Excerpted From "“For Cod and Country: Simple, Delicious, Sustainable Cooking”" By Barton Seaver

To order Barton's Book click through to: www.amazon.com

Pan Seared Trout with Herbs and Spinach

Trout is a great fish to serve whole as the portion size is usually just about right for two people. It makes for a dramatic presentation and certainly gets your dinner guests talking.

Serves 4

• 2 each trout, butterfly cut and pin bones removed (ask your fishmonger to do this)
• 2 sprigs tarragon
• salt
• canola oil
• 1/2 pound bacon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic (smashed)
• 1 chili pepper chopped (I like Anaheim chilies for this, but a spicier pepper would do)
• 1 pound greens (spinach, arugula, dandelion, whatever is available and beautiful)
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 2 sprigs fenugreek (substitute mint if you can't find fenugreek)

Season the flesh of a boneless trout with a little salt and some chopped herbs. You can use pretty much whatever you have available but my favorites would be either sage or tarragon.

Sear the trout skin side down in a hot pan with just a few drops of canola oil. When the skin is beginning to brown place the fish under the broiler to cook the other side. This should take no more than a few minutes depending on the size of your fish. To check for doneness you can gently peel back one side of the fillet. When cooked the meat will be a consistent color and will change from beige to an off-white opaque color.

For the seasonal greens, start by sautéing a few chopped slices of bacon in a large pan. Add in a clove of smashed garlic and cook over medium heat until the bacon is beginning to crisp. Add in a chopped pepper, either spicy or sweet and sauté a brief minute. Add in a couple handfuls of seasonal greens such as spinach, dandelion, arugula, mustard, etc... Toss to combine with the other ingredients and season with salt. When the greens are wilted place them onto serving plates. Pour a few tablespoons of white wine into the greens pan and cook for a few seconds until the alcohol is cooked off. Add a few sprigs of chopped fresh herbs such as fenugreek (or as is more easily found mint, parsley, tarragon...) Place the trout over the greens and drizzle the wine sauce over the top.
Serve immediately.

Braised Beef Shank

When buying meat from small local producers it is important to realize that the farmers have a variety of cuts of beef which they must sell every time that they slaughter an animal. Each side of beef has only so many steaks that are easy for the farmer to sell to local restaurants and at farmers markets. Many of the other cuts are very desirable to cook with as they have great flavor and texture. One of my favorites, and a product that farmers will be more than happy to sell you, is the beef shank. It is a tough but very flavorful cut that becomes magic when cooked slowly partnered with the sweet flavor of onions and carrots.

Serves 4

• 3 pounds beef shank, trimmed
• salt and pepper
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 pound celery, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cups wine, either white or red

Season the beef shank on all sides with salt and pepper. Sear the meat in a large heavy bottomed skillet with high sides. When the meat is well browned remove it from the pan and add chopped carrots, celery and onions. Cook until they begin to brown and then add the beef shank back in. Add the wine, either white or red, and a cup or two of water.
Place a lid on the pan and place in an oven at 325 degrees. Cook covered for approximately 3 hours or until the meat is tender and falling from the bone.

To serve, reduce a portion of the braising liquid in a pan. Shred some of the meat and place over some hot, creamy polenta. Garnish each plate with a few pieces of the vegetables and spoon over some of the reduced liquid.
Serve immediately.

The Final Meal

Grill Smoked Grass-fed Beef

When I grill a steak I always prefer to cook over a live fire. The smoke becomes such an integral part of the dish and permeates the meat giving it a very rustic and woodsy appeal. Also, it is pretty easy to build a good fire to cook a large piece of meat wherever you are.

• Grass fed beef- about 6 ounces per person
• Smoked paprika
• Salt
• Sugar
• cinnamon

Season the beef with a mixture of 3 parts salt, 1 part sugar and a few dashes of cinnamon and smoked paprika. The smoked paprika adds a depth to the flavor and the cinnamon is a great way to really accentuate the more developed flavors in the grass-fed beef. I like to season a roast a long time in advance of cooking so that the meat has time to absorb the seasonings, as much as a day in advance even.

Light a fire and allow to burn down to coals. Set up a grill grate over the fire and throw on a new log to get a lot of smoke rolling out of the pit. Place the roast over the fire and cover with whatever you have available, the grill top, a metal wash basin, whatever....to capture the smoke.

Cook over indirect heat for a couple hours until it reaches the desired doneness. This is best checked with a meat thermometer. You will have to add new wood to the fire to keep the temperature consistent and the smoke flowing.

When cooked, allow to rest for at least a half hour in order for the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat. Slice as thinly as you can and serve.

Smoke Roasted Autumn Squash

This is a great and easy way to cook any thick skinned squash or pumpkin. I most prefer varieties such as Hubbard squash, Pie Pumpkins, Acorn squash, Kabocha, but nearly any type will do.

• Squash, whole
• Butter
• salt

Place the squash directly into the live fire using a long pair of tongs. Rotate the squash every ten minutes or so to ensure that it cooks evenly. Do not worry too much about burning the outside skin as this will flake off before being served. The squash should be charred on all sides and be soft to the touch but not falling apart.
Remove from the fire and allow to cool slightly so that you can handle them. Scrape off the burned outer layers and discard. Cut the squashes in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and discard as well. Place the roasted squash in a bowl and add salt and sweet butter. Mash until the butter is incorporated and the puree is smooth.

Boiled Beets with Blue Cheese

Beets are one of the greatest vegetables in the world. I know that many people have bad memories of canned beets from their childhood or recipes from the family heritage that still offend the senses. But beets can be a revelation when cooked properly and with lots of salt. I like to simply boil the beets in heavily seasoned water and toss them with a light vinaigrette. Beets are also a great friend to many cheese, especially goat's milk cheese and blue cheese. Just a small amount of the cheese can really set off a dish.

• 2 pounds beets
• salt and pepper
• 1 orange
• 6 ounces blue cheese

Boil the beets whole in salted water until a knife easily pierces through the flesh, about 45 minutes. Drain the beets and allow to cool until you can handle them. Rub off the skin with a couple layers of paper towels and then cut into small wedges. Toss with olive oil and a little orange juice and season again with salt and pepper. Crumble a little cheese of your choice over the top and serve either warm or chilled.

New York

Rouge Tomate

Butternut Squash Soup

Every chef and cook has their own special way of making this soup. Best thing about it is that this method makes a great soup with pretty much any vegetable that you could think to use: from beets, to parsnips, carrots, all kinds of squash, you name it. If you don't have any of the ingredients it doesn't matter as they all play a supporting role and can be added or taken away given your preference.

• 2 pounds butternut squash
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 sprig thyme
• olive oil
• Water, stock, or milk

Peel and chop the squash into consistently sized pieces. Sauté onion, celery, garlic and thyme in olive oil. When the onions are soft add the squash and cover with water, stock or milk. Bring to a simmer and cook until the squash is soft.

Remove the soup to a blender and season with salt. Puree on high speed until you have a smooth consistency with no lumps. Pass through a strainer to remove any remaining lumps. Garnish with chopped vegetables and a drizzle of olive oil.

Pan Roasted Game Hens with Autumn Vegetables

I love serving the smaller Cornish Game Hens this way as the smaller size of the bird makes for a perfect portion. This can be adapted for any game bird such as squab, quail, or the everyday chicken. Ask your butcher to bone the game hens for you.

4 each game hens

• salt and pepper
• canola oil
• 2 pounds autumn vegetables- whatever is available at market!
• 3 sprigs parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 lemon, juiced

Have your butcher prepare the birds so that they are boneless except for the wing bone and the leg bone. Season with salt and a little pepper. Sear the birds in a hot sauté pan with a little oil. Place the whole pan into a 400 degree oven and cook until cooked through. About 10 minutes.

Remove the game hens from the pan and allow to rest. Toss into the pan some chopped autumn vegetables of whatever variety you like. I often will use a combination of many different types ranging from salsify, baby turnips, rutabagas, celery, fennel, onions, carrots. Basically buy whatever looks good to you and don't be afraid to try something a little different.

Toss the vegetables with the remaining oil and season with salt. Place the whole pan back into the oven to cook the vegetables, should be about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and add a few tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley, a tablespoon of butter and the juice of 1 lemon. Toss to combine until the butter is melted and the vegetables are glazed with the sauce.

Transfer to a plate a serve the game hens on top of the vegetables.

The final meal

Kale Salad with Sausage Vinaigrette

Kale is a great green to use for salads- if it is tender! Kale, like other autumn greens, starts off with silky soft leaves that are beautiful when prepared raw, but around the time of the first frost, they toughen up and become cooking greens. So if you can find them then by all means use them in this salad. How can you tell? Well, eat a leaf. Did it taste good? If yes, then salad it is.

Serves 4

• 1 bunch kale
• 2 links spicy Italian sausage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 carrots, thinly shaved
• 5 radishes, thinly sliced

For the vinaigrette, start by removing the casing from a few links of spicy Italian sausage. Place them into a large skillet and cook over low heat with olive oil. Add onion and cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Add red wine vinegar and bring to a boil. Season with a little salt and remove from the heat.

For the salad, tear the kale leaves and place in a large bowl. Thinly shave carrots into the mix using a peeler to create long strips, and discard the core of the carrots. Add radishes. Toss the greens with the warm vinaigrette and serve immediately.

You can top this salad with a little homemade ricotta cheese if you like. Recipe follows:
Bring a quart of fresh whole milk to a simmer. Season well with salt and add the juice of three lemons. Bring the milk to a boil and stir constantly. As soon as it comes to a boil you will notice that the milk separates. Turn the heat to low and continue to cook until the liquid is a yellowish color and the curds are collecting on the sides of the pan, about 2 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer or a cheese-cloth. Discard the liquid. The cheese is ready to be used right away, but it will benefit from 10 minutes to allow it to continue to drain.

Roasted Vegetables with Pecans

This is a dish that can feature whatever is in your fridge, or whatever looks best to you at the market. I prefer to choose my vegetables by color for this dish, making sure to have a wide variety of tastes and textures. I particularly like to use turnips, carrots, red onions, broccoli, autumn squash, and parsnips.

Serves 4

• 1 1/2 pounds autumn vegetables, chopped bite size
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 orange
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

In a large skillet heat the butter. Add the vegetables and toss to coat. Season with salt. Cook over high heat on the stovetop until the vegetables begin to brown slightly. Place the whole pan into the oven heated to 400 degrees. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are golden brown and soft. Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving platter.

For the pecans, place them on a roasting tray and cook in the oven for 5 minutes until they are hot. Remove from the oven and chop roughly. In a bowl, combine the nuts with one clove of garlic grated on a Microplane and the finely grated zest of one orange. Season with salt and toss with olive oil. Drizzle the pecans over the roasted vegetables and serve.

Chef David's Slow Roasted Bluefish

I rarely cook fish over high heat as it can be tough to gauge the exact moment when the fish goes from perfectly cooked to dry and overdone. I love the results you get when you allow a fillet to slowly roast, which keeps in the moisture (and all of the flavor).

Serves 4

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh bluefish fillet
• olive oil
• 3 sprigs each sage and thyme

Top fresh bluefish fillets with a few sprigs of sage, thyme and a heavy drizzle of olive oil. Set them in the oven at 250 degrees and cook for about 40 minutes, depending on the size of your fillet. This method works wonders for other types of seafood too, especially wild caught salmon, Pacific halibut and any flaky, fatty fish.

Chef David's Bluefish Tartare

Bluefish can be a tricky fish for most people to find in its freshest state. It spoils very quickly due to its very high fat content so get too far from the coast and this dish might be best with another type of fish. As always, when eating any raw food it is exceptionally important to have the highest confidence that it is as fresh as can be.

Serves 4

• 1 pound fresh bluefish fillet, diced
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons high-quality olive oil
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• sea salt
• 2 teaspoons Garum

Mix the diced fresh bluefish with little lemon zest, olive oil, whole grain mustard and sea salt. The mustard is a nice counter point to the richness of the fish and oil. The sea salt gave the fish a little crunch while providing a nice burst of seasoning. Mix well.

This dish is finished with David's secret ingredient, Garum, or fish sauce. This is an Italian condiment made from the juices left over from salted anchovies. It is a potent and powerful addition and one that you want to use sparingly. If you cannot find this Garum, Thai fish sauce or a couple fillets of anchovy chopped finely would be a good substitute.
Serve the tartare with some toasted bread and a drizzle of olive oil.

San Francisco

A day on the shore with Oysters and Sausages

I am not sure that I have ever enjoyed a meal so much as I did this cookout that Sarah and I fired up along the shores of Tomales Bay.

The recipe is pretty easy. You need

• 1. a fire
• 2. a bunch of oysters (however many you want to eat)
• 3. some spicy sausages, either Italian or Merguez
• 4. olive oil
• 5. arugula
• 6. lemons

And that is about it. When the fire is nice and hot just as you would have it for burgers, place the sausages over the hottest part. Over indirect heat place a few oysters, making sure that the cupped side of the shell is facing down. As the sausages brown and blister the oysters will begin to heat through. Place a couple of lemon wedges over the fire letting them become dark brown.

The oysters are done when they pop open. Remove them from the grill and using and oyster knife carefully separate the oyster from the shell, laying it back into the bottom shell.

Slice the sausages into bite size pieces and serve alongside the grilled oysters. Sprinkle a few drops of the grilled lemon juice over the top and go to town. I also like to serve the sausage with a few freshly shucked ice-cold oysters on the side. The pairing of the hot sausage and the oyster is magnificent. Season the arugula with a little salt and drizzle with olive oil and a little grilled lemon juice. Toss top combine.

The Final Meal:

Chardonnay Braised Mushrooms

I love the deep woodsy flavor of mushrooms, especially when accented by the bright taste of herbs. In this dish I used chardonnay wine to add acid and depth to the broth as the mushrooms slowly cooked down in their own juices.

Serves 4

• 1 1/2 pounds cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves chopped garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chardonnay
• 6 sprigs parsley, chopped

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add in onion and garlic. Cook over high heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Add mushrooms and toss to combine with the oil. Add more oil if necessary as the mushrooms will absorb quite a bit. Cook for a few minutes and then season generously with salt. Add chardonnay and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for approximately 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid is reduced to a thin sauce. Toss in parsley and serve immediately.

The Pork Shoulder from Bovolo

This is really a pretty simple preparation. The key to pork, and all roasted meats actually is seasoning well in advance. This gives the meat some time to absorb the seasoning and to be well flavored throughout. Here he vegetables and fruit used add some perfume to the meat as they cook alongside the pork.

Serves 4

• 2 pounds pork shoulder
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1 apple
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 lemons
• 1 pomegranate

Tie up and season a pork shoulder roast. Slice some lemons, greens onions, apples and onions and scatter around the bottom of a roasting rack. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Place the seasoned pork roast over the vegetables and then place in the oven. After 15 minutes turn the heat down to 250 degrees and cook until the meat is cooked through. This is best checked with a meat thermometer.

Allow the roast to rest for at least twenty minutes before carving. Untie the roast and slice as thinly as possible. Arrange the slice on a platter and scatter over the top chopped green onions and pomegranate seeds. Serve with some of the roasted apples from the bottom of the roasting rack.

Duck Prosciutto with green onions

Duck prosciutto can be found online and in some specialty stores. It is also quite easy to make at home if you are so inclined. I like to offset the richness of the duck with just a sprinkling of greens onions that helps to provide a counterpoint to the salty-fatty meat. Slice the duck prosciutto as thinly as you can. Artfully arrange the slices on a platter and garnish with thinly sliced green onion. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top and serve with grilled bread.

Oysters with Radish and Cilantro

Raw oysters really don't need any help by my tastes, but every now and then I like to play around with some combinations that help to enliven the oyster. I use this especially when I have people coming over who I know to be a little squeamish about the raw seafood straight from the shell.

Serves 4

• 2 dozen oysters
• 4 radishes, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs cilantro, chipped
• sea salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lemon

Shuck the oysters and rest them cup side down on a bed of ice. Mix radishes and cilantro leaves with a little sea salt and olive oil. Place a dollop of the radish mixture on top of each oyster. Sprinkle a little lemon juice over the plate and serve ice cold.

Shaved Carrot and fennel salad

This is a super easy salad and one that is texturally interesting and very flavorful. Nearly any vinaigrette will do for this salad, but my favorite is a puree of anchovy, lemon juice and olive oil.

Serves 4

• 1 pound carrots, shaved
• 1 head fennel, shaved
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• crushed red chili flakes
• salt
• 1 3 ounce can anchovies
• 1 orange
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 sprigs parsley
• 1 clove nutmeg

Start by shaving a bunch of carrots into a large bowl. This is best done with a peeler creating long thin strips. Shave a head of fennel into the bowl as well. Add half of a thinly sliced red onion and a few pinches of red pepper flake. Season with a little salt and let sit.
For the vinaigrette, add anchovy fillets with the juice of one orange and the olive oil. Mash with a fork until the anchovy dissolves into the sauce. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette and check the seasoning. Garnish with a few leaves of flat-leaf parsley. Grate a little fresh nutmeg over the top and serve.

Grilled Broccoli and walnuts
We eat this in my house a couple times a week. My wife was not a fan of vegetables until I started cooking for her. This was one of the dishes that first caught her attention, and I figured out why. It is because it was the first time that vegetables had had a crispy, desirable texture. To this day, she says it was my broccoli that won her heart.

Serves 4

• 1 pound broccoli
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 orange
• 1 clove garlic
• grated parmesan cheese

Boil broccoli spears in heavily salted water until soft. Remove from the water and place on a sheet tray to cool. Drizzle the spears with a little olive oil and place the tray under the broiler on high. Remove from the broiler when the spears are darkly burned and crispy. (Don't worry about the burn, that's where all the flavor comes from!)

Toast the walnuts under the broiler for three minutes. Remove from the oven and chop the walnuts. Mix them with the zest of 1 orange and 1 clove of peeled garlic both grated finely. Add a few tablespoon of olive oil, season with salt and mix to combine.
Sprinkle the walnut mixture over the hot broccoli and garnish with a dusting of grated parmesan cheese. Serve hot.