Fish, Anyone?

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Freight Station Farmers Market this morning to shop and to sample the fish that I was cooking. Beth Nowak (to the right) sells fish that her brother Jim catches in Alaskan waters and she supplied the samples that I cooked.

Beth gave me some Salmon, smoked Sablefish, and an Idiotfish to work with. Idiotfish is the colloquial name for any of several Rockfish/Scorpionfish that range from the northern US west coast up to Alaska, across the Aleutians, and down to Japan. More on Idiotfish in a subsequent post.

Idiotfish, also known by its Japanese colloquial name kinki, is a high oil (good omega-3 source), white fish. It has a fairly fine texture with an oil content similar to sablefish. It's very tasty and because of the oil can stand up to big flavors. Here it is as Pimentón-Crusted Idiotfish with Chorizo, Tomatoes, Olives, and Almonds.

Here's a piece of salmon (it looked like the tail of a red salmon, but the species doesn't matter) in a red Thai curry with Thai basil and kaffir lime.

Not shown are several dishes including a chowder made from fish stock (from the bones and fins of the Idiotfish and the skin of the Sablefish), smoked Sablefish, parsnips, leeks, onions, Yukon Gold potatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and heavy cream.

Beth was handing out a series of recipes that I developed for her many, many years ago. Ask her for a copy next time you're at the market, if you want tips on how to cook fish. It also goes through standard chowder procedure at length.