Cookbook: Fish Forever

the appetizer:

Fish Forever by Paul Johnson emphasizes sustainable seafood with recipes, like Sopa De Fideo with Mussels and Aïoli, Braised Wreckfish with a Golden Pan Sauce and Red Pepper-Saffron Aïoli, and Peruvian Tiradito of White Sea Bass with Soy Dipping Sauce.

Fish Forever
The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood

by Paul Johnson

Click to buy Fish Forever

Today consumers and restaurant chefs alike are faced with a confusing array of choices at the fish market. Not only do they want assurances that their seafood is healthy and safe, but with a greater concern for the environment, they also want to make sure that the seafood they are enjoying has been captured in an environmentally responsible manner. Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood, by Paul Johnson, addresses these concerns.

Few people know more about fish than Johnson, whose Monterey Fish Market in San Francisco has supplied high-quality, sustainable seafood to some of the nation's most celebrated chefs such as Alice Waters, Michael Mina, Todd English and Alain Ducasse. Now, Johnson shares his unmatched seafood expertise in this indispensable guide to buying and preparing healthy, sustainable seafood.

He provides everything a cook would need to know on how to prepare delicious, safe, and environmentally-friendly fish and shellfish. Fish Forever offers in-depth profiles of 70 different types of fish along with over 90 international recipes that highlight the outstanding culinary qualities of each. In addition, Johnson demystifies the health concerns surrounding certain species of fish, with detailed information on mercury levels, the risks of seafood to pregnant women, and other contemporary health issues.

The variety of delicious dishes in this collection includes everything from Mediterranean Baked Cod and Catfish Tacos to Steamed Clams with Lemongrass and Bluefish Tartare with Rhubarb. All the recipes favor fresh, seasonal ingredients that are as healthful as the seafood. Butter and cream are used with a restrained hand, while good oils, citrus juices, vinegars, and herbs take front and center. These simple recipes convey the creativity and verve of a contemporary professional kitchen but are also comprehensible to the home cook. A full-color insert completes the package, with photos of plated dishes as well as gorgeous scenery shots from Johnson's Bay Area fish market.

With its accessible and authoritative advice, this book is a must-have for anyone who needs comprehensive, current information on preparing and enjoying quality seafood.

In addition to teaching readers about sustainable fishing practices, Johnson will be donating a portion of his royalties from Fish Forever to Save Our Wild Salmon (www.wildsalmon.org), an organization that works to restore wild salmon runs.

About the Author

Paul Johnson is the owner of the Monterey Fish Market, which he founded in 1979. The company includes a wholesale market operated off of San Francisco's Pier 33 as well as a retail outlet in Berkeley. Johnson promotes sustainably captured fresh fish and encourages ocean conservation, and over the years he has become a supplier to many top chefs, including Alice Waters, Paul Bertolli, Thomas Keller, Tracy DesJardin, Michael Mina, Todd English, Daniel Boulud, and Alain Ducasse. A former chef at restaurants, including San Francisco's In Season, he is the coauthor of The California Seafood Cookbook and currently serves on the advisory board of Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program.

Fish Forever

The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing
Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood
by Paul Johnson
Wiley 2007
Hardcover; 438 pages; US $34.95
ISBN 978-0-7645-8779-5 (076458779X)
Information provided by the publisher.

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