Tips & Techniques Book Briefs Williams-Sonoma Collection: Fish
Williams-Sonoma Collection: Fish
From delicate Dover sole to flavorful wild salmon, fish often holds a place of honor on restaurant menus. Now, guided by Fish, part of the Williams-Sonoma Collection series, you'll see how easy it is to cook quick, healthful meals at home with fresh seafood.

A staple from California to Calcutta, fish is an ideal canvas for flavors from around the world. Italian fennel and Thai green curry, Provençal rouille and Spanish escabeche—you'll discover new ingredients and techniques while learning to cook both freshwater and saltwater fish.

An experienced chef, teacher and writer of authoritative books on fish cookery, author Shirley King presents more than 40 recipes that will appeal to novices and experts alike. She features simple, light dishes that make the most of fish's fresh flavor and delicate texture, such as pan-roasted salmon in mango juice, plus heartier fare like braised monkfish with bacon and tomatoes.

Treat yourself to crispy, golden fish and chips from across the Atlantic, or try a nuevo Latino recipe for grilled mahimahi fillets paired with a cumin-infused tomatillo sauce. Tuna burgers, formed from chopped fresh tuna, are seared on the grill, then dressed up with lemon-chive mayonnaise and tucked inside slices of brioche bread. Grilled halibut steak is transformed with citrus, watercress and black olives. A chapter on shellfish reveals how to extract a lobster tail in one perfect piece and how to identify various types of mussels. Once comfortable with the fundamentals, adventurous cooks can move on to curing salmon or baking a whole pompano in a salt crust, which helps retain flavor and juices.

A full-page color photograph accompanies every recipe, and photo-illustrated sidebars provide tips on special ingredients and techniques, such as baking fish in parchment paper. The basics section covers the essentials of choosing, cleaning and cooking fish. Photos show you how to fillet a whole fish, while recipes for fish stock and simple rubs, sauces and salsas will build a solid foundation for your creativity. The detailed glossary includes helpful descriptions of fish, from anchovies to whitefish.

Whether you're looking for dependable everyday recipes to expand your repertoire or a celebratory dish to impress your guests, you'll find just what you need in Williams-Sonoma's Fish.