Tips and Tricks for Fish Cookery

During Lent, fish and seafood is a wonderful way to include protein in your meals! Although fish may seem intimidating, it is actually simple to cook and there are various possible preparation methods. Fish is also very versatile and can work well with a variety of flavor profiles. To buy fish, visit a local fishmonger and you will be able to purchase fillets or steaks. At a grocery store, they may have frozen shrimp, scallops, or fish fillets available or depending on the store they might also have a fish counter. To start, baking fish is one of the easiest preparation methods! Baked salmon, haddock, halibut, and cod are all perfect choices. In order to get flavor into your baked fish, marinating is the best way. The fish should marinate for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how thick your fillets are. Then bake the fish for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees until the fish is flakey and opaque. The fish can baked on its own, or other vegetables can be added into the pan as well. Cherry tomatoes, fennel, or potatoes are all possible options!

A simple marinade for baked fish is:

6 oz Chianti Classico Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3

oz Condimento Blanco Vinegar

1 oz Lemon Juice

1 Lemon’s Zest

1 tsp Paprika

1.5 tsp Sale Fino

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs; either basil, oregano, cilantro, or rosemary would all work well depending on your preference!

This marinade would be wonderful on white fish and salmon! Serve alongside your favorite salad recipe or with roasted vegetables!

Next, if you love the crispy skin of pan-fried fish, it is not as difficult as it sounds to prepare! There are a few secrets that makes this process easy! First, make sure when you’re purchasing the fish the skin is still on the fillet. Next, pat the fish dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Begin to heat up an empty skillet, this prevents the oil from burning before the fish goes in. While the skillet is heating, lightly dredge the skin side of the fish in an AP or rice flour (seasoned with salt), and pat off the excess flour. Add a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil to your pan, wait until the oil is shimmering to add the fish. Place the fish skin side down(!!!) into the pan and then DO NOT MOVE IT. People usually get nervous when cooking fish and they want to move it and check on it, but this does more harm than good. Once the fish is in the pan, let it be and when it is ready it will release itself from the pan. The fish sticks and breaks if it is not yet ready to be flipped over. Once the fish naturally releases itself, flip it over with a fish spatula and let it cook for about a minute on the other side. Remove the fish from the pan and sprinkle with a finishing salt, such as our Pink Himalayan Truffle Salt, Coarse Sea Salt, or Balsamic Salt. Another method, if you would like a pan sauce to go along with your fish is to sauté it! Skin on or off fish will both work for this method, if the skin is on just make sure to put that side down first. The first step is to pat the fish dry and season with salt, pepper, and any other desired spices. Next, heat a small amount of olive oil in the pan and once hot add in the fish. Again, it is important to allow the fish to release itself from the pan before(!!!) trying to flip it. Once the fish is flipped, deglaze with the white wine and lemon juice. Turn off the heat, and add some capers and butter to finish, along with some fresh basil or oregano! This is similar to a chicken piccata, so it is wonderful over pasta or serve alongside some vegetables!

Fish Piccata

2 fillets of your fish of choice

2 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 oz Dry White Wine

1 oz Lemon Juice

2 tbsp Butter

2 tbsp Capers Packed in Salt