How to Make Fish More Appealing

My Mom, good cook though she was, was not an ace at making fish. Her broiled salmon was delicious, but beyond that, well, .... let's just say she didn't love fish, didn't want to experiment with it and so we didn't have a lot of fresh fish for dinner.

Same for my grandmother, except for once a summer when my father, uncles and assorted other men would go for their once a year fishing trip and come back with either mackerel or bluefish.

Now, everyone knows that if you come from a family that doesn't particularly love fish, mackerel and bluefish are not the ones you would pick for the once-in-a-while fish dinner. But that's what the men caught during the summer (when we would always be at my grandmother's place).

My grandma did her best with what -- and who -- she had to work with. I was -- and remain -- a devout fish lover, along with my cousin Leslie, but we were the only ones. 

For everyone else, grandma had to be creative.  Even as a child I realized that what she did to make the fish more palatable was to smother it with other ingredients that would not only distract from the strong flavor of those oily fish, but also make the dish more attractive so that we would all want to eat the dish placed in front of us.

It worked every summer. Everyone regarded that fish dinner as a winner.

You can make this recipe for the darker, oilier fish such as mackerel and bluefish, but it's also wonderful with plain old mild cod, which most people prefer.

Roasted Cod

• 4 6-8 ounce chunks of fresh cod
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large shallot, chopped
• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 12 pitted olives (green or black), cut in half
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 cup matzo meal or bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the fish in a lightly oiled casserole dish. Pour the vegetable oil over the fish chunks and rub to spread the oil on the top surface of each chunk. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Scatter the garlic and shallot on top. Scatter the plum tomatoes and olives on top, then sprinkle with parsley and dill. Finally, scatter the matzo meal or bread crumbs on top. Roast for 12-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, or until the fish is cooked through.

Makes 4 servings

Roasted Arctic Char with Meyer Lemon and Rosemary

Arctic char is one of my favorite kinds of fish to eat. It's delicate but has lots of flavor and besides, Ed likes it too, though fish is never his first choice for dinner. 

It's also easy to dress Arctic char up and it takes very little time to cook. This entire recipe required about 15 minutes from start to finish. That's a good thing for busy midweek isn't it?

I used Meyer lemon because they're available now, but regular lemon would be just good for this recipe.

 

ROASTED ARCTIC CHAR WITH MEYER LEMON AND ROSEMARY

• 20-24 ounces Arctic char
• 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon grated Meyer lemon peel

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the fish on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Set aside. Combine the Meyer lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, rosemary, Dijon mustard and Meyer lemon peel in a bowl and mix to combine the ingredients. Spread this mixture evenly over the fish. Roast for about 10 minutes or until the top is lightly crispy.

Makes 4 servings

Salmon, Potato and Spinach Patties

Salmon, Potato and Spinach Patties (Croquettes, Latkes)

It’s funny how despite the years that pass and the changes we all make to our diets, there are some foods we never give up. For me, one of those dishes is salmon latkes. Ed won’t eat them. This is a solo thing.

Salmon latkes were also my Mom’s favorite go-to dish (red canned salmon, she insisted). She made them for herself. My Dad didn’t wouldn’t eat them. 

When April comes I think about salmon latkes more because it’s the month my mom passed away and yahrzeits always conjure memories, don’t they?

So I have been thinking salmon latkes lately.

Unlike my mom, I can’t let a recipe go without thinking about how I could change it. How many salmon latke variations can I create?

Well, not as many as banana bread, but when you’ve got leftover (or canned) salmon, there’s a lot you can do with it. 

Here’s the latest version. It’s a good dish for Passover either to replace gefilte fish as a fish course at a Seder, or for lunch or even dinner (make larger burger-type patties).                                                                                                                                 

Salmon, Potato and Spinach Patties (Croquettes, Latkes)

• 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes

• 12 ounces cooked salmon

• 1 cup packed baby spinach leaves, washed, dried and coarsely chopped

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup matzo meal

• 2 chopped scallions

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1/4 cup matzo meal

• vegetable oil

Peel the potatoes, cut them into chunks and cook them in lightly salted boiling water for about 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and place in a bowl. Mash the potatoes with a fork. Add the salmon and spinach and mix the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Add the eggs, 1/2-cup matzo meal, scallions, lemon juice, parsley, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Mix the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Shape the mixture into 16-20 small patties. Press the patties into the remaining 1/4-cup matzo meal, to coat both sides. Heat about 1/4-inch vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Fry the patties for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown and crispy. Serve 2 patties per person.

Makes 8-10 first course servings

Salmon Latkes with Lemon-Scented Mayo on Matzo

Half a lifetime went by before I understood the unique wonderfulness of sandwiches on matzo. As a kid I felt awkward and embarrassed bringing cream cheese and jelly or egg salad sandwiches on matzo in my school lunch.

No matter that several other kids did the same thing. I thought it was weird and I hated it.

Nevertheless, even then I had to confess, if only to myself, that those sandwiches were really really good. The crunch and crispiness of matzo was perfection against anything soft inside. So if it was anything creamy or tender, like tuna or chicken salad, well, that was good. If weird.

Roast beef? Not so much. Too hard to chew a piece while at the same time trying to keep the matzo from crumbling into a million pieces.

My Mom sometimes made salmon latkes to eat on matzo. I would never bring this to school. Much too weird I thought. Too fishy. It might smell.

Kids are embarrassed by those sorts of things.

But at home? Well, salmon latkes on matzo (with a dollop of lemon-scented mayo) is a real treat.

Try it for yourself!

SALMON LATKES WITH LEMON-SCENTED MAYO ON MATZO

• · 2 cups mashed cooked salmon

• · 2 large eggs

• · 1/2 cup matzo meal

• · 1 small grated onion, optional

• · 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, optional

• · salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• · vegetable oil

• · mayonnaise

• · lemon juice

• · grated fresh lemon peel

• · matzos

In a bowl, mix the salmon, eggs, matzo meal, onion, if used, dill and salt and pepper to taste until well combined. Heat about 1/8-inch vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Shape the salmon mixture into 8-10 cakes. Fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Eat plain or with Lemon-Mayo on Matzo.

Makes 8-10

For each portion Lemon-Mayo, mix mayonnaise (2 tablespoons) with 2 teaspoons lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel per portion. Spread on a half piece of matzo, top with one salmon latke.

Snapper in Coconut Curry

When I was a kid I thought fish was a white rectangle that came from a box in the freezer. My mother didn’t like fish except for salmon, so we didn’t eat it much. My Dad went fishing once or twice a summer and my grandmother would cook some delicious mackerel or bluefish that day. But that was it. That boxed fish tasted like it looked — like a piece of white painted wallboard.

I eventually learned to love fish, fresh fish, later in life. White fish, blue fish, mild fish, strong fish. (This one has a little star! Say, what a lot of fish there are! (thanks Dr. Seuss)).

And although I will sometimes grill or broil a fillet simply, with a brushing of olive oil and sprinkle of salt and some bread crumbs, I prefer to cook fish with sauces, salsas, relishes, compound butters and interesting seasonings so that my husband, who says he likes fish but is really more on my mother’s side of the ledger fishwise, will eat it more readily.

Yesterday I bought snapper and made this spicy preparation that combines tomatoes, ginger, chili peppers and curry powder, balanced with rich, vaguely sweet coconut milk. Absolutely first rate delicious and incredibly easy to cook. And you can see for yourself that it looks good on the plate, so it’s suitable for company. You can make it with any mild, white fleshed fish.

Snapper in Coconut Curry

• 2 pounds snapper or other mild, white fleshed fish

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 3 scallions, chopped

• 2-4 dried red chili peppers

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger

• 1 teaspoon curry powder

• 1-1/2 cups coconut milk

• 1 medium tomato, chopped

• salt to taste

Cut the fillets into smaller pieces and set aside. Heat the vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the scallions, chili peppers, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes to soften the vegetables. Sprinkle in the curry powder, stir and pour in the coconut milk. Add the tomato, bring to a simmer and cook for 8-9 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste. Add the fish, spoon to sauce on top and cook for 5-6 minutes or until cooked through. Nice served over rice.

Makes 4 servings