One of the nice things about having family nearby is that we get to partake of the various windfalls they come across – especially the big windfalls. Señor Habanero’s uncle and two cousins went fishing in the Long Island sound a few weeks ago, and they returned home each having caught a wild striped bass, the largest two of which were 25 pounds apiece! (As much as I would’ve loved to see them reel those fish in, I’m just glad I was nowhere near when they did the gutting bit.)

[piclens-lite-link]

A whole striped bass, in all its scaly glory. Hello there, delicious.

What a boon! Portions of the fish were distributed throughout the family, and three substantial cuts were generously bestowed upon the Señor and me. I immediately set off to search the web for a recipe that would do this incredible fish justice, and after sifting through a number of sites, I selected this recipe from epicurious.com.

I definitely did not want to mess this one up. After all, how often does a Pepper come across a freshly caught wild striped anything, (for free, no less!) – and then get the chance to cook it?

Thyme and lemon, along with capers and grape tomatoes, lend their flavors to our lovely wild striped bass.

Mrs. Banana Pepper, (mother of the Señor), steamed her portion of the bass in the traditional Chinese way, finishing it with soy sauce, scallions, julienned ginger, and hot vegetable oil. Sadly, she was disappointed by what she described as the fish’s “rough texture.” Now, Mrs. Banana Pepper is a well-seasoned cook, and she’s no stranger to preparing fish in this manner – so it is a mystery to the Señor and me how our cut of the striped bass turned out so very differently.

The prepared striped bass, ready to be cooked en papillote.

Technically, we steamed our portion of the striped bass, too – but it was done in the French style of wrapping the fish in parchment paper (or in foil, as we did) and then baking it. The fish was thus steamed in its own liquid, instead of in additional water (as in Chinese style steaming).

The Señor and I were very satisfied with how our wild striped bass turned out. The fish was tender except in a few slightly overcooked areas (as the pieces were not uniform in thickness), and fell apart in large, moderately firm white flakes. Its mild and delicate flavor was gently enhanced by the capers’ brininess and the sweetness of the grape tomatoes; thyme and garlic rounded out the profile.

It was such a treat preparing and cooking this fresh, locally-caught fish! Moreover, the recipe we used was a success, which means the Señor and I will definitely be using it again – even though next time, we probably won’t know the fish’s story from pond to plate.

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4, 6 oz fillets striped bass* (½ to 1¼ inches thick), with skin
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
8 thin lemon slices (less than ¾ inch thick; from 1 large lemon)
8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
12 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1½ Tbsp drained bottled capers

* black sea bass may be substituted

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil.

Pat fish dry and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange fillets, skin sides down, in 1 layer in center of foil on baking sheet and slide 2 lemon slices under each fillet. Arrange 2 thyme sprigs on top of each fillet.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté garlic, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are softened, about 1 minute. Stir in capers.

Spoon hot tomato mixture over fish, then cover with another sheet of foil, tenting it slightly over fish, and crimp edges together tightly to seal.

Bake until fish is just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness of fish); check by removing from oven and carefully lifting up a corner of top sheet of foil, pulling up sides of bottom sheet to keep liquid from running out. If fish is not cooked through, reseal foil and continue to bake, checking every 3 minutes.

Transfer fillets with lemon slices to plates using a spatula (be careful not to tear foil underneath) and spoon tomatoes and juices over top. Serve immediately, discarding thyme before eating.

My mom can cook. I suppose almost everyone thinks their mom’s food is the best they’ve ever had, but seriously, aside from the occasional burnt toast or overcooked bacon, my mom can cook. (So can my dad, for that matter.)

[piclens-lite-link]

Señor Habanero and I got to taste the fruit of her talents last weekend, at a dinner celebrating Dad being Dad. Mom – a.k.a. Mama Cherry Pepper – displayed her usual impeccable taste in fashioning the evening’s menu: rigatoni with caprese lobster salad, followed by raspberry sorbet garnished with a freshly baked brown-edged honey wafer cookie. The clean, fresh flavors and simplicity of the ingredients were a gentle nod to summer’s arrival.

The salad, which consisted of chopped fresh tomatoes, basil, mozarella bocconcini, extra virgin olive oil, and freshly cooked lobster, was prepared hours in advance, allowing the flavors to coalesce. Shortly before dinner was to be served, Mama Cherry Pepper cooked up the rigatoni in the leftover lobster water – something which did wonders for otherwise mundane pasta – then finished cooking it in olive oil that had been seasoned with garlic. The result? A subtly decadent yet unpretentious dinner that satisfied all Peppers present. (It would have been even more wonderful paired with a prosecco, but alas, there was none to be had.)

The rigatoni with caprese lobster salad recipe was Fortunato Nicotra’s 2007 response to Pamela Sherrid’s summer pasta salad (1996). Nicotra, who is executive chef at Felidia and a true Italian, was “horrified by the idea of such a dish” – but once his horror subsided, he went ahead and created his own updated spin on the recipe, most notably bringing the salad and the pasta together just before it’s served.

As for the brown-edged honey wafer cookie… that’s Mama Cherry Pepper’s secret recipe.

Do you have a favorite summertime recipe? Share it with us!