Bass

Happy Noodle Restaurant uses local farmraised hybrid striped bass, rated a "Best Choice" by Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch guide, for this Thai-inspired dish.

This recipe epitomizes what a great ceviche should be—crunchy, sweet, savory, tart, and rich all in one bite. Corvina, a type of sea bass, is the most widely used fish in South America for ceviche, and is very forgiving for the novice. Its firm, lean flesh holds up better to acid and is easy to either thinly slice or dice. The combination of sweet potato and raw marinated fish is common in Peru, although there the potato might be roasted whole, sliced, and served fanned at the edge of a plate of ceviche similar to this crunchy, tart version. As you eat the marinated fish, pull away bites of sweet potato from the edge of the dish and enjoy both components at once. Don't be swayed to leave out the sweet potato garnish—you must try both the tart, firm fish and the potato in the same bite to really understand and savor how they work together. Leftover sweet potatoes make a great side dish for spicy foods.

Some Italian cooks would never combine cheese and seafood, but feel free to grate a little Pecorino Romano over the striped bass before serving. "In Puglia, fish and cheese go together," says Donatella.

Sea bass are generally found swimming in the tanks of Chinatown fish markets. They are usually small because the fishmongers also sell to restaurants, which typically like to steam the larger fish. Steaming, as I have noted, is the preferred way for cooking whole live fish. But if you are unable to find a live fish, fresh flounder, sole, or red snapper will do nicely for this recipe.

Traditional chowders all start off with a hearty soup base of onions and potatoes, and that makes a good soup just by itself. To this fragrant base you then add chunks of fish, or clams, or corn, or whatever else seems appropriate. (Note: You may leave out the pork and substitute another tablespoon of butter for sautéing the onions.)

Sandwiching meaty black sea bass fillets together with an aromatic filling of red onion and fresh oregano perfumes the fish as it roasts. It tastes—and looks—wonderful topped with a colorful salad of small tomatoes, olives, and more oregano. The peppery, lemony herb, native to the Mediterranean, is a natural with fish.

The advantage of cooking something in parchment is that it steams in its own juices. Here, sea bass is baked with a heady combination of sake, soy sauce, and ginger. Pair it with stir-fried bok choy and cabbage for a straightforward yet sophisticated dinner.

Nutty fried cauliflower florets plus raw shavings of the vegetable's stem give flaky striped bass more complexity (and panache) than the usual fish with lemon.

Serve with crusty bread.

Your market basket loaded with produce, olive oil, and fish, you saunter home to your idyllic farmhouse and marinate the vegetables. The following evening, you invite your friends over. Berets optional.

These tacos don't come from a particular town or restaurant; rather, they incorporate elements from many different Yucatán grill masters. The preparation may look complicated, but it's actually pretty easy—because your guests assemble the tacos themselves.

Look for fish that's 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. It sounds counterintuitive, but farmed fish is a better choice when raised inland, in recirculating water (rather than in crowded netpens in the wild). At the market, ask your fishmonger where the fish comes from.

Delicate, sophisticated flavors come together almost effortlessly with the help of miso, a Japanese staple.

Fish is a good choice for a quick meal, and preparing this sprightly dill sauce from the pan juices (rather than using a stock) will really save you time.

Treat your taste buds to meals that incorporate all six flavors, like this one from Teresa Long, in-house nutritionist at the Chopra Center for Wellbeing.

In this dish, the mint pesto says spring every bit as much as the carrots do.

Roasting the fish in salt makes it very moist — without, surprisingly, making it taste too salty. The lemony salsa verde adds zing and freshness that contrast nicely with the roasted fish.