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SIMPLEST STEAMED FISH

FLOUNDER POACHED IN BROTH

SPARKLING CIDER-POACHED FISH

GRILLED FISH THE MEDITERRANEAN WAY

FISH BAKED WITH LEEKS

COD CAKES WITH GINGER AND SCALLIONS

COD WITH CHICKPEAS AND SHERRY

EMMA’S COD AND POTATOES

ROAST MONKFISH WITH CRISP POTATOES, OLIVES, AND BAY LEAVES

ROAST MONKFISH WITH MEAT SAUCE

GRAVLAX

SALMON BURGERS

HERB-RUBBED SALMON

ROAST SALMON STEAKS WITH PINOT NOIR SYRUP

ROAST SALMON WITH SPICY SOY OIL

SALMON ROASTED IN BUTTER

SALMON AND TOMATOES COOKED IN FOIL

TUNA OR SWORDFISH WITH ONION CONFIT

TUNA AU POIVRE

GRILLED SWORDFISH “SANDWICH” WITH GREEN SAUCE

SHAD ROE WITH MUSTARD

FISH TACOS WITH FRESH SALSA

SIMPLEST STEAMED FISH

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 10 MINUTES

IF YOU HAVE forgotten how delicious a fillet of fish can be, do this: Steam it, with nothing. Drizzle it with olive oil and lemon. Sprinkle it with salt. Eat it. If the number of ingredients and technique are minimal, the challenge is not. You need a high-quality and uniformly thick piece of fish to begin with, your timing must be precise—which is all a matter of attention and judgment, really—and your olive oil flavorful. That taken care of, there is no better or easier preparation.

1½ pounds cod, red snapper, grouper, striped bass, sea bass, or halibut in 2 pieces or 1 large halibut steak

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

Coarse salt

1. Put at least 1 inch of water in the bottom of a steamer (see Note), cover, and bring to a boil. Put the fish on the steamer’s rack—making sure the rack is elevated above the water—cover again, and steam for 4 to 8 minutes, or until the fish is done. You must check often—taking care not to scald yourself when removing the steamer’s lid—and stop the cooking the instant a thin-bladed knife meets no resistance when poking the fillet. (A good-sized halibut fillet may require 10 or even 12 minutes.)

2. Transfer the fish to a warm platter and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with coarse salt and serve.

VARIATION

Simplest Steamed Fish with Soy

You can drizzle the fish with anything you like in place of the olive oil and lemon. Try, for example, a drizzle of soy sauce and a little minced peeled fresh ginger and/or chopped scallion.

NOTE

To jerry-rig a steaming vessel, I use a large oval casserole with a rack that fits in it; it was designed for roasting meat. Since the rack sits only about a quarter of an inch above the bottom, though, I have to elevate it, which I do by resting it on a couple of glass ramekins. As long as you have a large rack that fits inside of a larger pot, you will figure something out.

FLOUNDER POACHED IN BROTH

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 20 MINUTES

THIN FISH FILLETS can be tricky to prepare, mostly because they fall apart the instant they’re overcooked. But the fact that quarter-inch-thick fillets of flounder, sole, and other flatfish take so little time to cook can be an advantage. By poaching them in barely hot liquid, you slow the cooking and gain control. By flavoring the liquid first with a quick-cooking aromatic vegetable, you create a dish that needs only bread or rice to become a meal. Unlike with broiling or sautéing, the fish never dries out.

The traditional liquid for poaching fish is court bouillon, a stock made from scratch using fish bones, onions, carrots, and celery enhanced with white wine and herbs. Assuming you don’t have any court bouillon on hand—and who does?—my poaching liquid of choice is chicken stock, and the canned variety is fine, because you’re going to add flavor to it, and quickly, in the form of leeks and fish.

2 cups chicken stock or one 14- or 15-ounce can

Three 1-inch-thick leeks

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1½ pounds flounder or other thin fish fillets

1. Put the stock in a large skillet that can be covered and turn the heat to high. Let it boil and reduce by about half while you prepare the leeks. Trim the leeks of the root and green end; cut the white part in half the long way and rinse thoroughly. Chop each half into ⅛- to ¼-inch-thick semicircles, adding