Fish and Vegetables.
The globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus–I only ever call it an artichoke, myself–is a species of thistle. The Italians brought it to the New World, perhaps in recompense for their discovery of tomatoes. It’s one of my favorite vegetables, but I rarely eat it because it seems difficult to prepare.
On the way home from today’s round of auditions, I ducked into Union Market and bought artichokes (six babies and one full-sized) and a half a pound of wild arctic char, which is a distant cousin of salmon, but with lighter flesh. When I got home, I turned and simmered the artichokes according to James Peterson’s Vegetables, and then dressed them with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. The fish I baked in a 400F oven, putting it on a square of parchment paper with a bit of butter, salt, and pepper; I pulled it out right when it began to flake, which couldn’t have been more than ten minutes, squeezed some lemon on it, and sprinkled it with more salt.
The fish was perhaps the best I’ve had; the flesh was tender, fatty, and remarkably sweet.
And artichokes are always lovely, but these tasted even better because of the novelty of their presentation. I’ve eaten those vinegary artichoke hearts from a jar, and Miriam, a restaurant in my neighborhood, serves grilled haloumi cheese on a bed of vegetables that include chopped artichokes (very good), but until following Peterson’s directions I’d never had an artichoke that was so easy to eat. (You remove the choke from the full-sized thistle before it gets to the table, and baby artichokes are so tender that you can eat them whole–although dainty folks might want to quarter them with a knife and fork first.)
I had never thought to serve artichokes with fish. It’s what ended up in my shopping basket, and then I discovered that Peterson recommended putting the two together. I think he’s right. At any rate, this particular combination turned out a stunner. The clean, earthy, slightly astringent, green taste of the artichokes emphasized the natural sweetness of the char.
It was also, I think, an outstanding piece of fish. The more I cook, the more I appreciate good ingredients, especially when I’m preparing something simply. No amount of marinating or careful cooking fix a mediocre piece of lamb or steak when you’re grilling. The same is true of fish when you’re baking it.
Sadly, I never expect to have anything this good in a restaurant. Certainly not in an American restaurant. In my experience, no kitchen technically capable of putting out plate after plate of properly cooked fish will be allowed to present anything so simple. Oh, maybe it could happen in a Japanese restaurant. Maybe if I came up with the $300 to eat at Masa, I’d change my mind.
But then, I wouldn’t have made it myself.
Globe artichoke - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amazon.com: Vegetables: Books: James Peterson