Too few people eat it and even less know how to cook it. I’d love to give you an education all about fish that took me years to learn. Forgive me. That’s a dumb remark, I promise to do my best to give you the crash course. The most essential thing is that fish deteriorates very quickly, so it has to be fresh. Buy your fish from a source which sells a great deal of product. A fishmonger. I shy away from supermarket fish, as their personnel generally aren’t very well trained. Never buy anything wrapped in plastic that you cannot smell. If you are in a plastic wrapped supermarket and actually plan to buy a piece, tear off the plastic and check it out. Buy it if it’s okay and if it isn’t, you are well within your rights to leave it there. Good fresh fish should not have a fishy odor. If you can smell it, then leave it alone. In my experience frozen fish is always poorer in quality than fresh. Texture always suffers. One more thing: never buy fish on Sunday; it has probably been out of the water since Thursday at least.
Keep an Eye On Things
All that said, I love to eat fish. I have my favorites, of course. But depending on what’s in the market, you can always find something to enjoy. Cookbooks will always give you cooking times, which can be terribly misleading. At best they are estimates, and you need to keep an eye on things. The older books tell you it’s done when it flakes with a fork. That’s partly true; fish is often overdone by the time it flakes, another reason for fish’s lack of popularity; it becomes dry. Learn to poke the fish while it is cooking. As it continues to cook it becomes firmer, and less tender. With a little practice you will learn the degree of firmness (doneness) you prefer. That’s how professionals do it, and it’s easy to get the hang of in a short time. I like my meats – and fish – juicy and tender with a firmness and some "chew." One fish I love is tuna, which is always better off cooked medium rare. More cooking makes it dry, less juicy. Go for slightly less cooking and you’ll have a happier meal. You’ll be surprised at how good it can be.
Most fish fall under the heading of ‘round fish’ with a spine and bones running down the center, and a filet on either side. A slice through the cross section is called a steak. I like to slice filets on the bias, and pound them slightly to even the thickness. You can always cut a standard size filet slice in half and piece the two halves together to form a boneless steak. I especially like to prepare salmon that way.

SALMON A LA PUTANESCA
Around 2 pounds of salmon, filets or steaks, floured, seasoned with S&P, sauteed in olive oil, cooked rare, set aside. Prepare the sauce: Saute 2 chopped anchovies, 3 cloves chopped garlic, 2 Tb. capers, S&P, a handful of Gaeta olives, pitted and sliced. Now add around a pound and a half of fresh plum tomatoes. Saute the mixture adding a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. Simmer the mixture, correct seasoning, Add the fish to the sauce, simmer again and baste the fish. Serve on warm plates. You can just as easily do this dish with swordfish steaks. You can comfortably serve this at room temperature just the way they do it in Italy.

MONKFISH SALAD WITH BASIL AIOLI
I’m counting on you to have mayonnaise in the fridge into which you can puree some fresh garlic. Also in your freezer you have some pesto, of course, and if not take some fresh basil and puree it with the garlic and mayo. A few drops of hot sauce finish the sauce. Monkfish is a lot like lobster in texture and needs to be cooked firm, contrary to many other fish. Poach slices of monkfish in water with white wine, a slice of onion, a few cloves, lemon, a bay leaf, some S&P and allow the fish to rest in the broth till it cools, remove from the cooked bouillon and chill well. Arrange on a plate, dabbed with the Aioli. Serve also with chilled poached spears of asparagus, and some fresh avocado and orange segments.

HALIBUT WITH TOMATOES
This is one of my favorites. Here is a summer specialty at Happy House when we are up to our necks in our home grown tomatoes: Saute the seasoned (S&P) halibut filets in a mixture of olive oil and butter, set aside onto a warm plate. In the same pan place a small amount of finely minced garlic, thick slices of garden ripe beef steak tomatoes, season with S&P and fresh basil leaves cut into slivers or chiffonade. Add more olive oil if needed. Be generous with the oil. Saute the tomatoes just enough to barely cook them, and slide them on top of the fish. Serve with a chilled rose wine.

SALMON GLAZED WITH BASIL MUSTARD
It’s summer and you need to use all the basil you can get your hands on. Of course you made pesto? Here is a grill recipe I like to use, and no matter how often I serve it, my guests are always happy to see it again. It’s a salmon dish but Chilean Sea Bass works very well, as does Striped Bass. Mix some pesto with some Dijon Mustard, and a squeeze of fresh lemon, around half and half and spread it on top of a filet of fish, which you have previously grilled just enough to get grill marks onto it. Place on the cooler part of the grill, and cover the grill so the fish bakes till done.

BASIL SAUCE
Into a blender place a few cloves of garlic and some vegetable oil, puree the garlic and then add a few handfuls of fresh basil leaves, and some salt to taste. Use coarse or Kosher salt. Keep this in the freezer and use it on pasta as well as on fresh tomato salads and in sauces.
Write to me! mymymichl@aol.com.
Love, Michael