Fish

What better side dish to serve beside Cuban Pig (page 165) than moros y cristianos, or black beans and rice? Black beans are a staple of Cuban cooking, used in soups, stews, and sauces. Black beans can be traced back 7,000 years to southern Mexico and Central America, and their popularity has spread throughout the Caribbean and the southern United States, especially the Southwest and Florida. This spicy and filling recipe breaks the mold on traditional barbecue side dishes but can also be served as a complete meal.

An open-faced sandwich that cries out for a glass of cold lemonade or beer.

We’ve come to love Old Bay seasoning for its aromatic flavor. (See photo)

Let your oven do the work on this juicy, piquant fish and the succulent red and orange roasted vegetables.

Breaded fish is one of our favorites. The richness of pine nuts nicely balances the lemon and herbs to make an irresistible dish. Use just about any fish: flounder, salmon, tilapia, perch, cod, snapper, catfish.

This stovetop method of braising results in moist fish and a flavorful pan sauce to serve over noodles or rice.

For a simple supper, we can’t imagine adding anything to this dish other than sliced tomatoes, zydeco music, and a little two-step.

Any firm fish is fine for this intensely flavored and aromatic dish. If you use thick fillets, such as salmon or tuna, and you have the time, coat the fish with the spice mixture and then cover and refrigerate for an hour or two to marinate.

This is one of the fastest yet most delectable fish preparations. Flounder is a delicate fish, so you need to use care (a wide spatula helps) when turning it to cook on the second side.

Monkfish is perfect for this recipe because it doesn’t fall apart. It has a wonderfully tender and succulent texture similar to lobster, but monkfish is less expensive. This dish is also good with other types of fish and other kinds of seafood, such as scallops, shrimp, or lobster.

This salmon, quickly roasted, is moist and flavorful with its sweet-salty glaze of mirin and miso.

This dish was inspired by one from Sisha’s native Chile: a fried fish with a traditional tomato and onion salad. In Chile, the onion is not a condiment in the salad but, rather, an ingredient in its own right. So as not to be overpowered by so much raw onion, we “shock” the onion first; this blunts the thrust of the onion without sacrificing its texture. The sparkling water in the batter lends a tempura-like quality. And since the traditional Chilean green chile is unavailable here, we use serrano chiles—smaller and about five times hotter than jalapeños, but thin-walled and easy to use.