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Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Coat the monkfish generously with cooking spray, and then grill directly over the heat until the coating browns, but the fish is still filmy and moist in the center (about 130°F on an instant-read thermometer), 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove to a platter or plates and drizzle judiciously with the anchovy sauce.

KNOW-HOW: FILLETING A MONKFISH TAIL

If you’re starting with whole monkfish tails instead of fillets, remove the skin. Then, to remove a fillet from the backbone, run your knife along its top side, moving toward the tail and always keeping the blade against the bone. Flip and remove the other fillet the same way. Remove any blue-gray membrane from the fillets to keep the fish from shrinking and toughening during cooking.

LEAN, FIRM WHITE FISH FILLETS

Grilled Cod Escabeche

MAKES 4 MAIN-DISH OR 8 APPETIZER SERVINGS

Cod is a culinary chameleon. It can be as pedestrian as a fish-and-chip dinner or as cosmopolitan as escabeche, a marinated dish that is one of Spain’s culinary gifts to the world. Instead of marinating the fish before cooking, the fish is marinated afterward, when the cod’s cells have swelled from heat and become more receptive to absorbing a spicy lemon, lime, and orange marinade. What a great make-ahead dish for a party. Grill a few cumin-rubbed fillets, soak the cooked fish in marinade, then serve it up to 2 days later, after the cod’s large flakes have absorbed as much marinade as they can possibly hold. Although completely unnecessary, a spoonful of creamy Caper Mayonnaise makes this dish taste doubly great.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ cups Adobo Marinade

½ cup sliced pimento-stuffed Spanish green olives

¼ cup finely chopped red onion

¼ cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1 large jalapeño chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 cod fillets (about 6 ounces each)

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup Orange-Cumin Rub

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the marinade, olives, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño pepper, vinegar, sugar, and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Light a grill for direct medium-high heat, about 425°F. Preheat a fish basket on the grill.

Coat the fish with olive oil, and then sprinkle the rub all over it. Brush the grill grate and coat the grate and the hot fish basket generously with oil. Put the fillets in the basket and the basket on the grill, directly over the heat. Cover and grill until the fish looks opaque on the surface, but is still filmy and moist in the center (an internal temperature of 130°F), 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the fillets to a large, shallow, nonreactive dish such as a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Pour the marinade mixture over the fish and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 2 days. Return to room temperature before serving.

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KEEP IT SIMPLE:

Replace the orange-cumin rub with store-bought Mexican chili powder or Cajun seasoning.

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LEAN, FIRM WHITE FISH FILLETS

Smokin’ Catfish with Cayenne Praline Crumble

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Catfish fillets consistently rank among the top five fish consumed in North America. Most catfish are farmed responsibly with little environmental impact. Wood smoke tastes particularly good with catfish, and in a tip of the tongs to Louisiana, crunch comes to this recipe from homemade praline spiked with cayenne, which is crumbled over the fillets. The praline can be made up to 2 weeks ahead and stored, covered, at room temperature.

INGREDIENTS:

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

½ cup pecans

¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like it hot)

1½ teaspoons dried thyme leaves

4 catfish fillets (6 to 8 ounces each), rinsed and patted dry

¼ cup Smokin’ Rub

½ cup olive oil

4 lemon wedges

DIRECTIONS:

Grease a baking sheet