Seafood

At the height of summer, I’m always thinking of new ways to combine farmer’s market vegetables. Eggplants and peppers are a natural pair, and I like to highlight their different textures here. I roast the eggplants until they almost collapse, but quick-char the peppers to keep their crunch while giving them a smoky flavor. Perfectly seared scallops tie the two textures and flavors together.

I think tomatoes and summer squash always taste great together. The key to this two-vegetable simple spin on ratatouille is roasting the tomatoes first. It intensifies their sweetness and makes the whole dish rich in flavor.

Here I combine woody herbs with the potatoes and tender herbs with the fish. The result is an intensely flavorful and fragrant dish.

Super-savory green olives form the base of an amazing vinaigrette that brings out the sweetness of snapper and late-summer corn and potatoes.

Barbecue sauce, especially a spicy one, may seem an unusual pairing for fish, but the richness of salmon not only stands up to the heat, it actually is enhanced by the flavor of the sauce.

This broth is so good I could drink it by the bowlful. Be sure to serve this with steamed sticky rice. Even better: When I have leftover sticky rice, I press it into small cubes and fry them until crisp and golden brown. You can find konbu, bonito, miso, and yuzu at a Japanese grocery or a well-stocked Asian market.

Any fish on the bone works here—whole red snapper or salmon steaks would also be good choices—but I especially love just-caught sea bass. Set on a bed of fennel and smothered with tart-sweet Meyer lemons and cherry tomatoes, the fish absorbs all those flavors while it steam-roasts in dry white wine. I love the distinctive citrus aroma of Meyer lemons, but you can use regular lemons here, too.

My take on linguine vongole includes a lot of vegetables for an added freshness. I also use clam juice, as well as the traditional wine, for a more complex sauce.

One weekend in Waccabuc, I was looking for something to snack on. I smeared some garlic aïoli on grilled slices of bread and topped it with some crab. It hit the spot, so I decided to turn it into a complete sandwich with a little chile and herbs. This is a great use of fennel fronds, which usually end up in the trash. Dill works just as well, too.

When I lived near Nice in the sunny south of France, I discovered that everyone there has a version of this summer salad. By tasting ones made by everyone from legendary chefs to humble housewives, I came up with my own. My sun-dried tomato vinaigrette makes this version distinctive. The perfumed sweetness of elderflower cordial highlights the concentrated sweetness of the tomatoes. Be sure to use the best sushi-grade bluefin or yellowfin tuna you can find.

I love to present this in martini glasses like an old-school shrimp cocktail. The sauce has the horseradish bite of the classic, but with a juicy, sweet freshness from the peach. Traditionally, the shrimp would be chilled first, but I serve them warm for a hit of hot and cold at the same time in each bite.

I like to serve this family-style: Guests spoon the crab onto the toasts just before eating, so the bread stays crisp. At once creamy and spicy, this starter tastes best with an aperitif like champagne, rosé champagne, or a Grüner Veltliner.

This simple starter always brings me back to Provence, where I trained as a young chef. There, we served this sea-salty dip with scallions and red bell peppers, but now fennel is my favorite. This dip is so good, it works with any combination of vegetables; pick from my suggestions below. And if you think you don’t like anchovies, you have to try this. The milk mellows the intensity of the fish and the garlic and makes the dip incredibly creamy.

This quiche is always one of my first picks for a summer brunch or lunchtime treat. As a New Englander, I am lucky enough to be spoiled with regular access to fresh lobster. I’m also the first to admit that the process of cooking and cleaning lobster can be somewhat arduous. To save time, I recommend purchasing fresh lobster meat (as opposed to a whole lobster) from your local seafood purveyor. Your guests will never believe how simple this elegant tasting quiche is to make.

I discovered this pie while in Maine on summer vacation and could hardly wait to get back to my own kitchen to re-create it. It offers all of the comfort of Chicken Pot Pie (page 153), but with a rich, elegant lobster twist. It’s hard to go wrong with chunks of lobster immersed in a creamy sauce and flaky pastry.

Pissaladière is a specialty of the southern French town of Nice. Named for pissalat (“salted fish”), this tart always includes anchovies, either whole or puréed, which are spread over the dough before baking.

A few months after the Shop opened we got a call from the Food Network asking if we would be interested in being guests on Big Daddy’s House with host Aaron McCargo, Jr. They asked if we could develop a new meatball for their Thai-themed episode. The recipe, which captures all of the fresh, wonderful flavors of Southeast Asia, was a big hit on the show and in the Shop as well. Be careful not to chop the herbs too finely and feel free to add extra chiles if you prefer your meatballs extra spicy. The garnish—crunchy peanuts, basil, and grated carrots hit with rice wine vinegar and soy sauce—is a killer. Serve it all with Peanut Sauce (page 67, optional).

This is our play on classic poached salmon. It’s almost a croquette, and is perfect served with Lemon Cream Sauce (page 64) or with Classic Tomato Sauce (page 56) over spaghetti. If you prefer, try swapping freshly chopped dill for the tarragon, as it’s also a natural partner with the salmon.

The aromatic flavors of a rich fish stew all rolled up in a ball—how’d we do it? A generous splash of Pernod, along with a pinch of fragrant saffron, transports you straight to the Mediterranean coast. We use a firm white fish like tilapia, but feel free to substitute any similarly textured fish. Serve these alongside any of the risottos offered in Chapter 3 (see pages 74 to 77).

Call them meatballs or call them crab cakes. Either way, they’re an addictive hit. The succulent sweetness of crab is paired with classic Old Bay Seasoning, but it gets a texture twist with the addition of crunchy, salty potato chips. This is the perfect party snack or starter, and it can be thrown together and ready in under fifteen minutes. Serve these balls skewered with toothpicks, with our Classic Tomato Sauce (page 56) or with tartar sauce, or toss them with pasta and tomato sauce for a hearty seafood pasta.