FISH-THE PERFECT SUMMER DINNER

Globally, summer is vacation season and for North Americans and Europeans, August is the favorite month. The two major choices of get-aways are the mountains and seashore.  In both, during summer months, restaurants and markets will feature a ‘Catch of the Day’. Whether it’s trout from the mountain streams and lakes or the bounty of the ocean, seafood consumption spikes in August.

That makes perfect sense. Seafood is more filling than meat, but lighter in texture with fewer calories and, important in hot weather, lower fat content. Sadly, Americans eat a diet containing more fat than other countries, and consume far less fish-only a fifth the amount of Spain, for example. Nutritionally, we health conscious Americans should make an effort to eat more fish.

Hopefully, we will, as verities particularly of fin fish, are now readily available in even our most landlocked areas, thanks to modern freezing and transport. Another incentive is our growing curiosity about different cuisines and expanding pallet. Moreover, fishing is an increasingly popular pastime, especially in nice weather and the progression from source to serve, catch, clean and cook, is an enjoyable way to spend a day and a delicious way to end it. Incidentally, recipes make great souvenirs…

Growing up in a shore resort, seafood has always been a major part of my diet and because I love it, I write about it frequently. In fact, I write posts about seafood every Lenten season. To find them use the panorama on my Home Page or consult the monthly drop-down menu on each blog page. I’ve also written a book, All About Seafood which I summarize in my post for Aug. 12, 2021. In the book, I explain the differences between fresh water and salt water, the categories of seafood, their uses, the differences in types of fish, treatments, shopping, storage and give recipes. 

However, this post is about the appeal of seafood in the heat of August, whether on vacation or at home and is derived from three posts, one on grilling fish July 6, 2017 and another on fish salads August 18, 2022.  Above all, do visit my post of July 13, 2017 on the most popular ways to cook fish. I would suggest you take a look at my post on easy ways to serve salmon and tilapia, the two most commonly found frozen fillets, as well, simply for convenience (March 2,2023). 

Before I get to the recipes, there are a few safety rules on cooking fish, so bear with me….

There are a few general rules for cooking fish including grilling. The most accepted are those set by the
Canadian Department of Fisheries, recommended by top chefs from James Beard to Steven Raichlen and Bobby Flay.
1) Regardless of method, cooking time should be 10 min. per inch of thickness of the fish at its thickest point. If you have a whole fish 4 inches thick, you will cook it 40 min.; a steak 1 ½ inches would take 15 min. or 7 ½ min. per side and a thin fillet ½ inch thick would be 5 min. or 2 ½ per side. (I tend to be more cautious here and allow 3 min. per side.) Tongs are great to turn fish steaks but if I’m doing thin fillets on an outdoor grill, I use a ‘fish holder’; a grill accessory with a long handle, which holds the fish between two rectangular pieces of metal mesh, making flipping them during cooking without breaking them easy.
2) Preheating is required. The element should be hot, and for outdoor grilling the grill surface should be 3-5 inches from the heat, with a 2-3 Mississippi fire. Contact grills and pans take about 3-5 min.to reach the desired temperature.
3) Lightly oil the surface just before you put the fish on to cook, not when you start the grill.
4) Remember contact grills take half the time because they cook both sides at once.
5) To get cross-hatch marking, rotate the fish ¼ turn half-way through cooking each side
s stated, grilling recipes can be used for different fish within the same categories. Acceptable substitutions would be for example:

A. Full flavored with firm meaty texture and high in omega-3 fatty acids: tuna, marlin, swordfish, shark
B. Mild tasting, lean, fine flake and sweet flavor: sole, flounder, tilapia, halibut, orange roughy
C. Mild tasting, lean, large flake, and sweet flavor: cod, haddock, bass, rockfish, ocean perch,
D. Firm, moderate flavor and medium oil content: snapper, catfish, monkfish (can also be substituted for lobster in some recipes)
E. Rich oily fish, firm flake and medium to strong flavor depending on species: salmon, wild or farmed, trout, arctic char, steelhead

RECIPES

The following recipes are acceptable for indoor or outdoor grilling, which includes contact grills and grill pans. Of course, if you can’t or don’t grill, oven broiling is another option. The recipes are also adaptable for use with different types of fish. The point is that fish is a quickly prepared choice for a summer meal, particularly so when grilled.

Grilled Salmon with Watercress Sauce: Serves 4
4 salmon steaks ¾ inch thick
1 tsp. dried marjoram
Salt and Pepper to taste
Watercress Sauce
Sprinkle salt, pepper and marjoram on both sides of fish steaks. Preheat grill, place 4 inches from heat and lightly oil. Grill fish about 3-5 min. per side, until lightly browned and it flakes easily. Serve with sauce.
Watercress Sauce: Yield 1 cup
½ cup packed watercress leaves
½ cup packed fresh parsley
2 medium shallots-diced
1 small onion – diced
½ Tbs. wine vinegar
1 ½ Tbs. olive oil
3 Tbs. tomato juice
Place vegetables and herbs in a processor and process 3 times with on/off . Scrape down bowl sides and pour oil over mixture, add vinegar and puree 3 sec. Pour juice in through tube and puree until smooth. Chill before serving with fish.

Grilled Tuna with Rosemary-Caper Butter: Serves 4
(4) 1 inch thick tuna steaks
Oil to coat grill rack
1/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 Tbs. chopped capers
¼ tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. dried, powdered rosemary + fresh sprigs for garnish
1/8 tsp. Dijon mustard or spicy brown
Mix last 5 ingredients together and chill. Preheat grill and lightly oil rack placed about 4 inches above heat. Grill tuna steaks 5 min. per side. To serve, top steaks with a portion of the butter and optionally, garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs.

Grilled Whole Fish in Buerre Blanc Sauce: Serves 8
3 ½ lb. cleaned fish with head and tail left on, salmon or trout
3 Tbs. canola oil
1 small onion in small dice
2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
½ cup butter
¼ cup white wine
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
Place grill about 5 inches from heat and preheat. Lightly oil a wire broiling basket. Place fish in basket and drizzle with oil and cook about 5 min. then turn, cook 5 min. more, repeating until fish has been cooked the required time-about 20 min. total. To prepare sauce, place vinegar, onion and wine in a saucepan and simmer until onion is tender and liquid reduces slightly. Gradually blend in butter to make a smooth sauce. Serve fish hot, with sauce drizzled over, garnished with parsley.

FISH SALADS

The best cooking method for these items is poaching. Simply slide the fish into simmering water, return to a simmer and cook for 3-5 min. (5-8min. for fish steaks) until the fish is opaque and flakes. Immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking, then plate, cover with plastic wrap and chill. This is the approved method 

Salad Nicoise: Serves 6 – 8
1 lb. fresh whole or cut green beans – frozen is fine
6-8 small new potatoes – halved if larger – keep size uniform-canned will do – drained
(2) 6 oz. cans solid white Albacore tuna in water – drained* DO NOT use ‘chunk’ tuna
(1) 5 ¾ oz. can pitted black olives
4 hard-boiled eggs – quartered
4 Roma or small tomatoes – quartered- OR 1 pt. cherry or grape tomatoes
Bibb lettuce or Romaine
Optional add-ons – (1) 15 oz. can of pickled beets and/or 6-8 anchovy fillets
Cook the beans, and potatoes if raw, until crisp tender. A special flavor is added if they are marinated in a little white wine for a few hours.
Line a large platter with the lettuce leaves. Gently fork-separate the tuna chunks and mound them at 6 O’clock on the plate. Mound the potatoes at 12 and decoratively distribute the other ingredients separately in mounds evenly around the plate, except the anchovies. If using, they should be laid across the tuna. The mounds can be pie shaped wedges, pointing to the center, or the center can be filled with fresh herbs or chopped lettuce pieces. If using the beets, the black olives can be piled in the center. The point is to arrange the plate as decoratively as possible but have it appear as a miniature buffet, with each of the ingredients presented individually for ease of self-serving.
Serve with the dressing created for this salad, below.
*NOTE: This can also be served with (1) 4 to 5 oz. grilled or broiled tuna steak per serving.|

Nicoise Dressing:

Serves 6- 8
4Tbs. minced shallots – or mild onions
2 Tbs. dry mustard – 4 of Dijon can be used
5 drops of hot sauce
5Tbs red wine vinegar
3Tbs fresh lemon juice – 2 tsp. of concentrated will do
2 ½ cups salad oil.
Mix the ingredients well and allow to meld for several hours. Drizzle a little over the Tuna, and serve the rest on the side.

Salmon and Spinach Salad: Serves 4
2 cups cooked salmon in pieces-about 4 frozen fillets, poached and broken into bite-sized pieces
2 cucumbers peeled and in thin slices
¼ cup thinly sliced scallions
1 Tbs. capers
8 oz. salad spinach leaves or more optionally mixed with other greens
2 plum tomatoes in large dice
1/3 cup chopped scallions
Dressing
1cup mayonnaise flavored to taste with dill or tarragon or ½ cup vinaigrette of choice
Tear the greens to bite size and toss in a bowl with the cucumbers, capers, tomatoes and fish, divide among plates and top with scallions. Pass the dressing.

Optionally this salad can be served with the fish prepared in either of the two ways below and placed to the side of the salad, omitting the tomatoes. I prefer the salad, in these presentations, to be lightly tossed with vinaigrette and the sauce, if serving the poached version, be confined to the fish. 

Shrimp Louis: Serves 4
4 hardboiled eggs-quartered
2 Tbs. chopped parsley-for garnish
Greens sufficient for 4 servings-preferably Romaine or green leaf lettuce
Louis Dressing-from James Beard’s American Cookery
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup whipped cream
2/3 cup chili sauce
1 Tbs. grated onion
Pinch cayenne
Modern Lamaze Dressing-an option
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup ketchup
Pinch mace or large pinch nutmeg.
Plate the greens, top with the shrimp, spoon over choice of sauce, and pass the rest. . Arrange 1 egg around the salad on each plate and garnish with parsley.

POPULAR WAYS TO COOK FISH

These traditional methods of cooking fish are easy to master, elegant in their simplicity and invaluable to know because they, not the fish cited, are the stars of most recipes. Fish are classified by type, so fish of the same class are interchangeable in the recipes.

Trout Meuniere: Serves 4 – This is also good using fillets, and advised for any fish in categories B&E
4 medium trout
2 lemons juiced-rinds reserved
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tb. oil
¼ cup butter
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup fresh parsley minced
Rub trout with lemon rinds, adding a bit of juice if needed. Melt butter and oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté trout turning once, (fillets don’t need turning) until both sides are slightly tan and edges of meat are opaque and curl, about 5 min. per side. Remove fish to a warmed platter. Wipe pan and add the last 3 ingredients. Swirl to melt and combine. Pour sauce over fish and serve.

Southwest/Italian Seafood Packets: Serves 4 Fish from categories A, B&C are recommended for this
(4) 1 lb. fish fillets
½ cup thick salsa OR ¼ cup crushed tomatoes seasoned to taste with dried basil, dried oregano and garlic powder
8 large shelled shrimp
8 Cilantro, parsley or oregano sprigs or basil leaves
1 Lemon or Lime in wedges
Preheat oven to 400 deg. Cut foil or parchment paper into 8 pieces 1 inch longer than fish. Shapes, triangles or hearts make a nice presentation. Place a fillet on each of 4 pieces, top with 2 Tbs. sauce, 2 shrimp and 2 sprigs or leaves of herb. Cover with another piece of foil or paper and crimp edges to seal. Bake 10-12 min. Plate packets immediately and serve hot with fruit wedges. Cut an ‘X’ in the top of each packet to eat.

Coconut Tilapia: Serves 4 This is my own recipe and lighter than the standard. The coconut can be removed, the panko used alone or mixed with seasonings or replaced by crumbs. It’s the method that counts. It’s best with fish from categories B & C.
4 Tilapia filets – about 1lb
1 cup plain Panko
½ cup sweetened coconut flakes – toasted
½ cup + mayonnaise
Lemon pepper
Step I- Preheat oven to 350 deg. Toast coconut on a piece of foil until golden, about 4 min. watching that edges don’t burn. When cool mix with Panko.
Step 2 – Place fish on a lightly oiled cooking surface, a pan or baking sheet. Completely cover the tops with a thin sheet of mayonnaise, more like a veneer. Dust lightly with lemon pepper.
Step 3 – Sprinkle with Panko-coconut mix, and bake 8 min. per 1 inch width of filet, until top is golden, fish puffs slightly and edges bubble. Serve at once
Note: I put the breading mix in an empty herb bottle with a shaker top. It’s easy to apply, and any extra can simply be stored in the capped bottle.

Jul 6Barbecued Shrimp: Serves 6
24 large shrimp-cleaned, tails on
12 slices of bacon – halved crosswise
24 pieces of onion 1 ½ inch x 1 ½ inch
2 Tbs. EACH brown sugar, soy sauce and dry sherry
½ tsp. EACH chili powder, powdered ginger and salt
3 cloves chopped garlic OR 1 tsp. powdered garlic
Wrap the bacon pieces around the shrimp and skewer shrimp sidewise to secure bacon, alternating with the onion pieces. Combine the rest of the ingredients for the marinade and pour into a baking sheet with sides or broiler pan. Lay skewered shrimp flat in the pan and marinate, turning regularly for at least 1 hr. Cook over high heat about 3 min. per side, until bacon is crisp. Pour marinade into a saucepan and heat to a simmer, then cool to serve as a dipping sauce.