Too many people are scared to cook fish. And that’s a good and bad thing. It’s good because it means fewer people are buying unsustainable, antibiotic-laced Atlantic salmon, overfished tuna, mercury bio-accumulating swordfish and mislabeled snapper. It’s bad because fish can be delicious, and once you’ve bought good quality, sustainable fish, you’ve got to know what to do with it.
Growing up, the only fish I ate were commercial breaded frozen fish sticks that my family popped in the microwave and the occasional cod au gratin, also cooked in the microwave and significantly more disgusting (because of the recipe, not because of the nature of the dish) than the fish sticks.
But when I was 19, I ate at my first fancy restaurant in St. John’s. Magnum and Stein’s. And for some reason I ordered the seared salmon. And there was nothing fishy about it. It was tender, with a crunchy sear on the top. It was years better than chicken. Millennia better than fish sticks.
From then on, I was hooked.
And I can thank Becky Selengut for teaching me how to not mess up fish. Her book Good Fish: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the Pacific Coast
That’s for the absolutely basic version. A mini step up is to sauté shallots too. Or add a little soy sauce to the pan once you flip the fish. Or a tiny bit of butter with the shallots after you take the fish out of the pan, then pour the contents over the plated fish…
In this recipe I roasted green beans with black peppercorns and mashed roasted sweet potatoes with honey. That’s a grand total of something like 6 ingredients, which means you can splurge on the fish since the rest is so basic. I used sustainable Pacific sockeye salmon and wild black cod (I’ve never seen unsustainable black cod. Does that exist? I know the Alaskan fishery where most of it come from is reputed to be one of the most well-managed in the world).
Seared Sockeye Salmon and Black Cod With Shallots
3 whole shallots, peeled and diced
4 fillets sustainable salmon (coho or keta are also good if they’re sustainable) or 4 fillets black cod, skin on
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter or Earth Balance (dairy-free spread)
1 lemon, sliced in half
Heat oil in a large skillet (cast-iron is great for even searing). Season the fish with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, add the shallots and sauté 8 minutes, until soft. Remove the shallots to a plate and add the fish skin-side-down. Don’t crowd the pan. The fillets shouldn’t touch. Sear 1 minute on each side, then add butter. Baste in butter for 3 minutes if making black cod or 1 if making salmon. Add the shallots back to the pan and stir for 30 seconds to coat in butter. Sprinkle over juice of half a lemon then remove from heat.
To serve, place a scoop of sweet potatoes on the plate followed by a fillet of the salmon or black cod. Pour over a quarter of the shallots in butter sauce. Place green beans on the side. Serve with wedges of remaining half a lemon.
Sweet Potatoes with Honey
Roast these long before you even start thinking about searing the fish. If you’re rushed, cut them into chunks and boil them for 5 or so minutes until soft instead. If you can find purple Asian yams, use those. They’re sweeter. The pale orange ones that are smaller than the ones you normally find at the grocery store are usually also sweeter.
4 large sweet potatoes or 6 small sweet potatoes
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt, divided
2 tbsp honey
Wash sweet potatoes and poke all over with a fork. Coat with oil and half the salt. Place on baking sheet or roasting pan and roast in preheated 400˚F oven for 35 minutes or until soft and black caramel has started to ooze from the holes. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes. Scoop out flesh from the sweet potato into a large bowl and add the honey and remaining salt while still hot. Mash with a fork.
Roasted Green Beans with Black Peppercorns
1 lb green beans, edges trimmed (reserve for stock if you make your own)
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp olive oil
pinch of salt
toss ingredients together in a large bowl. Roast in preheated 400˚F oven for 10 minutes. Scrape beans to unstick from pan and shake them around a little. Roast 5 minutes more.
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