"BONEr"

THAT got your attention, didn't it? See, I'm not above a cheap and tawdry title to start you reading something. But now I'll be honest. This is about fish, and fish on the bone as a matter of fact. So, if you're going "EEEW GROSS," well, ain't nuthin I can do about it.

You've been seeing over the skazillion entries in this blog how I try to follow the seasons, with vegetables and fruit. Well, fish is local and seasonal, too. As water temperatures change, fish either disappear, or reappear, for many reasons. Some come to warmer water to breed or to spawn, for example. Others need colder weather, and once it warms up, disappear. Some are constant. You can always find squid or scallops in NY waters, for example. The quality and size may differ over the year, but they're there. And then there are others that make appearances for a limited time, such as tuna and swordfish, which show up in deep summer. And then there is my favorite, black seabass, which is here while the waters are still relatively cool, but not cold. They're in season now.

Black seabass are about a pound, maybe a pound and a quarter in size when they're fished. As with all members of the "bass" family, they have very firm, white flesh, and enough fat to stand up to most styles of preparation.

While we were in San Francisco, I wrote about our meal at Oliveto's, and the wonderful stuffed fish. One of the reasons I love that place is that it inspires me to cook. And this is my version of the dish we ate there, with some variations.

It uses a whole fish. Now, for many Americans, the idea of having a whole fish on their plate is just gross. Seeing the thing "looking" at you freaks people out, as does the idea that "EWWWW. There's a bone in it." Well, get over it. It tastes better when you cook fish on the bone. It does take longer to do , but it's worth it. And, no, you don't have to clean it yourself. Any reputable fish monger will do it for you. You'll pay for the fish by weight, before it's cleaned, and then s/he'll clean it for you. It's a good idea to buy whole fish anyway, because it's much easier to tell if it's fresh. Look it in the eye. Is it clear? The longer a fish is out of water, the more the lenses cloud up. Touch, or ask the monger to touch the fish and see how springy the flesh is. Firm flesh is fresh flesh (that sounds cute, doesn't it? And isn't it true for .. OOPS. Okay, back to the kitchen).

I've made my pitch. Now try it. Here's how we did it last night. We had two whole seabass that Phil the fish guy had cleaned for me. They were in the coldest part of the fridge, wrapped well and washed . I made the filling by cooking a half pound of morel mushrooms in a tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of butter, and a chopped clove of garlic, with just a bit of salt. This cooked down to under a cup of mushrooms. Then, I took a bunch of nettles, stemmed them (if you use nettles, you may want to protectyour hands with gloves or plastic bags. I've worked with them enough that the "stingers" on the raw leaves don't bother me, but if they do, well, do what you need to do), and chopped the leaves, adding them to the mushrooms, just until they wilted. At this point, I had a wet mass, and I remembered that Molly, at Oliveto's, told us that they had breadcrumbs in their filling as well. So, into the pan went a quarter cup of breadcrumbs. I stirred this all up and seasoned it again.

Here are some tips for stuffing fish. First, unless you're using something really large, like a striped bass, make less filling than you think you'll need, or plan on eating it again that week. The cavities of fish are really not that big. The filling I describe above was enough to overstuff our fish. Also, when you're ready to stuff the fish, wash it again, and dry it, and then salt the cavity with a bit of salt, as well as the fish itself.

I spooned the filling into the fish, and then I coated a 9x13 pan with oil I put the fish into it, the two of them lying as if they were performing a sexual act having something to do with numbers , simply to fit them evenly (they're dead, remember? No pleasure from that at this point). Then, something very important with cooking whole fish: I made several slits in the flesh . I do this because, as the fish bakes, the meat "expands," and can destroy the shape of what you're eating. If you don't mind this, fine. But if you do, two or three diagnonal cuts will be fine.

This went into the oven for 20 minutes, at 375. This was actually less time than I thought it would take, probably because my oven was very hot at that point. We're all taught to "undercook" fish, and t hat's a good rule of thumb. But when you stuff fish, you're expanding the thickness substantially, so you need way more time than you would with a plain fish.

After twenty, I took out the pan and let the fish rest for about five minutes, so that I could take the whole beast out, in one piece, with a spatula. It went onto the plate with some sliced limes (I had no lemons), and a plate in the middle of the table for the waste.

There are many guidelines of how to "bone" or (I hate this word) "debone" a whole fish, so I won't describe it here. Remember that, in the privacy of your own home, how you eat your fish is up to you. Get your hands in there. If it's a properly cooked, whole fish, a simple push with your knife will remove the head, and the tail will break right off. Use a horizontal "cut" to take the meat off of the central bone, but keep in mind that you will have some bones in the meat as you eat it. Be careful, but again, you're at home, with friends.

I used morels and nettles. You can use any mushroom you like and any green. I was thinking about this last night, and how what I would do if I were stuck with less flavorful mushrooms, like plain buttons, I would put some reconstituted dried mushrooms in it as well.

So there it is. I urge you to try cooking a whole fish. I think you'll find it's much tastier than the filet, it's much cheaper (the whole seabass was 7.00 a pound. the filets were 17.00. You decide), and it's really much more fun.