I like fish, but I get tired of the ones I can cook. Pike Place Fish Market is within walking distance of the office, so I have a selection. Please post your fish recipes.
Here are my standards:
[ul][li]Salmon with Very Very Teriyaki[/li][li]Baked salmon with some salt (that’s it – very simple and it tastes good) with lemon juice after cooking[/li][li]Fish tacos (fried tilapia, cabbage, sour cream-based sauce, lime juice on corn tortillas)[/li][li]Tilapia sautéed in olive oil with onions, garlic, capers and Roma tomatoes, served on angel hair pasta[/ul][/li]I’d like to try different fish and ‘fancier’ recipes. Now, ‘fancy’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘complicated’; just more… I don’t know… Mediterranean, Spanish, French, or something. You know, different from what I listed. I can use the charcoal grill, and would like to try things for when I have guests; but stove/oven would be better for everyday cooking.
I can’t remember the last time I had seared ahi. I see ahi in the store, but have no idea how to prepare it – seared or otherwise. I’ve had monkfish in a restaurant that tasted just like lobster, but have been unsuccessful preparing it myself. When I’ve cooked cod or halibut it’s been boring.
Basically I’d like to learn to cook fish like one would get in a restaurant.
Cod and Halibut can be boring alone, but are very versitile and easy to prepare. I’ll take cod filets, lay them in foil on top of a layer of spinach leaves, and top them with veggies of my choice - I use sliced onions, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, capers, lemon juice, etc. Fold up the foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Slide the whole thing onto a plate and dinner is ready!
Cad and halibut are also good coated in mashed potatoes and baked. Turn on the broiler to brown the potato crust at the end. Use lots of lemon butter.
A lot of fish cooks very quickly so preparing it is often done alone, and the sauces/accopaniments are made seperately.
P.S. I was at Pikes Place Market on Thursday - damn, I would love to have something like that here.
Colorado. Just a bit far from the docks. I can see a nice fish display like that at Whole Foods, I just can’t afford it.
I was in town for a conference and had Thursday afternoon off. I had drinks at Cutters and dinner across the street at Etta’s. I had salmon, naturally.
My favorite fish recipe is to take a really nice fillet of wild salmon, preheat your oven to 350, season it up just right, and then throw it in the (outside) garbage can and grill a steak. It’s incredibly tasty and satisfying, and guests love it.
This is simple and good with a white fish like tilapia.
Grind up some black peppercorns.
Grate some lemon zest.
Mix together with some olive oil.
Put fish under broiler for about 10 minutes.
Serve with lemon juice.
Cisco, I bet that recipe is a favorite of your neighbors’ cats.
4 tilapia fillets (about 6 oz each)
3/4 c fresh bread crumbs
3 tbs grated Parmesan
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning, or Herbs de Provence
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
pinch of pepper
1 Tbs olive oil
Preheat oven to 400°.
Put all ingredients in a food processor, except fish. Place fish in a sprayed baking dish, overlaying thin parts. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle crumbs over all, and bake 15-20 minutes until fish flakes easily with a fork and crumb topping is golden. (Feel free to play with quantities of ingredients, mine is never exactly the same twice!)
If you see whole fresh mackerel or mackerel fillets with the skin on, try this:
Place the fillets skin side up in a lightly greased broiler pan or study foil tray. Sprinkle the skin liberally with kosher salt (but we’re not doing a heavy salt crust here - that’s another recipe). Let the fish sit with the salt on it for an hour. Slide the pan under a broiler and let it broil until the skin bubbles and browns and the mackerel is done - maybe 5 to 10 minutes depending on thickness. It’s important to let the fish sit before cooking, because the salt draws juice up onto the skin, which dissolves the salt. This salty juice then dries and crusts during the broiling, giving a salty, crisp result.
Serve it Japanese style with rice and Japanese pickes. This is “saba shioyaki”, or salt-broiled mackerel, and very good it is when the fish is impeccably fresh. It comes apart in big moist, oily flakes and it’s one of my favorites.
I tried this tonite with shrimp, but there’s no reason it wouldn’t work with a thin (1" or so) filet of any sort of white fish. It’ll come out with a nice light, thin and crispy coating, with steamy tender flesh inside. You might want a sauce or two on the side like a lemon/horseradish may or a hot sauce like sriracha.
Combine 2 TBSP McCormick Szechuan seasoning in 3/4 cup rice flour
rinse fish or shrimp and pat dry
heat approx 1/2 inch oil in a non-stick fry pan; on my electric range I set it at right between medium and med-hi.
dredge fish or shrimp in seasoned flour until completely coated. Shake off excess. You only want a thin layer of seasoned flour.
fry in oil for approx 3 minutes a side, or until golden brown.
If you must do something to salmon besides sauteing it in a bit of butter, the the following is pretty damn good:
Marinate a salmon filet in a mixture of fish sauce, chopped lemon grass and some sambal oelek. Fry very quickly and briefly in a bit of oil and serve on rice with a bit of the chili paste for garnish.
You don’t know what you are missing. Here in the Northwest it’s wild Alaskan King salmon season, My freezer is well stocked to last me till next year. I’ll take it over any steak any time.
Also here in the Northwest is a line of seasoning salts from Johnny’s. I use their seafood seasoning on my salmon, sprinkle on a light dusting and bake in a medium high oven on my cedar plank. I have converted a couple of so called “salmon haters” over with my salmon.