Seafood Recipes

Spiked with a pinch of cayenne, tart pomegranate molasses and savory-sweet date syrup give this gently roasted salmon layers of flavor and a gorgeous bronzed exterior. Choose higher-fat king or Atlantic salmon for best results; if using a skinless fillet, spray the baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray first.

Gefilte Fish is a dish made from a poached seasoned ground fish and served as an appetizer in Ashkenazi Jewish households, most traditionally during Passover. This recipe starts with a whole whitefish, turning the fillets into flavorful gefilte fish, and the trimmings into stock. You can find whole whitefish at some supermarkets and delis, and can ask your fishmonger to grind the fish for you at the store—just make sure to ask them to reserve the bones, head, skin, etc. for making stock.

Chef Michael Reed gives us a lesson on why it's worth it to take the time to peel and devein your own shrimp: He cooks the shrimp shells along with vegetables and herbs to create a deeply-flavorful stock, which he then uses as a sauce for these shrimp and grits. Pan-fried shrimp are spooned on top of a mound of cheesy grits, and topped with the rich shellfish stock as the finishing touch. Store extra stock in your freezer for your next batch of shrimp and grits, or add it to seafood soups, stews, and sauces for a boost of flavor.

The Anchovy Bar, sister restaurant to State Bird Provisions in San Francisco, celebrates the tiny, humble fish in a host of ways, including this made-to-share snack board of quality Spanish anchovy fillets, ripe heirloom tomatoes, and fresh Japanese cucumbers. "The build-your-own aspect of this dish makes the simplicity work so well," says co-owner Nicole Krasinski, who opened the restaurant with her husband, Stuart Brioza, a 2003 Food & Wine Best New Chef. "Everything is meant to be clean and fresh and offer a great balance to the salty anchovies." Source a variety of quality tinned anchovies from caputos.com to taste the differences in salinity and texture. This build-your-own toast board is ideal for entertaining or a light alfresco meal. Try using any leftover tomato vinaigrette tossed with pasta as a simple no-cook sauce.

""Lobster stew is one of the pillars of Maine cooking," according to chefs Mike Wiley and Andrew Taylor, of Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland. For this green curry–laced version, they took cues from tom kha, a coconut milk–based Thai soup, and enriched it with umami-heavy Golden Mountain sauce and hen-of-the-woods mushroom confit to create a richly-aromatic lobster stew. Sweet potato, curry paste, heavy cream, and coconut milk come together in a well-balanced broth that highlights the sweetness of lobster. Chefs Taylor and Wiley use sweet potato peels to thicken the broth; they lend a creamy, pleasantly-thick body to the stew. While the chefs always use fresh lobster, look for pre-cooked lobster and store-bought lobster stock (such as Better than Bouillon Lobster Base) to make this dish weeknight-friendly."

Derrick Westbrook turns the classic moules frites into one show-stopping meal by replacing the mussels with garlic-butter drenched lobster. The double-fry method for cooking the fries ensures that they will be perfectly cooked — creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside. The first fry will cook them through, and the second will turn the outside brown and crisp. Adding Old Bay to the aioli is a genius move. Serve the meal with a bright, crisp, minerally Chablis.