Seafood

Salmon steaks are shaped sort of like a horseshoe and have the bone left in the center. They’re really thick and meaty and don’t stick like fillets, which means they’re perfect for the grill. Wild salmon is preferable to that raised in fish farms, as it tends to be healthier for you and taste better. Be sure to remove all the little pin bones with a pair of tweezers or have your fish guy do it. With the bounty of produce on the planet, I gotta say onions are probably my favorite vegetable. They can be transformed in so many different ways. This onion sauce is so velvety you’d swear there is butter in it. The trick is to cook the onions low and slow so they don’t brown or caramelize. This fennel hash is also killer with steak or eggs in the morning.

This might be the easiest recipe in the book and one you’ll pull out over and over again for its ease and deliciousness. All you need are a few good ingredients and a hot grill. When it comes to buying fresh tuna, the species, or even the bright red color, is not necessarily an indicator of quality. In fact, fatty tuna, which is more desirable, is often paler but of no lesser quality. Fresh tuna is shiny, bright, and redolent of the ocean; it should talk to you. The Provençal vinaigrette is a full-flavored condiment you’ll want to have on hand—always! Use it on everything from grilled fish to crostini and sandwiches. If you want to serve the tuna with another side dish, Sautéed Broccoli Rabe (page 192) is a good choice.

This Mediterranean-inspired dish not only is light and healthy, but also has depth of flavor with a contrast of textures and temperatures. Most home cooks tell me they’re intimidated by cooking fish with skin on; they find it tears or doesn’t crisp up as it should. There are two keys to success: one is patience and the other is a well-seasoned cast-iron pan, preferably one that has gone through generations of use. The second alternative is to cheat and use a nonstick frying pan.

One of the kings among Gulf fish is definitely black grouper; I’m always compelled to order it when I see it on a menu. The fish boasts a subtle sweet flavor and fine texture, its creamy white flesh just firm enough to hold together when you cut into it. Black grouper is caught locally off the coast of Florida and sadly is often overlooked around the rest of the country. If you can’t locate some good grouper, striped bass or red snapper is a terrific substitute. The tangy lemon aïoli is a great all-purpose condiment to serve with poached shellfish or steamed vegetables. Here it also provides some relief from the richness of the dish, particularly the unctuous pancettacoated Brussels sprouts.

I’m crazy about the deep nuttiness of fregola (Italian couscous) and I’m always looking for new ways to show it off. When cooked in the style of a risotto, fregola gets really creamy and is a change from typical Arborio rice. Fresh corn turns this creamy risotto into summer goodness. The familiar flavors are boosted by the addition of shrimp and a topping of creamy melted leeks, which also makes a fabulous side dish on its own.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to topping pizza. Here, sweet shrimp meet spicy chorizo sausage, slightly bitter escarole, and salty Manchego cheese. The combination is out of this world! If you haven’t explored making your own pizza yet, let this be one to try with the family.

This gorgeous salad is the perfect balance of hot, sweet, salty, and sour that is the core of Thai cuisine. The cool mixture of mango, onion, and radish is topped with hot crunchy fried fish. This salad is downright addictive and will blow you away with its tastebud-awakening flavors and mix of textures. When cutting the fish, don’t worry if the pieces are not perfectly uniform. Take note: this salad doesn’t like to sit around, so serve it as soon as you can after you fry the fish. Leftover soy-lime vinaigrette will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to five days and is awesome tossed with chilled soba noodles or served as a dipping sauce for dumplings.

Grapefruit and crab are a classic combo; the addition of pickled radishes is both a colorful and surprising flavorful enhancement. Leftover vinaigrette will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to two days and goes great with all shellfish, particularly shrimp.

This mix of lobster, avocado, and papaya is a luxurious alternative to your everyday salad. It’s sweet and creamy, perfect in the summer on a hot day. With the exception of cutting the avocado, all of the ingredients for the salad can be prepared ahead of time. Then, assembling the salad becomes a quickie. Leftover jade dressing will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to two days and is fantastic with grilled lamb chops.

Clams steamed in beer is a favorite pub dish, and for good reason. The aroma of the hops in beer perfumes the shellfish and the malty flavor adds an extra roundness to the broth. Your kitchen will smell amazing! The sweetness of the clams, the licorice essence of fennel, the salty-smoky depth of bacon, and the slight bitterness of the stout make this a complex and flavor-packed dish.

I know it’s a bold statement, but this is the best damn crab cake you’re ever gonna eat! Unlike most recipes, this one doesn’t depend on bread crumbs or any other filler to hold the crab together. Sweet, succulent crab is mixed with not much more than butter and cream, which, when chilled, binds the crab cake together beautifully. When panfried, the outside gets crisp and brown while the butter melts inside, and what you bite into are warm lumps of luscious crab. When you want to pull out all the stops, this dish is impressive, elegant, and looks and tastes fantastic. The crab cake mixture is best if made ahead so it has sufficient time to chill and harden. For an hors d’oeuvre, form the crab mixture into mini cakes. The super simple carrot butter sauce adds not only a bit more richness but also a subtle sweetness and vibrant color. Try it with grilled fish, too.

Escabeche is a classic Spanish preparation in which you sear fish or meat, then marinate it in a vinegar sauce until it’s sort of pickled. Unlike ceviche, which is raw fish “cooked” by citrus juice, escabeche is cooked first. The bracing and acidic vinegar cuts through oily fish such as kingfish (also called king mackerel), herring, or bonito just perfectly. This super simple dish makes a light, flavorful starter that wakes up the taste buds and hits the spot on a hot day.

Ceviche is a much-loved dish in Miami, with a million delicious variations. In a nutshell, it’s seafood that is prepared by marinating in citrus juice, which makes the fish more opaque and firm, just as if it had been cooked with heat. I like to keep my recipe pretty straightforward and often use grouper, a favorite local fish. If you want to play around with other kinds of seafood, snapper, striped bass, scallops, and halibut are all the right texture. Whichever you choose, it’s important to start with the freshest, cleanest fish possible. The bright, refreshing combo of orange, lemon, and lime with creamy avocado and sweet mango makes for a great balance of texture, flavor, and visual appeal. If I had to describe it, I’d say it tastes like sashimi salsa! A little of the kimchi base adds another level of pow. You can sub a good hot sauce but trust me; it’s crazy good with the kimchi! As with all cold preparations, all of the ingredients should be cold to start. Also take the time to chill your serving bowls to ensure the dish is enjoyed at the proper temperature. For a cocktail party, serve the ceviche in tablespoons or wonton spoons as single bites.

In a good oyster stew, the oyster liquor is as important as the meat itself: the point is to surround the warm, barely cooked oysters with a rich, briny cream. Use only very fresh, tasty oysters; since the only other ingredients are cream and butter, the stew will only be as flavorful as the oysters themselves. Serve with a stack of crisp hot buttered toast.

In restaurants, raw oysters tend to be disappointing and expensive. At home they are a slightly messy but relatively cheap treat. Skip the sweet cocktail sauce and serve them with a bottle of good hot sauce—classic and delicious.

Black drum is a terrific fish—meaty and satisfying but still delicate. It’s often compared to overfished grouper but is more flavorful and less tough, and its skin cooks up crisp and savory. If you can’t find drum, black cod (sablefish) from Alaska or wild striped bass is a good substitute.

The amount of crab and shrimp you need will depend on appetites and on how well your guests know each other. When you serve crabs in mixed company, even dear friends will shock you with their daintiness, but if it’s a family dinner, as ours is tonight, you might expect people to put away eight or ten crabs apiece. If crabs aren’t available, a seafood boil is equally delicious with just shrimp, especially if they are wild ones, still fresh enough to have their heads on.