Eat More Fish: Healthy Food That Tastes Great and is Easy to Make
I hope you enjoy Starting from Scratch, my second book, published each week online, one chapter at a time. Before the book’s final publication, I hope to sprinkle readers’ thoughts, opinions and advice throughout. After all, you each have helpful systems and solutions in the kitchen worth sharing. In addition, for each section, I’m consulting experts in their fields – for this excerpt, it’s Lynne Viera, founder of how2heroes.
I grew up in a land-locked state where fish got a bad rap. As a small child in Tennessee, our choices consisted of breaded, processed fish sticks or fried catfish at a local fish fry. No wonder we kids always screamed, “Yuk!” if Mom said it was fish night. (Nothing against Mrs. Paul, I mind you).
Today, however, availability of fresh fish is more extensive. Not to mention, the health benefits of fish are widely touted. It pleases me greatly when I hear, “Yum!” from my six-year-old if we’re having fish for dinner (even if he does say, “Mommy, the chicken is delicious!”).
To improve your fish dish success rate and enhance the cooking experience, take note of a few of these tips and tricks.
Buy in season. Just as I mentioned last week, like vegetables and fruit, fish that’s fresh and in-season tastes so much better! In fact, all you need is salt and pepper to make a meal fit for a king. With olive oil and lemon juice, and fresh herbs from the garden, you can easily and quickly dress up the dish even more, with only a few extra minutes of time and effort in the kitchen.
Find a local fishmonger. You’ll get more variety and fresher fish from your local fishmonger. Take it from Lynne: “They know where the fish is from and when it arrived. They can help you choose a fish based on your taste and even help with preparation tips. They are a tremendous resource! Relying on their expertise and knowledge, you will likely be more adventurous. By mixing up your fish repertoire with a variety of textures and flavors, you won’t get bored. For instance, fresh anchovies and sardines bear no resemblance to the canned stuff and are SO good for you. Omega-3s up the yin-yang!”
Don’t overcook fish. To me, nothing is worse than a piece of fish that is dry, flavorless and overcooked. To avoid this predicament at home, I always check the fish as I’m cooking it, even if it means I have a few slashes here and there to deter its beauty. You can also use a thermometer if you are as stickler for appearance.
According to Lynne, “Fish cooks quickly. Depending on thickness, 3-5 minutes per side in a sauté pan is all you need. You can also pan sear it skin side down for 3 minutes (don’t try to move around the pan before then or you might tear the skin), flip it and finish in the oven at 350 for another 4 minutes or so.
For those who say they don’t have time to cook, a whole branzino takes 4 minutes each side in the broiler. Steam some vegetables & make some couscous and Bob’s your uncle. You can be done in about 10 minutes flat.”
Decrease the temperature. In addition to the previous cooking tips, another way to avoid overcooking fish is to turn down the heat. If you are grilling, medium heat is preferable to high heat. If you are searing (a way I love to cook fish for locking in flavor), you can blast the heat for one side of the fish, then turn the heat down when you turn the piece over. Baking fish in the oven at a low temperature might be a more forgiving way to start out. And if you have a BBQ smoker, give it a try!
Sometimes, I take fish off the heat when it is not quite “done” and let it continue to “cook” for another five minutes on a plate (with some saran wrap on top of it to seal in the heat).
Select more forgiving fish. According to Lynne, oily types of fish are more forgiving fish – salmon, branzino (aka European sea bass), bluefish. If you’re cooking fish for the first time, avoid halibut and more steak-like fish that will dry out easier.
Eat it whole. Lynne’s tip: “Cooking a fish whole will also keep it more moist. Have the fishmonger gut it, then take it home and fill the cavity with lemon slices and herbs of your choice. Rub a little olive oil on the fish, salt it then bake or broil.”
To bear further credence to Lynne’s words, I prepared a whole salmon last summer just as she suggests, then placed on a grill wrapped in aluminum foil. It was magnificent!!
Try it rare. In my opinion, some fish tastes great when “pink” or rare in the middle. For example, ahi tuna is wonderful when seared, yet raw on the inside. Salmon is another fish which is tasty when pink. Like meats, though, everyone has their own tolerance to rareness. If you don’t like sushi, you may prefer to cook the pink right out of it.
Experiment with cooking methods. Some fish are better suited for grilling, some for pan frying and others for baking. Even others are versatile enough to handle the heat regardless of the source. For example, salmon is one of those fish well-suited for any cooking surface or heat type. A more flakey fish like Dover sole, would completely fall through the grates if you tried to grill it (though there are also grill pans to avoid this problem).
If you are unsure about how to prepare a certain variety of fish, ask your fishmonger or refer to reliable web sites and cookbooks. A few minutes of research might save you time and trouble and ensure a successful meal.
Try other types of seafood, too. According to Lynne, “In addition to fish, there are a myriad of healthy seafood dishes that are easy to make: mussels, paella (put whatever your favorite seafoods are together in one big, happy pan), steamed clams or as we call them here in Massachusetts, quahogs. Shrimp has so many quick easy incarnations as well, including stir-fries and kebabs.”
Enjoy the health benefits! The Mayo Clinic suggests that eating one to two servings of fish a week could reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack by a third or more. The unsaturated fats in fish, called Omega-3 fatty acids, may reduce cholesterol, improve children’s ability to learn, lower blood pressure and enhance immunity, just to name a few.
For more more great recipes and how2tips, check out the following:
Fish Education: Monkfish, Salmon & Branzino - http://how2heroes.com/videos/seafood/fish-education-monkfish-salmon-branzino
Whole Roasted Red Snapper (filmed at Saveur Magazine test kitchen): http://how2heroes.com/videos/seafood/whole-roasted-red-snapper
Sauteed Monkfish: http://how2heroes.com/videos/seafood/sauteed-monkfish
Crispy Skin Branzino: http://how2heroes.com/videos/seafood/crispy-skin-branzino
Butter-Steamed Salmon: http://how2heroes.com/videos/seafood/butter-steamed-salmon
Sesame-Ginger Crusted Salmon: http://how2heroes.com/videos/seafood/sesame-ginger-crusted-salmon
Mussels: http://how2heroes.com/videos/seafood/fragrant-thai-mussels-w-lime-green-papay
Paella: http://how2heroes.com/videos/seafood/paella-valenciana
About Lynne
Lynne Viera is the Founder of how2heroes, the premiere how-to video cooking website. Lynne combined her expertise in creating websites for major brands like Safeway and National Geographic Channel (as the Founder/CEO of Rival Marketing) and her passion for food to create this world-class website destination for people who really want to learn how to cook. Every video is original and carefully shot so viewers can easily replicate the recipes and techniques being demonstrated in the videos. The site features a combination of master chefs like Ming Tsai, Angelo Sosa (Top Chef) and Jason Santos (Hell’s Kitchen) as well as home cooks, farmers, fishmongers – anyone who has creative cooking ideas to share.
I started Luke out on salmon, too. Then I introduced mild white fishes, some of which you can get fresh in land-locked states (e.g., dover sole, red snapper, tilapia). More recently, I experimented with tuna and he loved it! But I did get it from my fishmonger to ensure it was fresh. Boise is landlocked, too, but we still have one fish wholesaler in town (and they know me by name!). 
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I live in the middle of the country where fish is rarely fresh. Whenever I travel to the coastal areas, I take advantage of proximity and order fish in restaurants:) I do make salmon fairly often though since my boys will actually eat that one. But no others.
I started Luke out on salmon, too. Then I introduced mild white fishes, some of which you can get fresh in land-locked states (e.g., dover sole, red snapper, tilapia). More recently, I experimented with tuna and he loved it! But I did get it from my fishmonger to ensure it was fresh. Boise is landlocked, too, but we still have one fish wholesaler in town (and they know me by name!).