Halibut

Try halibut, mahi-mahi, or tilapia in this recipe, too. Leeks and bacon are so delish . . . add some fish and they become good for you, too.

This dish is fast and healthy and incorporates a favorite Sicilian combo: oranges, red onions, and oregano.

Serve the soup in shallow bowls and pass crusty bread for mopping.

I used to make this dish with fillets of halibut until the cost, at least in New York, made me look at other fish. Now I use cod or hake. They both flake a bit more but still manage to hold their shape. Salting them ahead of time helps hold them together. I like to use fresh tomatoes even if they are out of season, as they are gentler in flavor. I grate the tomatoes on the coarsest part of a four-sided grater (see method on page 289), which removes the skin but keeps the seeds. Four medium tomatoes will yield roughly 1 3/4 cups of fresh puree, about what you need here. Light and lovely, this dish is best served with rice. I like to add a dal and perhaps a green, leafy vegetable.

If you are looking for a superbly elegant, gentle dish, look no further. In a long line of meats and seafood grilled after they have been marinated very simply in a paste of fresh ginger, garlic, and chilies, this dish is a great family favorite. Have the fishmonger remove the halibut skin. I like to serve this with Karhai Broccoli and a potato or rice dish.

It takes a very hot oven to roast this fish, and the results are incredible! The halibut is gently browned on the outside. You’d never be able to accomplish this “blast of hot air” in a conventional oven because the circulating heat hits everything at one time. Sometimes I add a few baby potatoes, scrubbed and quartered, or a quartered fennel bulb, tossed in melted butter and scattered around the fish. They’ll be done at the same time as the halibut.

This is a fast and easy method for preparing firm, thick fish fillets. A heavy skillet with a ridged bottom will produce nice grill marks when preheated in the oven. Serve this fish with stir-fried Asian noodles or spaghetti tossed with sautéed bok choy, green onions, and any type of sprouts, seasoned with minced garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.

A coating of herbed mayonnaise keeps the fish moist while it bakes.

This tasty sauce goes well with all kinds of fish. In the recipe, I use firm white fish, frying the fillets first, then briefly simmering them in the sauce. The acidity and intensity of the sauce also complement more oily fish, such as bluefish and mackerel. I like to grill bluefish whole (rather than fry them), then remove the skin and bones, and serve topped with sauce.

Strawberries are a gem at the gym. Their vitamin C helps you melt up to 30 percent more fat during exercise.

Thai red curry paste, unsweetened coconut milk, and fish sauce are available in the Asian foods section of most supermarkets. Serve this curry over steamed jasmine rice.

Making a parchment envelope in which to steam a fillet of fish surrounded by aromatic vegetables may sound a bit fancy for just one, but cooking in parchment is actually one of the simplest and most effective ways of steaming, because it seals in the flavors. What a treat it is to have that golden-tinged, puffed-up half-moon of parchment on your plate, and then to tear it open and breathe in all the heady aromas. Moreover, you’ll have no cleanup afterward; just wipe off the Silpat mat and throw away the parchment after you’ve scraped and scooped up every last delicious morsel and its jus. If you want just one meal out of this, get about a 6-ounce fillet of flounder, halibut, salmon, red snapper—whatever looks good. Or, as I did recently, try tilapia, which is quite readily available these days and at a reasonable price. But bought almost twice the amount I needed, so I could play with the other half of the cooked fillet a couple of days later. I learned from Katy Sparks, whose book, Sparks in the Kitchen, is full of great cooking tips from a chef to the home cook, the trick of pre-roasting several slices of new potato so they can go in the parchment package. This way you have a complete, balanced meal-in-one cooked all together.

A little coconut milk adds richness to this sophisticated dish from the Sugar Mill restaurant at Rosewood Little Dix Bay.

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.

Tomatillos are usually the star of salsa verde, but pureed zucchini makes a surprisingly convincing stand-in.

A coating of egg and panko (rather than a heavy batter) makes these lighter than the average fish stick. Plus, they’re sautéed rather than deep-fried.