Our Favorite Fish Recipes of All Time

Favorite Fish Recipe-Everything Smoked-Salmon Summer Rolls image 10

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Embolden your weeknight repertoire with a deconstructed fish chowder in croquette form or a new twist on the stacked and schmeared everything bagel. Whatever your cooking vibe, these best-of-the-best fish recipes will put you at the top of your seafood game.

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Grilled Whole Branzino with Chermoula

Photo: Greg Dupree; prop styling: Claire Spollen; food styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Not only does a whole grilled fish look impressive served tableside—it simply tastes better. Cooked on the skin and bone, this branzino yields tender, juicy meat that gets even better swiped through garlicky chermoula, a potent Moroccan herb sauce.

Recipe: Grilled Whole Branzino with Chermoula

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Puerto Rican Asopao

A cross between Spanish paella and New Orleans jambalaya, Asopao (a rice-and-seafood stew) is Puerto Rico’s official dish. And it is as varied across the island as chili is in the American Southwest.

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey

Contributing Seafood Editor Barton Seaver describes this Puerto Rican hangover-quelling classic as a “cross between Spanish paella and New Orleans jambalaya.” In its home country, protein variations include everything from pigeon peas to roasted pork butt, but we prefer Seaver’s seafood-heavy iteration laden with shrimp and snapper.

Recipe: Puerto Rican Asopao

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Hawaiian Tuna Tacos

Photo: Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

The only thing better than gently seared, high-quality tuna? Swaths of said tuna cradled in a corn tortilla and piled high with pickled pineapple, Fresno chiles, and a tangle of seaweed salad.

Recipe: Hawaiian Tuna Tacos

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Cha Ca Style Snapper

Photo: Julie Soefer

At Underbelly, Houston chef Chris Shepherd explores a bricolage of ingredients and cuisines in order to “tell the story” of the Texas metropolis’ diverse ethnic makeup—a range that has made the city one of the most exciting food destinations in the country. One such entry is this vibrant Vietnamese standout featuring dill and yogurt-marinated red snapper nestled over nuoc mam-clad rice noodles.

Recipe: Cha Ca Style Snapper

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Lemon-Dill Gravlax with Citrus Crème Fraiche

Photo: Greg Dupree; Styling: Lindsey Ellis Beatty

Rule the hors d’oeuvre table with this easy-to-make gravlax you can dress up with caviar, pumpernickel rounds, and homemade citrus crème fraiche.

Recipe: Lemon-Dill Gravlax with Citrus Crème Fraiche

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Fish Chowder Croquette with Rum Aioli

Photo: Cedric Angeles

Now a staple at his Bermuda restaurant Marcus’, these croquettes from celeb chef Marcus Samuelsson (Red Rooster, Streetbird) reimagine fish stew—chorizo, snapper, and fork-tender russet potatoes—in handheld form.

Recipe: Fish Chowder Croquettes with Rum Aïoli

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Whole Salmon Fillet with Cornichon-Caper Sauce

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Lindsey Ellis Beatty; Food Styling: Erin Merhar

A typical home cooks’ weeknight repertoire might cycle between roast chicken, spaghetti, and some kind of all-in-one sheet-pan meal. But my favorite fallback is this simple, herb-spangled salmon served with a tangy cornichon-caper aioli. Reserve any leftovers for a salad or flake onto ribbons of pappardelle slicked with our pesto cream sauce.

Recipe: Whole Salmon Fillet with Cornichon-Caper Sauce

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Gulf Coast Crab and Flounder Ceviche

Photo: Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Erin Merhar

Our March 2016 issue featured a number of mouthwatering ceviche recipes (spicy tuna; salmon with coconut and basil), but my favorite was this showcase for all things Gulf Coast: flounder, sweet Vidalia onions, fresh corn, heirloom tomatoes, and halved pickled okra pods for garnish.

Recipe: Gulf Coast Crab-and-Flounder Ceviche

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Baja Fish Tacos

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower

Fried or grilled isn’t the only question when it comes to Baja’s most famous culinary contribution. If fried, what kind of batter? Corn or flour tortillas? And we haven’t even gotten to the accouterments. San Diego chef Javier Plascencia (formerly of Bracero Cocina de Raiz), definitively answers those questions (and more!) with his stellar take, which partners crackly tempura battered sea bass, tomatillo pico, homemade masa tortillas, and a swipe of lime-tinted kewpie mayo.

Recipe: Baja Fish Tacos

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Everything Smoked-Salmon Summer Rolls

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

There’s a better way to bagel. Don’t believe us? Fold smoked salmon into rice paper along with ripe slices of avocado, crunchy Bibb lettuce, Thai basil, crème fraiche, and a generous sprinkling of everything bagel seasoning, and sample our answer to boring summer finger foods. Your picnic basket will thank you.

Recipe: Everything Smoked-Salmon Summer Rolls

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Our Favorite Fish Recipes of All Time

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Grilled Whole Branzino with Chermoula

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Puerto Rican Asopao

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Hawaiian Tuna Tacos

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Cha Ca Style Snapper

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Lemon-Dill Gravlax with Citrus Crème Fraiche

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Fish Chowder Croquette with Rum Aioli

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Whole Salmon Fillet with Cornichon-Caper Sauce

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Gulf Coast Crab and Flounder Ceviche

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Baja Fish Tacos

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Everything Smoked-Salmon Summer Rolls

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Our Favorite Fish Recipes of All Time

1 of 10

Grilled Whole Branzino with Chermoula

1 of 10

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Puerto Rican Asopao

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3 of 10

Hawaiian Tuna Tacos

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Cha Ca Style Snapper

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Lemon-Dill Gravlax with Citrus Crème Fraiche

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Fish Chowder Croquette with Rum Aioli

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Whole Salmon Fillet with Cornichon-Caper Sauce

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Gulf Coast Crab and Flounder Ceviche

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Baja Fish Tacos

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Everything Smoked-Salmon Summer Rolls

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