tuna, and parsley from Eataly, chopped, prepared after a recipe of Mark Bittman
• the wine was an Italian red, Geggiano Pontignano Chianti Classico 2010

The storm which hit the eastern end of Long Island much more dramatically than had in New York City kept my normal source of fresh fish away from the Greenmarket today, so I headed for the Lobster Place, where I was a little overwhelmed by the choices I had.  I rarely find Striped Bass in Union Square, so I decided to splurge a bit, even if the fillet which I pointed to this afternoon weighed a little more than I really needed for the two of us.

I’m now reminded once again why this fish is so prized.  It’s the taste, the texture, and the amenability to any number of herbal and vegetable treatments and accompaniments (okay, there’s also the lack of bones).   But I didn’t always appreciate that.  Years ago, when this fish had supplied the conclusive argument which destroyed New York City’s Westway project. I think that I had  thought the ‘Stripers’ cause was advanced mostly in the service of sport fishermen, even though (or perhaps because) I was then living in Rhode Island, where Striped Bass were known as both game fish and available, both whole and in fillets, in the fish markets I occasionally patronized on the docks in both Newport and Providence (I’m ashamed to admit that I hadn’t yet become really comfortable with cooking fish).

• La Ratte fingerling potatoes from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, halved, tossed with olive oil, rosemary from Eataly, salt, pepper, and whole garlic cloves from Lucky Dog Organic, spread in an enameled cast iron pan and cooked at 400º until tender and browned, removed from the oven and the vegetable, garlic and herb pushed aside in the pan, allowing room in the center for the fish, and halved Backyard Farms cherry ‘cocktail’ tomatoes from Whole Foods placed on the top of the potatoes
• Striped Bass fillet (just under one pound, for the two of us) from Lobster Place, scored with several very shallow slashes on the skin side, to prevent curling, placed in a ceramic pan skin side down, scattered with rosemary leaves (alternatively almost any fresh herb), salt, pepper, some homemade dry bread crumbs, and a drizzle of olive oil, the pan placed in a 425º oven for about 10 or 12 minutes, after which it was removed, and an organic lemon from Whole Foods was squeezed over the top
• small Brussels sprouts from from John D. Maderna Farms, tossed with salt, pepper, and some olive oil, roasted in a 400º oven for twenty minutes or so, chopped spring garlic from Rogowski Farm added during the last minutes, removed from the oven and drizzled with a little bit of lemon juice
• the wine was a Spanish white, CVNE Cune Monopole Rioja Blanco 2013

This meal was successful way beyond our expectations.  We were enjoying ourselves with another of Target Margin Theater’s Gertrud Stein ‘lab programs’ in Bushwick until some time after 9, so it was almost 10 o’clock by the time I could begin to assemble what I had originally thought would be no more than a decent ‘square meal’ to reward our wait for dinner (the alternative, had we dallied on Starr Street even a little longer, would have been to call in a good pizza (and not one from my own oven).

The ingredients were prime, the recipes were familiar and among my favorites, especially that for the pork, and I was paying attention to what I was doing, even with the distraction of Mozart, but the dinner was definitely still more delicious than either of us had expected (this time I mean, really good ).  I’m sure it was largely because all of the ingredients were entirely Union Square-Greenmarket fresh and local (except of course for the salt, pepper, lemon, and olive oil).

And, yes, it was also pretty pretty to look at.

• two pork chops from Flying Pigs Farm, thoroughly dried, seasoned with salt, and pepper, seared in a very hot, heavy enameled cast-iron pan, half a lemon squeezed over them, then left in the pan with them while they were roasting in a 400º oven for about 14 minutes (flipped halfway through and the lemon squeezed over them once again), finished with the pan juices, in which a sprinkling of  the last bit of fresh sorrel from Rogowski Farm, sliced thinly, had been introduced and stirred
• orange and red carrots (four of each) from Monkshood Nursery and Gardens and two leeks from Lucky Dog Organic, both halved, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted in a ceramic pan for about half an hour at 400º (the leeks added near the end)
• collard greens (the last of the season), also from Rogowski Farm, cut as a rough chiffonade, then braised in a heavy pot in which crushed garlic from Lucky Dog Organic had been allowed to sweat with some heated olive oil, the dish finished with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was an Italian white, le Salse Verdicchio di Matelica 2013
• the music was Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’, in a terrific performance by Renée Jacobs and the Berlin Akademie für Alte Musik