Voyage to Tunaville

A monchong fish tale + small batch California Vermentino

Thank you so much for reading Californiavore. If you are enjoying what you are reading, please consider sharing with a friend who might also like a dose of California sunshine. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe (it’s free!) so you never miss a recipe, story, or wine recommendation.

Tunaville. The name was enough to make me like it. Since this fish market opened in the Point Loma waterfront in the summer of 2022, I’ve had it saved on my list of food places to visit in San Diego. Just a 5-minute drive from the airport, I have been waiting for a drop-off to line up with their opening hours, so that I could pick up the freshest seafood, short of being a fisherman.

Every coastline has their version of a working waterfront, from crab shacks in Maryland to oyster bars in Washington. With 70 miles of Pacific coast and some of the best sport fishing in North America, it is no surprise that San Diego is a dream for lovers of all things fish and seafood. Tunaville rests with a long tradition of waterside fish retailers buying directly from fisherman and putting their catch in the hands of consumers.

Situated facing the harbor and fleets of local fishing boats, Tunaville is the nickname of the surrounding neighborhood once populated with Portuguese fisherman. The market is the passion project of lifelong fisherman Tommy Gomes and a Mitch Conniff, a local restaurateur, two men devoted to sustainable seafood and supporting the fishing community.  

On a cloudless, unseasonably warm morning this past week, after saying goodbye to my husband at Terminal 2 on his way to meetings in Chicago, I finally had my chance. One of the first things I noticed about Tunaville was absence – there is no tell-tale fishy smell, just a bright, airy room with a well-stocked refrigerator case running from one end to the other. A few shelves of dry goods line the wall under the windows with select pantry items like imported tinned fish and Idaho dried beans as well as a self-service refrigerator with house-made sauces. If you needed to know that this was not your usual fish counter, behind the cash register is a dry aging refrigerator where tuna carcasses hang, each tagged with a date, many weeks past.

One of the best things about visiting these fishermen-direct markets is the opportunity to try fish less commercially popular. In other words, this is not the place to go if you are just looking for salmon or tilapia. When I asked what he recommended, the fishmonger directed me first to escolar. It was a fish that he didn’t get in very much. Though he recommended only small portions as the white fish is quite dense and oily.

I asked him about one I had never seen before: Monchong. A whitish-pink fillet, it reminded me of opah, another Hawaiian-named fish, they also had in stock that day. A variety of deep sea pomfret, monchong is a by-catch of tuna fishing, sold mostly to restaurants. Mild tasting and dense, he said this was a good one for grilling but also can work pan fried or oven roasted. I took a pound.

The monchong had me thinking of Mediterranean flavors, a region that abounds with the thick fillets of deep-sea creatures like tuna and swordfish. In the summer I might have grilled the monchong and served it atop a salad. For fall, roasting the fish fillets on a sheet pan of thinly sliced fennel tossed with green olives and pomegranate seeds looks as festive as it tastes of the season.

Recipe

Sheet Pan Monchong with Fennel, Olives and Pomegranate

In this post-Halloween, pre-Thanksgiving period, it might feel good to have a supper that is light but still seasonal. This sheet pan fish dinner does the trick. Serve with a rice pilaf for a more substantial meal.

• 2 large, or 3 medium fennel bulbs, fronds reserved

• 4 green onions

• ¼ cup olive oil

• Salt

• Pepper

• 1 lb. Monchong, swordfish, opah, or other firm white fish

• 1 lemon

• 12 green olives, pitted, broken in pieces

• 4 tsp. butter

• ¼ cup pomegranate seeds

• 2 T. chopped parsley

Heat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.

Cut off fronds from the fennel bulbs reserving a few for garnish. Trim and discard ends. Slice bulb in half and remove core. Slice each half into ¼ inch thick slices. Place in a large bowl. Trim and discard root end and any unattractive tops to the green onions. Cut each green onion into three long pieces, each about 3 inches each. Add to bowl along with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss vegetables to coat. Spread out on a parchment lined sheet pan. Place in oven for 15 minutes.

While fennel is cooking, cut monchong into four fillets of roughly equal size. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the fish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let marinate until the fennel comes out of the oven. Reserve the other half the lemon for serving.

After 15 minutes, remove sheet pan from the oven. Add the olives and mix with the fennel, redistributing in an even layer. Carve out four spaces for the fish fillets. Nestle the fish between the fennel and olives. Top with one teaspoon of butter per fillet. Place the sheet pan back in the oven for 10 minutes (note that if using a different fish cooking times may vary depending on the thickness of the fillets so check for doneness earlier if a thinner fillet).

To serve, top fish with scattered pomegranate seeds, parsley and reserved fennel fronds.

To Drink…

Terah Wine Co. Vermentino, Clements Hills, California 2022

On a recent visit to my local wine shop, it was a delight to discover the Terah Wine Co. Vermentino. This wine hit on three of my interests in one place: Italian varietal made in California by a female winemaker. Terah Bajjalieah has spent a career in wine, first in hospitality and more recently as a traveling winemaker, completing 13 harvests in 5 countries. She recently turned her skills to her eponymous small batch Terah Wine Co., where she works directly with independent growers, farming organically and biodynamically.

Even more of a pleasure was tasting this wine. Aromas of lemon, grapefruit and fennel make this a natural pairing for a variety of foods, particularly fish and shellfish, not to mention this fish dish baked with fennel.

The Clements Hills AVA sits within the greater Lodi area in Northern California, inland but still benefiting from cooling Pacific breezes and the rich soil run-off of the Sierra foothills. This time of year, you can find shoulder high wild fennel lining the roadsides and trails of Northern California, which I can picture lending their aromas to this refreshing and friendly white, a new expression of a Mediterranean grape.

From $29 at various independent wine merchants. Not available direct from the winery at the moment, but like most small production wineries, it is worth it to get on the mailing list so you are the first to know when it is back in stock.