Often improvisations are fueled by memories of dishes past; they're attempts to recreate a singular set of flavors or a dish's particular pleasure. When I found myself yearning for two classic fish dishes I used to eat in France years ago, I made an amalgam of the two, to capture the crispiness of goujonettes—fillets of sole cut into strips, dusted with flour, and deep-fried, and the comforting delicate butteriness of sole meuniére—whole or fillets, flour-dusted and panfried in butter.
Ingredients
This salad epitomizes the Vietnamese love of contrasting flavors and textures.
Over the many years that I've cooked with shiso I've discovered it's the perfect counterpoint to fresh crabmeat.
In this brasserie's simple and fabulous choucroute, the slab bacon gives some of the smokiness and fattiness of a classic choucroute garnie to a salmon version.
Note: We found that 1 green chile was enough, but add more if you like things fiery.
This is the basic, classic Chinese preparation for any live seafood, and it always is a hit, underscoring the prawns' natural sweetness. Most seafood sellers will package spot prawns to stay alive for several hours. If you get a few with roe attached, consider yourself lucky; it is a delicacy.
Scale up the recipe according to how many lobster shells you have; sauté them in batches if necessary.
If any of your guests have a problem with shellfish, you can make this soup without the shrimp and it will still taste sublime, just set a helping of soup aside before you add the shrimp. Look for fennel bulbs with light green fronds in the center.