30 Fast Recipes for Fish

Baking powder is the secret to the airy texture of these crispy, fluffy fish cakes.

Seared snapper and a crisp, fresh salsa may seem an unlikely match for a lush Oregon Pinot Noir, but James Briscione, author of The Flavor Matrix, says their affinity goes to a molecular level: The wine has notes of rose, of which apples are a relative. The lighter strawberry notes in the wine are equally matched with fresh strawberries in the salsa.

A copper pan works especially well here because the fennel is cooked until silky over long, low heat. F&W’s Marcia Kiesel serves it in a curry-laced wine sauce over salmon.

“Halibut is one fish that roasts up really nicely,” says Melissa Perello, who cooks the firm-fleshed fish on top of vegetables in a casserole. Because this dish is so simple and ingredient-driven, be sure to make it with the very best olive oil.

This summery grilled bass with ginger-spiced tomato salad is a favorite of chef Floyd Cardoz, who is an avid fisherman.

Lee Woolver uses lima beans to make a green butter for fish. For a neat presentation, roll the herbed butter in plastic wrap into a cylinder and refrigerate until firm. Slice off rounds of butter as you need them.

In Vietnam, palate-cleansing ginger is typically served with rich foods like duck. Here, a pungent ginger dipping sauce is paired with salmon, which is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids.

Thin slices of garlic cooked in olive oil make a double contribution to this dish: The flavorful oil is used for basting the fish, and the garlic “chips” are sprinkled over the finished dish as a crunchy topping.

Fennel lovers get a triple treat with these cod fillets: The fish is anointed with a fennel-seed marinade, roasted on a bed of fennel bulbs, and then sprinkled with chopped fennel fronds before serving.

Thin slices of lardo (Italian cured back fat) are the key to this luscious dish from chefs Erik Anderson and Josh Habiger.

“The Spanish ham keeps the fish from drying out, basting it with its inimitable fat,” says Alex Raij.

Marcia Kiesel used to crust salmon with bread crumbs, but she created this clever alternative as a way to use up leftover cooked couscous. She now prefers the couscous because it holds its shape and delivers a much more satisfying crunch.

A good choice for a dinner party, this dish looks as if you’ve gone to some trouble when in fact it’s really easy. And everybody likes salmon.

Grace Parisi’s Japanese-style trout is glazed in the same sweet and salty sauce that’s served with unagi (eel) at sushi bars.

Using just a few ingredients, Top Chef winner Paul Qui creates a genius take on salmon carpaccio, topping it with a crunchy pork rind and rye crumble.

Gently simmering salmon in a flavorful white-wine broth is a classic cooking method that gives the fish a delicious flavor and a delicate texture. Serve this hot or at room temperature. Raita, the cooling condiment served in India, makes a superb sauce.

A cross between a fish taco and a Reuben sandwich, this fun dish features fried flounder wrapped in a flour tortilla with Jarlsberg cheese and Russian dressing.

This is Daniel Boulud’s take on Wiener schnitzel, a breaded and fried veal cutlet. He lightens the dish by making it with thinly pounded monkfish fillets, breaded on only one side. To simplify, slice the fillets thinly instead of pounding them.

Chef Kevin Graham rolls up trout fillets and poaches them in a delicate white-wine broth flavored with juniper berries and enriched with a little butter. Like salmon, mackerel and sardines, trout is an oil-rich, heart-healthy fish. It's also an excellent source of iron, selenium and vitamin B12.

John Folse learned all about Cajun ingredients while growing up in a trapper’s cabin in St. James Parish, Louisiana.

Grace Parisi dredges cod strips in flour and potato flakes to create crunchy fish sticks, which she serves with a chunky sun-dried-tomato tartar sauce.

Pete Evans grills whole fish in banana leaves with soy, sherry and ginger.

Katie Sparks likes to treat tuna steaks like beef. Here, she wraps them in bacon as she would a beef tenderloin, which not only adds a subtle smoky flavor to the fish but also keeps it moist.

Vikram Sunderam makes his own spice blend with six ingredients, including green and black cardamom, cloves and mace. Home cooks can substitute garam masala, the Indian spice blend that includes many of the spices Sunderam uses, to season this rich, creamy, deeply flavored dish.

Most Chinese-takeout sweet-and-sour sauces are bright red, gluey and sugary. Grace Parisi’s version is light as well as a little spicy, which allows the fresh, briny flavor of the crispy fish to come through.

Rather than pan-roasting individual pieces of salmon, F&W’s Grace Parisi prefers to cook a large fillet to keep the fish moist.

Andrew Zimmern loves the terrific combination of almonds, garlic, mint, cilantro and raisins, which is perfect on strong sardines.

To keep fillets intact, chef Anita Lo wraps them in briny grape leaves—a tasty combination.

In this clever one-pot dish, Grace Parisi poaches fennel, shallots and orange zest in extra-virgin olive oil. She then cooks a tuna steak in that oil, making the fish incredibly moist and flavorful.Slideshow:Great One-Pot Meals

The secret ingredient in the tasty sauce here is rosé, which combines perfectly with the classic Chinese flavors in this dish.