Recipe: Rustic Eggplant Parmesan

This is just the best time of year, isn’t it? The days are hot, the nights are cool, the sky is clear, and the light is sharp. But that’s not all! The peaches are juicy, the apples are crisp, the tomatoes are bursting, the corn is mouthwatering, and the winter squashes are starting to roll in. The Berkshires are at their most beautiful and bountiful. It’s overwhelming really — what does one do with this incredible cornucopia?

Matters are further complicated by the transition in the weather. The days are still too hot to be cooking over the stove, but the evenings are starting to be cool enough that you crave those slow roasted treats absent from plates since March. Not to mention, by this time of the year, you’re a little sick of that char-grilled flavor and you’ve consumed more sliced tomatoes then you thought was humanly possible.


We say, embrace the transition, the back and forth, the thin-line walking. Here’s how to do it: Rustic Eggplant Parmesan. This particular take on the classic Italian-American dish involves almost no prep and maybe even less time in the kitchen, but it still manages to shine with layered flavors of slow roasted tomatoes, earthy eggplant, and creamy melted cheese!

It is the best of both our worlds — hot sticky summer, and cool crisp autumn.

Rustic Eggplant Parmesan

+ 2 medium eggplant (about 2 lbs.) sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
+ ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
+ Freshly ground black pepper to taste
+ About ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
+ 1 head of garlic (6 large cloves) minced or pressed
+ 6 medium tomatoes sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
+ ½ cup finely grated Parmesan
+ 1 lb. fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
+ Handful of basil, chopped if you prefer

1. Place the eggplant slices in a colander over a bowl. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let stand for 20 minutes. Drain and pat slices dry with a paper towel. Season with pepper.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large (9” x 13” works) baking pan, place a single layer of sliced tomatoes, then a single layer of eggplant. Sprinkle with a light coating of olive oil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.
3. Repeat layering one more time and top with an additional single layer of tomato. Dust with salt and Parmesan.
4. Place in oven. After a half hour, remove pan from oven and cover the dish with the mozzarella, remaining Parmesan cheese, olive oil and salt.
5. Return to oven and cook for another half hour. Serve hot with basil and black pepper sprinkled on top.

Note: This recipe originally appeared on RuralIntelligence.com on September 7, 2015. 

Recipe: Chive & Cheddar Biscuits

It seems like, since our first date, we’ve been talking about taking a food-centric road trip through the South… and we finally made it! A month or so ago, we ate our way into Savannah, then through Charleston and finally, on to Asheville. Of course, we didn’t see and consume everything we wanted to, but it was a pretty good start. 

There are many things that drew us to the south - chief among them, a restaurant in Charleston led by one of our favorite chefs, Sean Brock - but we were surprised by how much we loved the Low Country of South Carolina. We immediately connected with the lush and swampy landscape, the culture, and yes, the food! Biscuits! Smoked pork! Cheese! Grits! Butter, butter and more butter! We wished we could take it all home with us. 

When we arrived back in The Berkshires, our belts a little tighter, spring was barely emerging. Not much was happening in the garden beds except our trusty chives, which had sprung up high as if to welcome us home. Yearning for a taste of our travels, we set to work putting together a reminiscent dish, but with locally-sourced ingredients: Chive and Cheddar Biscuits, with North Plain Farm bacon and eggs. It might be a while until we make it back to the low country, but until then, this hearty breakfast will keep up sated. 

Chive & Cheddar Biscuits

+ 2 ¼ cups cake flour
+ 2 teaspoon sugar
+ 1 tablespoon baking powder
+ ¾ teaspoon salt
+ ¾ teaspoon baking soda
+ 9 tablespoons salted butter, cut into small chunks and frozen for a few minutes
+ 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
+ ⅓ cup chopped chives
+ ¾ cup buttermilk
+ egg wash (1 egg, whisked together with 1 tsp water)

1. Preheat oven to 400 °F and cover a baking sheet with a layer of parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Working quickly and gently, use your fingertips or a pastry blender to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is broken into pea-sized pieces. When it’s done, it will resemble a very coarse meal. Add the shredded cheese and chives and stir until combined.
3. Add the buttermilk and stir until clumps form. Knead the mixture gently until it just holds together.
4. Dump the dough on to a floured surface and pat into a rectangle, about ¾ inch thick. At this point, you can either cut the rectangle into smaller 3 inch-ish segments or cut 2-3 inch rounds with a biscuit cutter. Either way, transfer to the baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches in between biscuits.
5. Lightly brush egg wash on top of biscuits and put into oven. Bake for 15 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown on top. Serve immediately.

Note: This recipe originally appeared on RuralIntelligence.com on May 11, 2015. It's been back-dated here on our blog so that it falls, seasonally, in the right place.

Recipe: Kimchi Pancakes

This winter we promised ourselves that we’d spend some time getting to know the various cuisines of Asia. (We thought we’d make a resolution we could actually keep this year!) We researched renowned books from all the leading traditional and up-and-coming chefs, and went to work exploring new techniques, flavor profiles and ingredients.

As we’ve moved through each country and region, we’ve slowly accumulated a pantry full of kitchen staples from cuisines around the continent - and we’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many locally produced options there are for us to experiment with. Now we always have at least one variety of South River Miso in our fridge - usually hearty brown rice - along with a couple of bottles of Kitchen Garden’s sriracha. We’ve also bulked up on Korean chili flakes and garlic powder from Yung Yuk of Et Cetera Farm in Hillsdale, NY and of course, we’re never without a few jars of Hosta Hill kimchi.

Hosta Hill kimchi has always been in our fridge, long before this continental cooking kick. Our Sunday morning breakfasts often consist of a fried egg, some left over rice or noodles and big, hearty scoop of kimchi right on top. But recently we’ve really been plowing through it; in kimchi and pork stew, along side miso glazed haddock, finishing off tatsoi stir fry, you get the idea.

These kimchi pancakes are one of our favorite new discoveries. Serve them as a side with marinated steak and sauteed greens, or pile them high and give them the spotlight.

Kimchi Pancakes

Makes 8 pancakes

+ 2 cups cabbage kimchi (or one full jar of Hosta Hill)

+ 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

+ 1/2 cups rice flour

+ 1 teaspoon kosher salt

+ 4 scallions, finely chopped

+ Vegetable oil - we used Safflower

1. Drain the kimchi, reserving the juice. Get in there with your hands and squeeze out the liquid. Measure the juice and top off with water if needed to make 1 cup. Coarsely chop the kimchi and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flours, salt, and kimchi juice. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes then stir in the chopped kimchi and scallions.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with a tablespoon of oil. For each pancake, add about a third of a cup of the mixture to the skillet and spread it out with the back of a spoon. Cook until the bottom is crispy and golden, about 2 minutes. Flip over and cook until the other side is crispy and golden, about 2 more minutes. Remove from skillet and drain on towels. Continue in batches.

Serve the pancakes warm with a simple dipping sauce on the side. Here’s a recipe we really like, and it makes just enough sauce for one batch of pancakes.

Dipping Sauce

Combine in a small bowl:

+ 3 tablespoons soy sauce

+ 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

+ 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

+ 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds, crushed or whole

+ 1/2 teaspoon sugar or honey

+ 1 clove garlic, crushed

+ 1 scallion, chopped

Both recipes adapted from TheKitchn.com

Note: This recipe originally appeared on RuralIntelligence.com on April 13, 2015. It's been back-dated here on our blog so that it falls, seasonally, in the right place.  

Recipe: Perfecto Meatballs

The poor meatball. So often relegated to childrens’ menus and questionable smorgasbords at discount furniture chains, the meatball is rarely given a real chance to shine. But we know the truth – that with the right ingredients and a little respect, meatballs can be complex, delicate, immensely satisfying and borderline elegant. 

Clearly, we are a family of meatball enthusiasts, from Middle Eastern kofta, heavy with green herbs and deep spices to dreamy Swedish köttbullar, smothered in peppery cream sauce. And, of course, there’s the classic Italian-American; three meats, breadcrumbs, and some parmesan, all rolled into a covetable package. Jake has perfected his version which, when sauteed in just enough butter (a lot), and finished off in a pan of saucy tomatoes, manages to couple a toothsome crust and a melt-in-your-mouth center. Poured over a bowl of bucatini or creamy polenta, this classic peasant dish will make you feel like well-fed royalty.

Perfecto Meatballs

Make the meatballs:
+ ½ cup milk
+ ½ cup bread crumbs
+ 2 eggs
+ 2 tbsp parmesan
+ ½ lb veal
+ ½ lb beef
+ ½ lb hot Italian pork sausage
+ 2 tbsp olive oil
+ 2 tbsp butter

1. Combine milk and bread crumbs in a small bowl until the all of the milk is absorbed.
2. In a large bowl, use your hands to mix the three meats with the eggs, parmesan, and bread and milk mixture. Make sure it is well blended but don’t over mix, as the meatballs will lose their fluffiness.
3. Place a large saute pan on high heat with the oil and butter.
4. Form the meat mixture into 1.5 – 2 inch rounds, and brown in small batches. Do not overcrowd pan.
5. Brown meatballs until they have a deep brown crusty exterior, a couple minutes on each side. One whole batch should take about 5-7 minutes – the balls don’t need to be 100 percent cooked at this point. When done, put meatballs aside.

Make the sauce:
+ (2) 28 oz. cans of whole peeled tomatoes
+ 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
+ 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1. Using the drippings from the meatballs, saute the onions and garlic in the same pan until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, roughly crushing each tomato with your hand or a large wooden spoon.
3. Bring sauce to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the meatballs back into the sauce and cook for another 15 minutes.
5. Pour over pasta or polenta and serve with some grated parmesan and pepper.

Note: This recipe originally appeared on RuralIntelligence.com on Dec 7, 2014. It's been back-dated here on our blog so that it falls, seasonally, in the right place.   

Recipe: Spring Garden Soup

The Berkshires boasts many things, but nothing beats the incredibly strong feeling of community. Whatever you’re into, there’s a group of people waiting to welcome you—and whether it’s music and performing arts, or yoga and mediation, each community contributes to that harmonious local buzz we all love. It’s probably no surprise that we find ourselves most involved in the food community. And at every turn we smack into like-minded souls—in organizations like Berkshire Farm & Table, at restaurants like Prairie Whale, and with farms like Indian Line and its enthusiastic and knowledgeable Market crews.

This weekend, at the bustling Great Barrington Farmers Market, we stopped by the ILF stand to see what was ready for the cooking. Manning the stand was none other than Alana Chernila, local author and our partner in bi-weekly RI recipe-writing crime, who insisted that we bring home a bunch of bright green (a.k.a. spring) garlic. “Here!” she said, “Make a soup! I wanted to write about it but by the time it’s my week again, it’ll be too late!” We love that kind of rushed, eat it while you can and then wait another year, kind of seasonal local eating. So, of course, we said “Why not?”

We had a bunch of asparagus and stinging nettle waiting at home, along with some sorrel that sorely needed harvesting. So, with the addition of our spring garlic bundle, this simple, pureed soup pretty much came together on its own. It’s cooling, light, quick and very, very green – perfect for a light lunch, a casual dinner party kick-off, or a community potluck.

Spring Garden Soup

Serves 8 as a first course

+ olive oil

+ 2 lbs asparagus, tips removed and stalks chopped into 1” pieces

+ 1/4 lb green garlic, cut into 1/4” rounds, green and white parts separated (if you can’t get any, use an onion instead)

+ 8 cups rich, homemade chicken stock

+ 1/4 lb fresh sorrel leaves, sliced into slivers

+ 1/4 lb stinging nettle leaves (if you can’t get any, make up for it with more asparagus or sorrel)

+ 1/2 cup minced chives

+ 1 cup heavy cream

1. Saute the white part of the green garlic with some oil in a pot.

2. Pour in the chicken stock and simmer the asparagus in it for 10 minutes, or until tender.

3. Meanwhile, roast the asparagus tips and the green part of the green garlic in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

4. Once the asparagus is tender, put the sorrel and stinging nettles into the stock.

5. Simmer for another 5 minutes, then add the cream and bring the soup to just short of a boil.

6. In a blender, or with an immersion blender, puree and let soup cool.

7. Serve in small bowls with a few chives, roasted asparagus tips, green garlic and a spoonful of goat’s milk yogurt scattered over the top.

Note: This recipe originally appeared on RuralIntelligence.com on May 27, 2014. It's been back-dated here on our blog so that it falls, seasonally, in the right place.

Recipe: Potato Mash-Up with Spring Herbs

We thought we might not make it, but here we are. This past weekend really felt like the first of a new, warmer season. Of course, with these newly warm days, our impulse is to buy up all the lettuce plants we can carry, and fill our carts with asparagus and peas. But unfortunately, despite what the recent bursts of sunshine might imply, it’s still a little too early to be planting our patches, let alone expect much ­in the local produce aisle (aside from a few foraged treats and hothouse goodies, of course).

While we hold out just a few more weeks for truly local veggies, there are a few green things we can always count on to pop up bright and early in our own backyard – spring herbs. Chives, tarragon, parsley… as soon as they start showing, we chop them right back down, sprinkling them in soups, salads and pastas as fast as we can. And, as though they relish the challenge, they spring right back up, ready for more. One of our favorite vehicles is an easy, rustic and forever yummy potato salad we call our Potato Mash-Up with Spring Herbs. It’s perfect next to a grilled steak or chop, and even better when shared with friends at a pot-luck or picnic.

Potato Mash-Up with Spring Herbs

+ 2 lbs red potatoes – washed with skin left on (you can also use Yukon Gold if you prefer)

+ 3 tablespoons butter

+ 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

+ 1 tablespoon olive oil

+ 1 loosely packed cup of your choice of chopped herbs, plus more for garnish

+ salt and pepper

1. Put potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Throw in a few tablespoons of salt and bring to a boil. Let cook for 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. 2. In the meantime, bring out a large serving bowl. In the bottom, mix the oil and mayonnaise until they’ve combined. Add the butter and herbs, plus a few dashes of salt and pepper. 3. When the potatoes are cooked, drain and add to the serving bowl. Toss to cover with butter, oil and herbs, artfully smashing a few potatoes while leaving some whole. 4. Add a garnish of extra herbs, salt and pepper, and maybe another pat of butter for good measure. Enjoy!

Note: This recipe originally appeared on RuralIntelligence.com on May 13, 2014. It's been back-dated here on our blog so that it falls, seasonally, in the right place.

Recipe: Citrus Curd Layer Cake

There is nothing that captures the essence of a season quite like ripe fruit. Sweet berries in the spring, juicy stone-fruit in the summer, crisp apples in the fall, and tangy citrus in the winter. We always have an overflowing bowl of seasonal fruit sitting on our kitchen table, lest we waste one single moment of the limited-time-only bounty.

This is a bit of a new revelation for us, though. When we were living in New York City, doing the bulk of our shopping at the Union Square Farmers Market, we never bought much citrus – as you know it doesn't exactly thrive in the Hudson Valley or Northern Pennsylvania. But now, with Jake working at the Berkshire Co-op, we have fully embraced winter citrus, and all of the refreshing flavors and vibrant colors that come with it. Just because it's not in season here in the Berkshires doesn't mean it's not in season, and grown organically, somewhere else!

Along with our new love affair with winter citrus, we've taking up a healthy obsessed with making citrus curds. After much experimentation, and with a rainbow of curds sitting in our fridge, we realized we had to do something to show them, and our hard work, off. So off we went to make a open-sided, citrus curd layer cake. Using Smitten Kitchen's 1-2-3-4 Cake as a base, we stacked up stripes of Meyer Lemon and Blood Orange curds, and whipped cream. Finished off with a Pomello-Lime glaze and a sprig of mint, we created a show-stopper of a cake. If we do say so ourselves.

Citrus Curd

+ 3 to 4 Meyer lemons or 1 to 2 blood oranges

+ ½ cup sugar

+ 2 large eggs

+ 1 stick unsalted butter

1. Finely grate 2 teaspoons of zest and squeeze ½ cup of your chosen citrus juice.

2. Melt the butter, and let cool.

3. Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, butter, and eggs in a metal bowl and set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and smooth.

4. Force curd through a fine sieve into another bowl. Cool, covered, in the refrigerator.

Citrus Glaze

+ 1 cup of confectioner's sugar

+ ½ cup citrus juice (we used Pomelo and Lime)

+ 1 tsp citrus zest

1. Whisk ingredients together until smooth

1-2-3-4 Yellow Cake 

Adapted From Smitten Kitchen

+ 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

+ 2 cups sugar

+ 4 eggs

+ 3 cups sifted self-rising flour

+ 1 cup milk

+ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy.

3. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes.

4. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour.

6. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed.

7. Divide batter equally between two 10-inch greased round pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4-inches above counter, then dropping flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and to get a more level top.

8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Constructing the Cake

1. Allow all elements to cool to room temperature. Cut both cakes in half horizontally with a long knife. A bread knife works well here!

2. Here's where it gets fun! Over a cooling rack, or right on top of a serving plate, place the first layer of cake. Cover generously with a layer of curd, then place another cake on top. Cover with whipped cream, another cake, the remaining curd, then the last cake. Pour the glaze over top and allow to drip over the edges. Top with a few mint sprigs and you're done!

Recipe: Puerco Pibil

This can be a hard time of year to get excited about local, seasonal, sustainably-sourced food in New England. You can only eat so many grains and root veggies before you start thinking about bending your food rules. But then, just in the nick of time, winter's saving grace pours into the grocer's case.

That's right, we're talking about citrus! American citrus is at it's peak right about now, and while oranges and lemons aren't exactly local, they can can easily be sourced from responsible organic farmers throughout the country. And man oh man, does it add some zing and zest to our browning plates and greying days.

On our honeymoon this fall, we visited Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Along with azure Caribbean waters and spring breakers, the Yucatan has a vibrant farming community with a rich agricultural history. In every market we visited (and trust us, we sought out quite a few) we were stunned by the towering piles of limes, sweet and sour oranges, grapefruits and lemons. And in every restaurant we visited, we found ourselves coming back to the classic Yucatan dish: Puerco Pibil.

Peurco Pibil is pork shoulder which is marinated in sour orange and ground achiote then slow roasted in banana leaves, over an open fire. A prime example of Yucatan flavor and technique, the pork becomes soft and velvety, with a deep orange hue and a unique tang. If that wasn't enough, it's then served with fresh corn tortillas and bright red onions, pickled in sour orange and salt.

We've been reminiscing about this dish and decided to try our best to recreate the experience, taking advantage of all the great available citrus. Of course, we made a few substitutions to keep the meal as local as possible. Rather than buy tortillas we served the pork over polenta, and we used a mix of US organic Hamlin oranges and limes instead of the traditional Mexican sour orange. The pork came from Great Barrington's North Plain Farm, and the spices from El Punto De Encuentro Latin Market. And because it's winter and we don't have banana leaves, we tried to emulate the effect by doing a slow-and-low roast in a covered enamel pot.

Puerco Pibil

Serves 12

Ingredients

Pork

+ 5 tbs Achiote seed

+ 1 ½ tbs of dried Mexican oregano

+ 1 ½ black peppercorns

+ 1 ¼ tsp cumin seeds

+ ½ tsp whole cloves

+ 6 inches of roughly ½ inch thick Mexican cinnamon (canela) or 1 1.2 tbs of ground cinnamon

+ 1 tbs spoon of Salt

+ 14 garlic cloves, peeled

+ 1/2 cup of fresh oranges- 3 Hamlin oranges

+ 1 cup of fresh lime juice- 10 limes

+ 12 pounds of bone in pork butt (cam be split into two or three pieces)

Pickled Red Onion

+ 3 large red onions

+ 1 1/3 cups fresh lime juice- 12 limes

+ 2/3 fresh orange juice- 4 Hamlin oranges

1. Grind the spices together. You can use a spice grinder, a coffee grinder or a good old mortar and pestle – or just use pre-ground spices and herbs.

2. In a blender mix the spices, garlic and juice until the marinade has a slightly chalky texture between your fingers.

3. Place the meat in an enamel or cast iron pot and pour marinade over it. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.

4. Heat the over to 200. Cook the pork, with marinate still on it, in the pot for at least 6 hours, or until it pulls apart easily.

5. While meat is cooking slice onion thinly, and place in a bowl. Bring a pot of water to boil and pour over onions for 10 seconds then drain. Place onions in a small bowl with juice and salt.

6. Take the meat out of the oven and shred. Serve with pickled onion and corn tortillas or polenta.

This recipe can also be found on Rural Intelligence.

Recipe: Candy Cane Ice Cream

If you're as obsessed with cooking, eating and entertaining as we are, the post-holiday weeks can be a bit of a food letdown. Some use this time to cleanse and purify, eating sprouts and celery sticks and carefully avoiding all the fatty, sweet and salty foods they've stuffed themselves with for the last two months. But not us! We say “pshaw!” to that. Carpe diem! Look around – we're deep into winter here in New England. It's dark, it's cold and the only way to stay in high spirits is to spend our short days in front of a hot oven and the long nights by the fire, nibbling on rich treats. Summer is the time for raw veggies and grilled fish - let's indulge while we can!

In the spirit of extending the festive food period, we present one of our favorite post holiday desserts: Peppermint Stick Ice Cream. Though ice cream may seem counter intuitive given the recent sub-zero temperatures, trust us: nothing beats this yummy dessert, covered with some home-made hot chocolate sauce or accompanied by a steaming cup of cocoa. If you need even more justification, this recipe is a great way to get rid of all the candy-canes you've accumulated from the holidays. And peppermint is one of those flavors, just like citrus, that cuts through fat. How could you resist?

Peppermint Stick Ice Cream

Adapted from The Joy Of Cooking

Note: We like to use a simple “Philadelphia” style vanilla base for our Peppermint-Stick Ice Cream. You should feel free to make a french, custard base instead, though we find the Philly style to be a bit brighter to match the flavor of the candy-canes.

Ingredients

+ 3/4 cup sugar

+ 1/8 teaspoon salt

+ 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise in half

+ 3 cups heavy cream

+ 1 cup whole milk

+ 10-12 candy canes, crushed

Special Equipment

+ Ice Cream Maker

1. Combine 1 cup of the heavy cream, the sugar, and the salt into a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the cream mixture, then drop the bean shell in as well.

2. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. 

3. Pour the cream mixture into a bowl and stir in the remaining 2 cups of heavy cream and milk. Refrigerate until cold, overnight if possible. 

4. Remove the vanilla bean and seeds and discard. Pour the mixture into your chilled ice cream maker then let'er rip. While it's working it's magic, crush your candy canes into small chunks. We like to put them into a plastic baggie wrapped up in a dishtowel. Then we go over it a couple times with a rolling pin.

5. Once your ice cream mixture is almost at the desired texture, throw the crushed candy into the mixture, letting the machine incorporate the chunks.

6. Serve immediately or put in the freezer for another hour or so. Philadelphia style ice cream – well, any homemade ice cream, really - is best when served within a few hours.

This recipe can also be found on Rural Intelligence.

Recipe: Whole Grilled Fish

With Jake's new job as Produce Manager at the Berkshire Co-op Market we have been eating a lot less meat. Instead of bringing home thick pork chops, or a beautifully marbled London Broil every night, Jake is now carting home green and white striped zucchini and deep purple tomatoes. His working at the Co-op has also given us access to something else we've never really ate a lot of: fresh fish!

The main reason we weren't eating a lot of fish is that we never felt sure we were getting the full story - was it fresh? sustainably caught? how far did it travel? do we even know enough to ask the right questions? It's hard to feel like there's full transparency around seafood - sometimes even at the green market.

But now we have Austin Banach and Wes Mazlone! Around the time Jake was hired at the Co-op, so was our friend and fellow Monument High School grad, Austin. Austin is a fish and cheese monger who is just as passionate about his craft, and issues of sustainability and the local food economy, as we are. Lucky for us, he fills his case every week with bounty from Wes. 

Wes grew up in Scituate, Massachusetts, a prominent fishing community, and now lives in North Hampton, MA running BerkShore. Twice a week he drives to Scituate and picks up fish from the dock just caught by guys he grew up with. He then drives the fish back to the Berkshires and delivers it to the Co-op and other local restaurants and markets. On the days that Wes drops his fish off at the Co-op, we almost always take advantage. And now that it is full-on summer, we have become obsessed with grilling his beautiful product whole.

This week Austin had some gorgeous black sea bass in his case. We took the fish, a lemon, some local corn, a few heirloom tomatoes and zucchini, and headed home. After getting the grill going we went out to the herb garden and got some tarragon and parsley out from under the serious weeds that have settled there. Next, easy as one, two, three, we stuffed the cavity of the fish with the herbs and lemon, sprinkled some salt on both sides of the fish, drizzled a little olive oil on top and tossed it on the grill. After four minutes on each side, we were sitting on the porch eatting a stunning, fresh, flavorful meal.

Grilled Whole Fish

+ 1 whole fish (scaled and gutted). Right now we like Black Sea Bass and Porgy. 

+ A handful of fresh herbs (tarragon, parley, cilantro, chervil, and dill are all good)

+ 1 lemon, slice one half, leave the other half intact
+ olive oil
+ salt

1. Stuff the cavity of the fish with the herbs and the lemon slices.
2. Coat it with salt and drizzle a little olive oil on it
3. Put it on the grill and cook for 4 minutes, than flip and cook for another four minutes.
4. Take off the grill and let rest for a few minutes. Before serving squeeze some lemon on it.