Читать книгу Green Fig and Lionfish - Allen Susser - Страница 20

Chef’s Collaboration

Chef…is it safe and is it delicious? This was the thought running through the minds of a dozen of my chef friends when I asked them to collaborate on this sustainable seafood cookbook focused on lionfish by sharing a soulful Caribbean-inspired lionfish recipe. I am humbled by the amazing and rapid responses I received from these chefs, who care greatly about fish cookery and seasonal freshness. These chefs know their fish and are happy to help you eat sustainably.

Sustainable seafood, in simple terms, suggests the intent to make sure that there are enough fish in the sea to maintain a natural balance and sustain life for centuries to come. This includes rivers, streams, lakes, bays, reefs, gulfs, seas, and oceans. It is our hope that our grandkids and their grandkids can enjoy the wonders of nature and have the choice of eating wild fresh fish. You can make that choice today.

I have added recipes to each chapter from a group of very talented chefs and personal friends who are taking a leadership role and making a sustainable statement through their cooking.

Fish cookery is not just for chefs. Anyone can cook fish. It may take some nerve and some practice, but you will learn that it is worth every delicious bite. In fact, some of these chefs had never even tasted lionfish until I introduced it to them. I would like to note here that most of the recipes are for lionfish; nonetheless, these flavors and cooking techniques can be applied to most fish and shellfish. Go for what is freshest.

I introduced lionfish to the culinary world a few years ago in Florida. I had occasionally cooked the fish at Chef Allen’s, my restaurant in Miami. But the problem posed by lionfish grew to be even more serious as this invasive species, which was already physically hurting the Florida reefs and coastline, spread to the Bahamas and then throughout the entire Caribbean.

At a recent collaborative benefit dinner for the James Beard Foundation, I chose to serve lionfish to the waiting foodies. They all loved its taste and briny fresh aroma. One guest asked if I had special training in how to carefully prepare this fish, as in Japan you must be certified and strictly licensed to serve the poisonous Fugu blowfish—a risky Japanese delicacy. I explained this is not that kind of fish. The lionfish is not poisonous, but it does have venom in the dorsal fins, and, when handling the fish, care must be taken to prevent being poked. Luckily, though, these are snipped away by the fishmonger before it comes into the kitchen. In the end, the sense of adventure and the intrigue of this exotic fish make for stimulating conversation and yummy eating.