I have many friends and family who have been so excited for summertime, specifically to go fishing every weekend. To be honest, I didn’t understand the appeal until a friend of mine generously gave me some of his prized fish to take home. He gave me a recipe to try out and I quickly became a convert. Whenever he has a surplus of fresh fish, I give him some cash to take some home. There’s really nothing quite like it!
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Even though I have a great connection for fresh caught fish, I haven’t cooked with fish that often. I have two or three go-to recipes whenever I decide to cook fish, but I need to branch out! This is why I was so excited to try out some of these fish oriented cookbooks!
Take One Fish: The New School of Scale-to-Tail Cooking and Eating
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Josh Niland is the author of Take One Fish: The New School of Scale-to-Tail Cooking and Eating and the chef/owner of the fish restaurant in Sydney Australia, Saint Peter. His first cookbook, The Whole Fish Cookbook: New Ways to Cook, Eat and Think won a bunch of awards. Niland is widely recognized as a fish guru – he is amazing.
If you are like me and want to learn how to prepare fish properly, both of these cookbooks are great for that.
In the Take One Fish: The New School of Scale-to-Tail Cooking and Eating cookbook, Niland teaches us how to prepare fish from the moment we receive it. That means when we take it home, we have to unpack it, let it breathe in the fridge without the plastic, etc… already I’ve learned something!
He provides 60 mind-blowing recipes using 15 kinds of fish. Some of these varieties are a bit complicated, like swordfish. He tackles the most common types of fish like tuna, sardines, and herring.
I appreciate that Niland provides recipes for home cooks that are new to preparing fish, but also shares recipes for experienced cooks. Some recipes that he has included are: smoked herring and buckwheat blinis, puftaloons with groper taramasalata, and red mullet with white poppy chana daal. As you can see, there is a large range!
I can’t describe how amazing the photography throughout this cookbook is. Everything is so vibrant and clean, the fish recipes truly stand out. Plus, it is inspiring to know that even I can make some of these very elegant dishes with the Take One Fish: The New School of Scale-to-Tail Cooking and Eating cookbook!
Hook, Line and Supper
The Hook, Line and Supper cookbook pleasantly surprised me. Admittedly, the cover wasn’t enough to sell me on this cookbook, but after digging into it a bit, I realize this is quite a cool book!
Hank Shaw is a bit of a Renaissance man. I truly appreciate his love for nature and the wild. Shaw is into living off the land, which includes fishing and foraging. Check out his website “Hunter Angler Gardener Cook” here to learn more and see some of his recipes – It’s truly phenomenal.
This image is from his blog!
What I love about this cookbook is that Shaw focuses on techniques that can be applied to most fish, rather than dedicating each chapter to a specific fish. That means you don’t need to fret about being detailed. He does provide tips for those who are using salt water versus fresh water fish and vice versa. Plus, extra tips along the way for a tastier meal!
The dishes he has provided are from all around the world. There are recipes such as, Chinese steamed fish with chiles, Mexican grilled clams, and Indian crab curry. It all sounds yummy!
If you are all about fishing, this is a must have for your cookbook shelf. I would argue all anglers and fish lovers should consider this cookbook as a household necessity.
The Complete Fish Cookbook: Top 500 Modern Fish Recipes and the Complete Guide to Choosing the Right Fish for you
I confess, the cover of The Complete Fish Cookbook: Top 500 Modern Fish Recipes and the Complete Guide to Choosing the Right Fish for you really drew me in.
With 500 fish recipes, you won’t get bored of this cookbook! It is divided into 20 different fish types that most of us are familiar with like cod, halibut, tuna, salmon, etc.
I appreciate that this cookbook guides us on how to buy fish from the market effectively while being on a budget. That’s another reason I don’t cook a lot of fish is because it is expensive!
We also learn about the health benefits of fish and what nutrients each kind provides. I was surprised by that little detail.
Overall, this is an encyclopedia of fish knowledge!
I know some of us don’t have the luxury of grabbing fresh fish or fishing locally. This is why I wanted to include some canned fish cookbooks. Plus, if you can make tinned fish taste fresh, why not use it? They are great to have on hand!
The Magic of Tinned Fish: Elevate Your Cooking with Canned Anchovies, Sardines, Mackerel, Crab, and Other Amazing Seafood
I have not attempted to make many things with tinned fish, I have to be honest. In fact, I made my first tuna sandwich only weeks ago, because I was never exposed to a whole lot of tinned fish. I am so fascinated by The Magic of Tinned Fish: Elevate Your Cooking with Canned Anchovies, Sardines, Mackerel, Crab, and Other Amazing Seafood cookbook.
There are 75 recipes in this cookbook that will open your eyes to the magic of tinned fish. Some dishes you will find in this cookbook are fusilli pasta with sardines and peccorino, mackerel green bean tomato salad with a chorizo vinaigrette, and cast-iron ribeye steak with anchovy butter.
The chapters are divided into types of tinned fish:
1) Anchovies
2) Sardines
3) Mackarel
4) Shellfish, Squid, and Octopus
5) Trout and Cod
Learn about the glory of tinned fish with The Magic of Tinned Fish: Elevate Your Cooking with Canned Anchovies, Sardines, Mackerel, Crab, and Other Amazing Seafood cookbook.
Tinned Fish Pantry Cookbook: 100 Recipes from Tuna and Salmon to Crab and More
If you think that Tinned Fish Pantry Cookbook: 100 Recipes from Tuna and Salmon to Crab and More cookbook is almost identical to the cookbook above, you couldn’t be more wrong. This cookbook has 100 classic canned fish and seafood recipes! In fact, this cookbook utilizes fish that isn’t featured in the cookbook above.
There are chapters on canned salmon, tuna and crab. Then we move on to other recipes such as anchovies, clams and sardines!
Some of the dishes I am excited about in this cookbook are the curried scrambled eggs with crab, tuna melts, Nicoise salad, and a lot more!
More and more people are buying canned fish (mostly because of 2020) and learning how to cook at home. If you can learn how to make these taste fresh and scrumptious then imagine what you can do with fresh fish!
Do you cook fish often? If so, list off some of your favorite recipes and cookbooks!
~Kaiti
