Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers, Moosewood Collective [top 10 best books of all time TXT] 📗

when it gets to your market.) So when you shop for fish, instead of insisting on a particular kind, look for the best choice that day.

Trust your own judgment, too. Fresh fish has firm, elastic flesh and a clean, pleasant, deep-sea fragrance. Ask to smell the fish you’re thinking about buying, and don’t be shy about refusing it if the odor is disagreeable. Health regulations may forbid waving the fish itself under your nose, but you can get the same information by sniffing a tissue wiped across the fish.

Wild-Caught & Farm-Raised Issues

Choosing the best seafood while considering health and environmental issues can be daunting. Both farm-raised and wild-caught fish may contain contaminants, and some of the practices of both fish farming and wild harvesting have damaging environmental effects. Because of concerns about contamination, many fish farmers are looking for better methods, and some current practices, such as the establishment of mussel beds, are actually beneficial to the aquaculture. Ocean fishing practices change, too, often in an effort to protect depleted species. As for which fish to look for or to avoid, we can’t make specific recommendations that we are sure will still be accurate at the time you read this, so our advice is that you keep abreast of the issues in your region so you can come to informed conclusions.

oven-roasted miso sesame salmon

This salmon, quickly roasted, is moist and flavorful with its sweet-salty glaze of mirin and miso.

SERVES 4

TIME: 20 MINUTES

4 serving-sized pieces of salmon fillet (about 6 ounces each)

2 tablespoons light miso

1½ tablespoons mirin

1½ teaspoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons rice vinegar or cider vinegar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

chopped scallions

Preheat the oven to 450°. Rinse the salmon and place it skin-side down on an oiled baking sheet. With a sharp knife, make about 4 slashes across each fillet, taking care not to cut all the way through. In a small bowl, combine the miso, mirin, brown sugar, and vinegar.

Roast the salmon for 5 minutes. Remove it from the oven, spoon the miso-mirin glaze onto the fillets, and return it to the oven until the fish flakes easily with a fork but is still moist, 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Serve sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and scallions.

INGREDIENT NOTE If you don’t have mirin, increase the brown sugar to 1 tablespoon.

serving & menu ideas

Serve on a bed of soba, rice, or wheat noodles or on rice, with Pan-Asian Slaw on the side. Leftovers are good flaked, in a vegetable sauté or on a salad.

seafood orzo

Monkfish is perfect for this recipe because it doesn’t fall apart. It has a wonderfully tender and succulent texture similar to lobster, but monkfish is less expensive. This dish is also good with other types of fish and other kinds of seafood, such as scallops, shrimp, or lobster.

SERVES 4

TIME: 35 MINUTES

1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes

1 14-ounce can of clam broth

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups chopped onions

3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

8 ounces orzo

½ pound monkfish

½ pound chopped clams or clam strips

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

¼ teaspoon black pepper

In a covered saucepan, bring the tomatoes, clam broth, wine, and salt to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in a soup pot on medium heat, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil for 2 minutes. Add the orzo and cook, stirring constantly, until the orzo turns golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in the hot tomato mixture, cover, and cook on medium-low heat until the orzo is almost al dente, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the monkfish into bite-sized chunks. When the orzo is barely al dente, add the monkfish, clams, basil, and pepper and cook until the fish is cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes.

serving & menu ideas

Serve the rest of the bottle of wine with dinner. Add Caesar Salad without the Tofu Croutons and Orange-Almond Polenta Cake and you’ve got a dinner party!

moroccan spiced fish

Any firm fish is fine for this intensely flavored and aromatic dish. If you use thick fillets, such as salmon or tuna, and you have the time, coat the fish with the spice mixture and then cover and refrigerate for an hour or two to marinate.

SERVES 4

HANDS-ON TIME: 15 MINUTES

BAKING TIME: 10 TO 15 MINUTES

3 tablespoons Moroccan Spice Mix

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1½ pounds fish fillets

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a bowl, stir together Moroccan Spice Mix and the garlic, cilantro, olive oil, and lemon juice. Rinse and pat dry the fish fillets, and cut them into chunks. Dredge the pieces of fish in the spice mixture and place them in an oiled baking dish. Spoon any spice mixture that’s left over the top of the fish.

Bake uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until the fish is opaque and flaky but still moist.

serving & menu ideas

This fish is absolutely delicious in a pita sandwich with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and lemony mayonnaise, Cilantro Yogurt Sauce, or plain yogurt. It also makes a great fish taco—wrap in tortillas with lettuce or finely sliced cabbage and tomatoes. Or serve it on rice or couscous with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and a salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing. If you have leftovers, make a stew with onions, potatoes, peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes … and extra Moroccan Spice Mix.

flounder with herbed lemon butter

This is one of the fastest yet most delectable fish preparations. Flounder is a delicate fish, so you need to use care (a wide spatula helps) when turning it to cook on the second side.

SERVES 2

TIME: 15 MINUTES

12 ounces flounder or sole fillets (4 fillets, each about 3 ounces)

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup unbleached white flour

1½ teaspoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives, dill, tarragon, or basil

lemon wedges

Rinse the fish and pat dry. Mix the salt and pepper with