200 Fresh Simple, and Delicious Recipes from Appetizers to Desserts
illustrated by Edward Koren
New York, NY: Broadway Books
The New Legal Sea Foods Cookbook brings to the table some of the restaurant specialties of the famous Cambridge-based, family-owned chain. The restaurant’s motto is “If it isn’t fresh, it isn’t Legal,” and this emphasis on simply prepared, very fresh fish carries through in the recipes. These are selections that can probably be made without a trip to the specialty store for some exotic ingredient, although it is clear that the authors recommend a trip to the fishmonger’s right before dinner, (with a tightly sealed plastic bag, and bring a cooler with crushed ice, and be sure to check the eyeballs). This emphasis on the quality of the fish is a welcome reminder for today’s consumer, all too often forced into a world of consistent, polystyrene-plated fish and meat mediocrity.
The book is not a lush coffee-table guide to the diversity of fishes, nor is it what I have heard some observers of my cookbook rack call “culinary pornography,” illustrated with colorful, steaming, heavily airbrushed meals that look nothing like what we are hoping to produce in our modest kitchens. The scattered black-and-white illustrations take a subordinate position to the text – although they do bring considerable levity and sparkle, as they are all witty drawings by New Yorker cartoonist Edward Koren, whose recognizable style and anthropomorphic evocations sometimes blur the line between diner and entree.
This book is instead a refreshingly manageable guide to the preparation of those species and dishes we most love to eat, and would probably select from any classic New England fish house. I chose a couple of standard recipes to prepare, and found the results to be consistent and enjoyable. In making simple Baked Scrod and Fish Chowder, I learned a few things about commercial cooking, namely that baking takes place at higher temperatures than we might be used to at home, (and gives a better result), and that soup preparation is a lot quicker (done in 20 minutes). The recipes reflected their commercial roots in their amounts as well, with the chowder recipe making over three quarts. I ate well, albeit for a number of days, on the dishes I made. There are also a number of original, more modern interpretations to satisfy the international tastes of today’s diner, although the methods and ingredient lists gratefully kept their emphasis on good simple ingredients and normal handling, and not on hard-to-pronounce spices or specialty gadgets.
The book does fall a bit short in addressing modern environmental issues. Sustainable fishing has become a topic of great concern to many, and in fact may direct the type of selections they make at the fishmonger’s counter. Aside from a discussion of the differences between farmed and wild fish, the topic of the status of fish stocks is hardly touched on. Many of our region’s fishermen (and fish) have seen the cycle of increasing exploitation of a particular species, with more fishermen getting involved, followed by a decrease in the abundance of the quarry as fishing exceeds natural reproduction, followed by ecological collapse of the stock and economic ruin for those who depended upon it. Here in Maine we have seen cod, haddock, halibut, urchins, elvers and others go down this dark road. Some acknowledgment of this issue might have been appropriate, although it is admittedly difficult for the authors to know what to say, as our regional managers themselves have not even been able to come up with an answer that will ensure that we have fish forever in New England.
Aside from that one mild criticism, this book is a readable, down to earth, and (rare in cookbooks) very preparable guide to favorites of American fish cookery, and contains enough of these easily accessible recipes to keep one going for a long time. I especially liked the extensive section on Leftovers, and applauded the thrifty and imaginative spirit of combining-what-have-you, present in the cross-cultural recipes for Arctic Char Burritos, Middle Eastern Fish Latkes with Cod, or Salmon-Jalapeno Nachos. It is a strong and hearty endorsement to simply say that with this book, you will be certain to be able to make some very nice fish for dinner.