Fishing for dinner in the high seas off Beaulieu-sur-Mer
"Then the fish came alive, with his death in him, and rose high out of the water showing all his great length and width and all his power and his beauty. He seemed to hang in the air above the old man in the skiff. Then he fell into the water with a crash that sent spray over the old man and over all of the skiff." Ernest Hemingway
I suppose we could just as well have left from any one of the fishing ports that dot the Mediterranean between Monaco and Cannes, each one more charming and picturesque and at times more grandiose than the one before. However, a friend of mine, Luc, and one who I can truthfully say is a "hard-core" deep sea fisherman in addition to a lot of other things, steered me insistingly to the little town of Beaulieu-sur-Mer or "Belloloco" as he called it, as our fishing port of departure. He confided in me that he knew "someone" there who not only captained his own boat but would gladly take us out gratis, free of charge. I thought it was nice that Luc had the right kind of contacts in the right places but I also thought it would be nice to make sure we got home in one piece. I knew enough not to dwell over his relationship with the "captain" as nothing further from him would be forthcoming. I naturally presumed that a favor was being returned or some code was being honored. Having carefully studied the coastal map, as well as I knew how, and knowing that Luc would be coming from the general direction of Monaco (on bank business -his words), I asked him where we should meet. His response was, rather predictably, "don't worry, I'll find you." I have always thought that Luc must have spent far too much time lurking about in a Casbah or perhaps out and about somewhere in the bled, a term he used quite often which meant the desert and one invented by the French and derived from the Arabic word baladi (land). 
I half expected Beaulieu-sur-Mer to be a sleepy little town with a slow and comfortable vas-et-vient pace to it, with fishing nets everywhere, boat hulls being lazily repainted in vibrant colors under the hot Mediteranean sun, perhaps a few crusty locals sipping on a pastis outside "Chez Marcel" your run-of-the-mill honky-tonk bar with, most likely, an anchor hanging over the front door. Inside, someone was slowly sweeping the past evening's events into a corner and Marcel, the owner, wiping and re-wiping the shiny zinc counter top. There would surely be a requisite rummy or two in striped matelots (sailor) shirts working on their first jolt of the day, maybe a frosted blond busting out of a dress one size too small and weighing her morning odds with the two rhummys. But clearly it was I who was delusional and suffering from too much time in the hot sun.Crossing the Boulevard du Maréchal Joffre, I dodged a few high-end Mercedes, almost knocked over a couple perfectly tanned and impeccably dressed, busily scanning their smart phones undoubtedly for une bonne addresse where they could seen and all the while conversing in a mixture of French and Italian. Tanned statuesque beauties were walking their little speciment dogs, two by two as if on parade. I strolled along stopping every so often to look over menu boards in front of interesting restaurants and quickly realized my bank account would not even get me past the appetizers. I could smell money, it hovered over everything and everywhere. A light tap on my shoulder, I turned to find Luc who asked "are we fishing today or are you going to waste your time mixing with the beautiful people?" I never did learn how Luc found me.
Swordfish Niçoise / Espadon à la Niçoise
Ingredients
Ingredients
4 swordfish steaks (about 6 ounces ea) 1 large clove of garlic Coarse salt, to taste 2 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 4 red new potatoes 8 ounces tender green beans, ends snapped, halved diagonally and blanched 1/2 cup diced (1/4 inch) red bell pepper 1/2 small red onion, slivered lengthwise 1/4 cup pitted Niçoise olives 1 tablespoon drained tiny capers 1/4 cup loosely packed slivered basil leaves 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 hard-cooked egg, coarsely chopped 1 teaspoon rosemary 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
Throw three or four fishing poles into your skiff and head out to sea well past the other fishermen to your own fishing spot and drop your lines; as the sun rises slowly you take a careful, measured sip of water and wait for one of your lines to tug suddenly and hard...game on!
1. Sprinkle the garlic with a generous pinch of salt; finely mince and place in a large shallow bowl with the vinegar. Slowly drizzle in 1/3 cup olive oil, whisking constantly to make a vinaigrette. Season with pepper.
2. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Drain. Slice the potatoes and place in a bowl. Layer the green beans atop the potatoes, followed by the red pepper, onion, olives, capers, and slivered fresh basil. Do not toss this salad until serving time.
3. Preheat the broiler. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the fish; coat well. Let rest 15 minutes.
4. Place the fish on a lightly oiled broiler pan, 4 inches from the heat source, and broil for 4 minutes on the first side. Turn carefully and broil 4 minutes on the other side. Remove to the center of a platter.
5. Gently toss the salad from underneath and surround the swordfish. Sprinkle the chopped egg on top. Grind some pepper over all and garnish with chopped parsley.
Now about those wines...
Chardonnay Kendall-Jackson (Vintner’s Reserve) 2008
Puligny-Montrachet Joseph Drouhin 2007
Sauvignon Blanc Saint Clair Vicar's Choice 2011, Malborough, NZ
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Blue Label Brut 2009
Beaujolais-Villages Georges DuBoeuf 2008
Côtes du Rhône - “Parallèle 45” Jaboulet 2007
Chardonnay Kendall-Jackson (Vintner’s Reserve) 2008
Puligny-Montrachet Joseph Drouhin 2007
Sauvignon Blanc Saint Clair Vicar's Choice 2011, Malborough, NZ
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Blue Label Brut 2009
Beaujolais-Villages Georges DuBoeuf 2008
Côtes du Rhône - “Parallèle 45” Jaboulet 2007
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