You Asked for It: Favorite SanFranFishCo Recipes

Here is a selection of some of our most popular recipes:

• Featured spring recipe: BBQ Head On Gulf Shrimp
• Featured winter recipe: Shellfish Stew with White Beans and Chorizo
• Allen's All-Purpose Fish-Cooking Method
• Miso Marinated Broiled Black Cod With Cucumber Relish
• Pasta with Tuna, Tomatoes, Garlic, Capers, and Olives
• Wild Striped Bass with Wild Mushrooms
• Whole Grilled Fish
  
• Gazpacho
• Baked Whole Fish in Salt Crust
  Roasted Crab
  Bouillabaisse
• Shrimp Creole
  
• Sea Bass in Green Curry
  
• Honey-Mustard Glazed Salmon served with tossed green salad
• Grilled Fish Tacos with Mango or Pineapple Salsa
• Monkfish with Almonds, Sweet Red Peppers & Saffron
• Basil Pesto Crusted Skate Wings

Allen's All-Purpose Fish-Cooking Method

This method uses two quick, easy steps: searing one side of the fish on the stove and then baking it in the oven. The result is a nice crispness on one side and a moist, succulent inside.

Preheat your oven or toaster oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat a cast-iron skillet or other oven-proof pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add a little oil and sear the fish on one side - the skin side, if the piece of fish that you're cooking has a skin - for one minute. Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and cook just until the meat is cooked through - about seven minutes per inch of thickness. Remove the fish from the oven and serve with a drizzle of good, extra-virgin olive oil or any spices or sauces that suit your mood.

(Note: If you don't have a single pan that you can use on the stove and in the oven, you can sear the fish in a sauté pan and then transfer it to a baking dish or aluminum pie pan that you've pre-heated in the oven.) 

Panko-Breaded Cod

Delicious with any of our varieties of cod—Rock, Ling, True or Black— this recipe is so simple.

Dredge the cod in flour, dip in egg wash, then roll in panko breading. Heat a skillet to medium high, add canola oil and pan fry. Finish with a squeeze of lemon, serve alongside a nice salad and you are all set.

Pan-Seared Scallops

This is a very simple dish where an ovenproof skillet is indispensable, allowing the fish to transfer from stove top to oven for the perfect balance of crispy and moist. 

Preheat oven to 450. Coat scallops with olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat skillet on high and sear the scallops for 1 minute. Transfer the pan to the oven for another 5 minutes. The result is a crisp bottom of the scallop, while the rest is cooked through and still moist. Yum! Add a nice salad, some rice and a glass of white wine and you’ve got a fabulous meal in no time.

Barbecued Head On Gulf Shrimp

 This is a popular New Orleans dish, found commonly on restaurant menus in the Big Easy. It makes a perfect springtime cajun feast.

2 lbs Fresh Gulf Shrimp (heads on)
2 Sticks butter
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1/2 cup beer
3-4 cloves garlic (finely minced)
1 Tablespoon parsley (finely chopped)
2 teaspoons fresh black pepper 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse shrimp in water and drain in colander. Combine all ingerdients in a sauce pan and gently saute for 10 minutes. Place shrimp in shallow roasting pan and pour sauce over them. Place pan in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve in soup bowls with lots of French bread for dipping sauce. Serves 4.

Shellfish Stew with White Beans and Chorizo

This easy to prepare stew is delicious and perfect for chilly winter nights. To make the base, simply soak the beans overnight. Rinse and cook them with fish or chicken stock until al dente. Then add the shellfish and chorizo to the base and garnish with chopped parsley.

The base:

1 pint of white beans soaked in water over night
4 stalks celery, med dice
1 yellow onion, med dice
1 T garlic
1t thyme
1/2 t Cayenne
1t sage
1t white pepper

The meat:

1/2 of a cooked and chopped piece of chorizo
8 mussels, preferably Mediterranean
6-8 clams, Manila or littleneck
1/2 lb of cleaned squid

Miso Marinated Broiled Black Cod with Cucumber Relish

1/2 C Mirin (sweet sake)
1/2 C sake
1 C yellow or white miso paste
3/4 C sugar
4 (6-8oz) black cod fillets
In medium saucepan bring the mirin and sake to a boil. Remove from heat, add the miso, and stir until dissolved. Add the sugar, return to a low heat and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Place fish in non-reactive baking dish. Poor cooled marinade over the fish and cover with plastic. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours. Preheat the broiler. Remove the fish from the marinade and place on the broiler pan. Broil for 6-10 min, depending on the size of the fillets and the height of the broiler element. I like mine to be 3-4 inches below.Remove from broiler and serve with rice and garnish with cucumber relish.
Cucumber Relish: 1 med cucumber peeled and thinly sliced; 1 t salt; 2 T rice wine vinegar; 2 t sugar; 1/4 t red pepper flakes
Sprinkle cucumber with salt and let drain for 20 min. Pat dry with paper towels. In a bowl, combine the cucumber slices with remaining ingredients.

Pasta with Tuna, Tomatoes, Garlic, Capers, and Olives 

1 pound pasta noodles (penne works well)                                                                                  
2 T extra virgin olive oil
6 med garlic cloves thinly sliced
2 T capers rinsed, roughly chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or 1 (28 oz can whole peeled tom chopped
2 anchovies finely minced
1/2 C black olives such as kalamata roughly chopped
1/2 C loosely packed parsley or basil leaves
1 lb local albacore tuna - poached and shredded
1 t salt; Black pepper to taste

Cook pasta in large pot. Place olive oil in sauté pan and minced garlic over medium heat. Cook until garlic is lightly golden. Add capers, anchovies, olives and tomatoes. Cook about 8 minutes until tomatoes start become sauce-like in texture. Mix in sauce with cooked pasta. Add parsley and tuna and season to taste.

Wild Striped Bass with Wild Mushrooms

1 1/2 -2 lbs of Striped Bass fillet skin on (scales removed)
3/4 - 1 lb of wild mushrooms like chanterelle or lobster
3 large shallots
1-2 lemons
1 cup basmati rice
1 T olive oil

The four of us had finally decided on which movie to go see and we had only about 40 minutes to eat and get going. So I went to work using the following recipe. The whole meal can be done in 20 - 25 minutes. Preheat over to 450 degrees. Sauté 1 finely diced shallot in butter, add rice and cook for 1 minute, coating it with butter. Add 1 ¾ cups liquid (water or stock) to the rice. Bring to a boil and then cover and cook on low heat for about 7-8 min, until done. Dry the bass fillets with some paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In large sauté pan over high heat add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Then add fish fillets, skin side down. Make sure the pan is hot so that the skin will be crispy. Cook for 2 minutes on skin side only and then transfer to the preheated oven. Cook for another 5 to 6 minutes in the oven.

While fish is in the oven, prepare the mushrooms in a pan with 3 tablespoons butter. Add 2 to 3 sliced shallots and then the sliced mushrooms. Cook for about 8 minutes or until tender. A nice bottle of wine and you’re all set.
 

Grilled Whole Fish

This is grilling season, and what better way to do it than to put the whole thing on the coals! With the right fish, very little preparation is required to produce an incredibly delicious meal. Keeping the fish whole almost always keeps it moist and flavorful. Be sure to ask us to scale and gut the fish for you, so all you'll need to do is coat it with olive oil and salt and pepper. Cooking times will vary, but a good rule of thumb is 8 minutes per inch of thickness. Be sure to coat your fish with a bit of oil and scrape down the bars of the grill just before putting fish on. Great fish for summer grilling include:

• Huachinango (or red snapper) out of the Gulf of Mexico
• Bronzini from Greece
• Striped Bass from California
• Tai Snapper from New Zealand
• Local mackerel
• Rouget
• Bluefish

Gazpacho

This is the perfect summertime soup. Cold and refreshing, this popular tomato-based favorite is a great complement to any seafood meal. The little known addition of clam juice adds a wonderful dimension to the full-bodied mix.

• 2 cucumbers
• 1 green onion
• 1/2 baguette
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 50 oz whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 English cucumber
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 cups clam juice

Peel and seed cucumbers and rough chop. Clean and rough chop green onions. Remove crust from baguette, retaining soft insides. Put the cucumbers, green onions, and soft part of the baguette in a
food processor or blender. Add the cucumber, green onion, garlic and bread. Puree and add vinegar to thin out. Transfer to a container, add the whole peeled tomatoes, puree and slowly add the olive oil. Transfer to the container with the cucumber green onion mixture. Dice the English cucumber and the green bell pepper and add to the soup. Mix in black pepper and clam juice. Chill and serve.

Baked Whole Fish in Salt Crust

This preparation keeps the fish moist and imparts a mouth watering yet subtle salt flavor, The crust takes just minutes to prepare. Be sure to keep the crust fairly thin; a 1/4 inch thick is about right. A number of different fish work well, especially snapper, striped bass, black bass and Tai snapper.

• 2 cups coarse kosher salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 whole fish that should weigh approximately 2 lbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the salt and flour. Add the water and stir to form a slightly stiff dough. The fish should be scaled and gutted, then rinsed and patted dry with paper towels. Scoop some of the dough onto the sheet pan about a 1/4-inch thick. Put the fish on top of the dough and then cover the top with another 1/4-inch thick layer until the whole fish is covered in the salt dough. Bake until the crust begins to golden (about 30 minutes). Slit the crust and peel it away from the fish and discard before serving the fish.

Roasted Crab

Serving Size: One crab per person.

This has become one of my favorite party dishes. It's quick and easy to prepare and always a guaranteed crowd pleaser. We recommend one crab per person if you intend to serve it as an entrée, or one crab for two people if served as an appetizer. Have the fishmonger kill the live crab for you. At home, put the crab in a large bowl with 4 to 5 cloves of smashed garlic, 2 tablespoons of good olive oil and a fair amount of kosher salt and pepper. Toss these ingredients together and put into a roasting pan. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and bake the crab for 12 to 14 minutes. The smell of roasting garlic is enough to get everyone excited. Some cold crisp white wine and fresh salad or pasta dish on the side, and life is good!

Bouillabaisse

Serves 6

• 1/2 orange zest
  1 fennel bulb
  1 leek
  1 yellow onion
  3/4 cup red wine
  2 teaspoons thyme
  2 bay leaves
  2 teaspoons fennel seed
  1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  6-8 threads saffron
  2-28 ounce cans chopped tomatoes
  1 pint fish stock
  1-2 pounds of firm fish chunks (swordfish, mahi-mahi, halibut, bass, etc.)
  1 pound medium prawns
  18 clams
  18 mussels

Honey-Mustard Glazed Salmon served with tossed green salad

Serves 4

• 4 6-8oz Wild King Salmon fillets
• 1 8oz container Honey-Mustard Glaze
• 8 cups mixed greens
• ½ pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup sliced cucumber
• ½ cup vinaigrette

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place salmon fillets onto an oiled baking tray. Brush liberally with Honey-Mustard Glaze. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through center or 145 degrees in the center with a meat thermometer.

While salmon is baking, prepare salad, toss all ingredients together in a large bowl and arrange onto four plates. When salmon is done, transfer each piece onto each plate. Serve with bread or rice pilaf.

Grilled Fish Tacos with Mango or Pineapple Salsa

This recipe works well with salmon, mahi-mahi, opah, escolar, or any other firm-fleshed fish. [If you're not up for grilling, you can cook the fish on the stove instead. Heat a cast-iron skillet or other heavy pan over medium-high heat, add a little oil, and cook the fish strips for 2-3 minutes each side.]

Serves 4

• * 4 6 oz fish fillets
•    * 1 8oz container mango or pineapple salsa
•    * 2 tbsp. minced garlic
•    * 2 tbsp. olive oil
•    * 1 tsp. ground cumin
•    * salt & pepper
•    * 2 limes
•    * 8 corn tortillas
•    * 2 cups shredded cabbage
•    * ½ cup shredded carrot
•    * ¼ cup chopped red onion

Heat grill to medium high temperature. Cut fish fillets into long strips about ½" thick. In a shallow dish mix garlic, olive oil, cumin,
juice of 1 lime, and salt & pepper to taste. Place fish strips in marinade and coat with mixture. Place in refrigerator and allow to sit in marinade 30 minutes. While the fish is marinating, toss cabbage, carrot, and red onion in a large bowl with juice of 1 lime. Season
with salt & pepper.

Place strips on hot grill coated with olive oil. Grill 2-3 minutes each side until done in the center. Meanwhile, soften corn tortillas
in a hot pan over the stove with a little olive oil. Place two tortillas on each plate. Load each taco with one strip of fish and a ¼ cup of cabbage mixture. Cover each taco with 2 tbsp. mango or pineapple salsa. Serve with rice and beans, or corn tortilla chips.

Monkfish with Almonds, Sweet Red Peppers & Saffron

Serves 4

• 1 1/3 lbs Monkfish
• 1 1/3 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 large Red Bell Peppers, cored, seeded and cut into strips
• ½ cup Whole Almonds or 1/3 cup ground almonds
• 1/3 tsp. Saffron threads
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/3 cup fish stock
• ½ tsp. Salt
• ½ tsp. white pepper or to taste
• 2/3 oz sliced almonds, toasted, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the fish in a buttered baking pan for 15 minutes. Let cool. Cut into medallions and set aside. Reserve the baking juice. Heat the oil in a large skillet, add the garlic and peppers and saute over low heat for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Grind the whole almonds finely in a food processor and add to the skillet with the saffron, wine, stock, reserved fish juices, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Transfer to food processor and puree. Return the sauce to the skillet with the fish medallions and heat through. Serve immediately garnishing with sliced almonds.

Basil Pesto Crusted Skate Wings

Serves 4

Time saving tip: instead of making fresh pesto, you can use your favorite store bought version.

• 1 large bunch of basil (use leaves only)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp. pinenuts
• 7 tbsp. olive oil
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese
• 1 ½ lbs skate wings (four 6 oz. pieces)
• ½ cup capers
• Flour for dusting
• Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place basil, garlic, pine nuts, and 6 tablespoons olive oil into food processor and process until it forms a paste. Add parmesan cheese and pulse to blend. Transfer to bowl and set aside. Wash the skate and pat dry. Mix flour with salt and pepper and lightly dust both sides of skate wings. Heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy frying pan and add skate wings. Cook 1-2 minutes each side then transfer to buttered baking tray. Spread pesto evenly over skate wings and bake until done (approximately 5 minutes). Toss the capers into the frying pan and saute until crispy. Place skate wings on serving dishes and sprinkle with crispy capers.