How great to learn about the seasonality of fish and shellfish in Spain and the Mediterranean waters!
Cape Ann Fresh Catch is operated by local fishing families so the catch is seasonal—that is, freshly caught— and local to our area of Massachusetts. What we get depends on the type of fish the boats catch that week.
My Day of the Pollack from this past heatwave weekend was not nearly as elevated as @fooddabbler’s phenomenal preparation, so let’s get that out of the way first. I cooked my fish in a saffron pan sauce that involved little time at the stove. Plus the sauce made excellent use of garlic scape from the first of the season harvest. Mmmm, scapes.
I would eat that any day.
Yes, local fishermen, same on the Mediterranean Coast and Costa de Luz (Cádiz, Andalusia) and the islands (Balearic and Canaries).
Last week my second choice was scallops and I managed to screw them up a bit. I sauteed them in butter with s&p, and I got that part right: nicely golden on the outside and not overcooked inside. Then, on a whim, I decided to make a slightly cheesy bechamel using the pan scrapings. I should have used a clean pan and added the scrapings later. As it was they browned a little too much while the flour toasted, and I used a bit too much flour. The sauce at the end was too thick, and too toasty. That’ll teach me to have whims.
This discussion was brought to our discussion- Should we split the recent portion of this discussion into the cooking board instead since its more cooking focused rather than Cape Ann focused? Thanks.
Hmmm. We’ve been talking about our preparations of particular fish and seafood that we receive from Cape Ann Fresh Catch, so the discussion is probably most useful for folks who either get a fish CSA share here or are considering signing up? For example, the dabs and red fish aren’t common in our fish markets (never seen them for sale). Particular products such as stuffed clams are sourced via this CSA.
That said, I will defer to the wisdom of the crowd. And a big thank you for giving us a forum to share this stuff! 
Yesterday I got Haddock. But I almost did not.
On Monday I started my regular 7-week summer gig(*). It requires me to be fully occupied between 3 and 6 on Tuesdays. I put out a cooler with ice packs for Cape Ann at 1:30, and left strict instructions with my family about waiting for the doorbell (after the first week, CA has been good about ringing it and leaving), bringing the cooler in, removing the fish from it, and putting it into the fridge. I then locked myself in my study – now repurposed as a zoom studio. One family member brought the cooler in too early, and another carefully placed the icepacks in the fridge. Later, when the doorbell rang frantically they were slow to go to the door, but CA – bless them – left the fish in their cooler at our door. Clearly I need to go beyond feeding my family a fish to teaching them how to recognize a fish.
Anyway, after I’d zoomed, I bathed the haddock in warm olive oil, thinly sliced garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon and parsley, and served it on rice sprinkled with very good sea salt.
(*) Nearly forget to add this: in the past the gig was physically in Harvard Square. On Mondays I’d eat my kebabs from the food truck, and later pick up CA fish from Harvest in Central.
I agree that the Cape Ann focus makes this the best place. In a general cooking discussion these posts will get lost.
What a hilarious story! Good on CA for leaving their own cooler.
That sounds fantastic! I can’t wait to get home* and eat fish.
*Well, the East Coast anyway. Current plan is to go direct from my Arizona exile to my happy place in mid-coast Maine.
That’s good enough for now. Welcome back, when you do come back, to our neck of the woods GS.
On rereading, I see how lukewarm this may sound, especially since I don’t know how to use emojis.
I mean, like, what’s the appropriate one? I feel like an awkward teenager entering a room not knowing what gesture will show I’m cool.
I can just use my words:
Thank you @fooddabbler. It didn’t feel lukewarm at all. And now I am overwhelmed. 
Truly thank you. And I wish I had a helicopter to get me there.
I do see the point, and while I reiterate that this topic belongs here, I’ve just provided a way for the general cookery folk on this board to find us.
I’m hoping this will keep some of the people happy some of the time. Meanwhile, if anybody cares about my happiness, they’ll lock the thread on the cooking forum as I’ve requested.
I give you cornmeal-crusted haddock with a buttermilk-infused tartar sauce.* This had a satisfying crunch from coarse cornmeal mixed into the dredging flour.
I can’t remember the last time I shallow-fried anything, so I riffed on a cornmeal-crusted fish recipe from Food & Wine. Making this also reminded me that a cheap splatter screen, while not perfect, cuts down on the mess.
*Buttermilk-infused tartar sauce: By which I mean I stirred a little of the excellent Kate’s buttermilk into mayo from a jar and chopped cornichons very small.
Very nice!
I have two homemade tartar sauce analogs:
Another big Ocean State fan here. I keep their Belveder sauerkraut and the Baron garlic dill pickles in stock at home. I’ll have to try the Polish family salad now too. Although I am a mayophobe, and will probably just experiment with other dressings.
Try ranch plus a bit of honey-mustard.
Week 1 of the new season was haddock as well. I had misapprehensions about re-subscribing, given that I’m going to be swamped for another 6 weeks and not able to bring in the fish, but I decided that a clear lecture to my family on what is fish and what is an ice-pack might help. I sat them down and said “Family: the ice-packs will be in white bags, and Cape Ann puts its fish in a green bag.” They’re quick learners, my family (they must get that from me), and they got the point.
The haddock was stored safely, along with my second choice this week of salmon. Seeing the white of the haddock, and the saffronish hue of the salmon I immediately thought (really, which of you wouldn’t?) of the colors of the Indian flag[*]. I supplied the green with a coconut sauce tinted with curry leaves, cilantro, dill, green chillies, and a touch of mint (OK, OK, you dragged it out of me: also shallots, onion, garlic, ginger. cumin, coriander and so on and so forth.) Not my best effort, but for a total of 30 minutes, not terrible.
[*] I take no joy in this – those colors, under the present leadership there, are only cause for deep sorrow. But I’ve some small hope that things will correct themselves in the future. Ditto the strawberry-cream-blueberry meltingpot I embraced with enthusiasm nearly 20 years ago, one that I hope will soon return to its original deliciousness.
