Fresh wild-caught fish and a fresh take on organic whole-wheat pasta

Fresh wild-caught flounder was $7.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We went shopping for dinner separately, but managed to turn out a satisfying meal of fresh wild-caught fish, pasta with grated cheese and black pepper, fresh sweet corn on the cob and organic lettuce for our salads.

My wife went to Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, where she found fresh wild flounder fillets from Iceland.

Organic whole-wheat spaghetti with grated cheese and black pepper.

On the way home Friday evening, I stopped at a farmers' market, where I found fresh white corn (45 cents each) and a head of organic lettuce for $2.50.

We had the other ingredients -- from Trader Joe's and Costco -- at home.

My wife seasoned the fish fillets, dusted them in flour and fried them quickly in a non-stick pan with a little oil.

I took a half-pound of Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti and cooked it in boiling water for about 8 minutes, a minute or two before the recommended cooking time of 9-10 minutes.

I drained the pasta, then finished cooking it in a pan with a cup of hot pasta water and three or four tablespoons of a butter substitute, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!

After mixing them well, I added lots of grated Pecorino-Romano sheep's milk cheese and black pepper.

I added more cheese and black pepper to the portion on my plate.

I just winged it after seeing a TV show in which world traveler Anthony Bourdain enjoyed the pasta -- cacio e pepe  -- on a trip to Rome, complete with shots of the cook preparing the dish in the kitchen of a Roman restaurant.

I poured a glass of chianti.

I had the pasta first; then two fillets, hot and delicious right out of the pan, sprinkled with lime juice; and finished with a simple salad of organic lettuce, extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Fresh sweet corn was my dessert, with nothing on it.

How long will DePiero's be around?

The entrance to DePiero's Country Farm store on a hill in Montvale.

Stairs to the store's gift and housewares loft.

No visit to Montvale would be complete without stopping at the hilltop store of DePiero's Country Farm.

Unfortunately, all of the fresh, local produce and the relaxed food-shopping experience soon may be just a memory.

If town officials approve, half of the farm's 55 acres will be used to build a huge Wegmans Food Market, displacing the homey farm store.

The Wegmans would be the chain's first store in Bergen County.

The Wegmans in Woodbridge is an enormous 140,000 square feet -- bigger than any other supermarket in Bergen.

Photos of the Woodbridge Wegmans 

On Monday, I stopped at DePiero's for a large cup of soup and purchased sweet corn, romaine lettuce, basil and leeks, all grown on the farm.

Fragrant basil, above. Romaine lettuce and leeks, below.

In late afternoon, customers arrived in twos and threes, but the store never got crowded.

The thick, meatless lentil soup was delicious.

When I got home, I shucked and steamed the bi-color corn, which was sweet and need nothing (6 ears for $3.50). 

It was far superior to corn I picked up last week at the Ramsey Farmers' Market.

I chopped some of DePiero's fresh basil, along with oregano and mint from my garden, to use with fresh wild king salmon on Tuesday night.

I plan to use the rest of the basil to make pesto, which is wonderful with fish.

A plastic spoon stood up easily in the thick soup.

Halloween costumes are available now.

DePiero's greenhouse.

DePiero's Country Farm Store, 300 W. Grand Ave., Montvale; 201-391-4576. Open 7 days until 6 p.m.

Web site: An Old-Fashioned Farm