I gain a lot of pleasure from exploring the diverse world of fish recipes. Today, I’m sharing my must-cook dishes—ones that have taken me to flavors from all over the globe, and that I think you all will enjoy.
Of the couple dozen fish recipes I could have picked, I chose these because they’re straightforward, don’t take forever to cook, and are, in fact, cooked right here on my home turf in good ol’ Brooklyn, NY! (Well, except for the part where we partially cooked the fish in a travel trailer in southern Utah, but you’ll hear more about that soon.)
The 11 Best fish recipes
1. Grilled Salmon
Salmon fillets are marinated in a delightful mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, and minced garlic. After being seasoned with salt and black pepper, they are grilled to the perfect degree of doneness and garnished with fresh dill.
Ingredients
Salmon fillets (4 pieces, about 6 ounces each)
Olive oil (2 tablespoons)
Lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
Garlic cloves, minced (2 cloves)
Salt (1 teaspoon)
Black pepper (½ teaspoon)
Fresh dill, chopped (2 tablespoons)
Instructions
1. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. This is your marinade.
2. Salmon fillets should be placed in a shallow dish and the marinade poured over them, ensuring they are well-coated. The dish should then be covered and the fillets refrigerated for at least 30 minutes.
3. Heat your grill to a medium-high temperature. When it’s hot, oil the grill grates lightly with a paper towel and tongs. This will prevent sticking and allow for nice, sear marks.
4. Cook the salmon fillets on a grill for about 6-8 minutes per side, skin-side down, or until the salmon flakes easily with a fork. Before serving, garnish the fish with freshly chopped dill.
2. Fish Tacos
Cod or tilapia and white fish of any sort is wonderful done this way. You can grill it right on your backyard grill, and if you don’t have a grill, I’m pretty sure this fish can be broiled to just as good result in your kitchen oven.
The flavor of this dish is bright and fresh, it is served up in your hand as an eat-on-the-go snack, or at a table as a sit-down meal. Either way, I dare you to eat these fish tacos and not smile.
Ingredients
1 lb white fish fillets (such as cod or tilapia)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
8 small corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
1. Your grill or stovetop should be set to medium-high heat. Dress the fish fillets with olive oil, and sprinkle them with ground cumin and chili powder.
2. Cook the fish on a grill for approximately 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until you can stab it with a fork and have it come apart easily. Take the fish off the heat and pull it part large chunk style.
3. Warm the corn tortillas on the grill or stovetop until they are flexible. Place grilled fish in the tortilla and add shredded cabbage. Top it with a little fresh cilantro and any of the following: jalapeño sauce, salsa borracha, or a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar. These tacos are best eaten as soon as they are assembled.
3. Baked Cod with Lemon
Baked Cod with Lemon
is a delightful dish that stars tender cod fillets. They’re lightly breaded, sautéed, and served in a sauce of minced garlic and shallots, capers, fresh lemon juice, and zest.
It’s a dish that looks lovely on a plate, with the cod nestled in a pool of its buttery, lemony sauce.
Ingredients
- 4 cod fillets (about 6 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon (zested and juiced)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
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Instructions
1. Set your oven to 400°F (200°C) to preheat. Take a baking dish and add a light amount of olive oil to it. Then, proceed to grease the baking dish.
2. Combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, minced garlic, dried thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Arrange the cod fillets in the prepared baking dish, and drizzle the lemon and herb mixture over the fish, making sure that each fillet is well coated.
4. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the cod is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Serve warm, garnished with fresh parsley if desired.
4. Fish and Chips
Fish and Chips is a dish with a long-standing history in Britain, offering crispy, fried fillets of cod as its central feature. These are prepared using a batter that is made with all-purpose flour, baking powder, and club soda.
Alongside, one finds thick-cut, golden-brown, fried potatoes.
Ingredients
Cod fillets
All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Salt
Club soda
Potatoes
Vegetable oil
Instructions
1. Cut the potatoes into thick chips and soak them in cold water. Drain them and set aside.
2. Preheat the vegetable oil in a deep fryer or large pot to 350°F (175°C).
3. Combine in a mixing bowl: flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Then, whisk in the club soda to form a smooth batter.
4. Coat the cod fillets in the batter, allowing any surplus to run off, and then place them in the oil that has been heated to frying temperature. Cook the fish until it has taken on a deep gold shade and seems firm and cooked all the way through, about four to five minutes. While the cod is frying, do the same with the chips.
5. Pan-Seared Sea Bass
A dish of home-cooked elegance, pan-seared sea bass can be enjoyed in the company of others or solo. It makes for a beautiful presentation and an even lovelier dining experience.
These sea bass fillets, seasoned with salt and pepper and seared in olive oil, are enhanced with garlic, lemon slices, and fresh parsley.
Ingredients
2 sea bass fillets
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
1. Dry the sea bass fillets with paper towels. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
2. In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
3. Position the sea bass fillets skin-side down in the skillet. Allow them to cook for roughly 3-4 minutes, ensuring that the skin becomes crispy and takes on a golden brown hue.
4. Turn the fillets over, and add minced garlic and lemon slices; cook for 3 to 4 more minutes. The finished fish will flake easily with a fork. Top with chopped parsley and serve.
6. Miso-Marinated Black Cod
Black Cod Miso Marinade is a Japanese dish that employs the delicate flavors of white miso to complement the even more delicate flavors of black cod. The black cod fillets—and for that matter, any fillet of cod—are simmered in a mixture of white miso paste, mirin, sake, sugar, and soy sauce.
The resulting dish is a mellow, layered experience with a savory, rich flavor profile.
Ingredients
Black cod fillets (about 6 oz each)
White miso paste
Mirin
Sake
Sugar
Soy sauce
Instructions
1. Whisk together the white miso paste, mirin, sake, sugar, and soy sauce in a bowl to make the marinade. Whisk very well until completely smooth.
2. Marinate the black cod for 24 to 48 hours in a soy sauce-based marinade for the best flavor. The soy sauce not only flavors the fish but also acts as a tenderizing agent. When you marinate, always use a nonreactive dish. A glass or ceramic dish works well. If you don’t have either, use a resealable plastic bag. When marinating, the fish should always be refrigerated.
3. Set the oven to 400°F (200°C) to heat. Take the fillets and marinade and prepare to clean the fillets. It is important to get the excess marinade off of the fillets while also keeping the marinade that is not excess on the fillet. This is necessary for step 3, when the fillets will be broiled in the oven.
4. Position the fillets on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The fish should be opaque and flake easily when you push it with a fork. If you’d like to finish the fish with a little bit of crispy color, you can place it under the broiler for a minute after baking.
7. Harissa-Spiced Pollock
Pollock fillets marinated in harissa paste form the basis of this vibrant dish. They are joined by olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and garlic in the marinade, which results in a refreshingly unique flavor after the fillets have been cooked.
Fresh cilantro adds the final touch before serving.
Ingredients
4 pollock fillets (about 6 ounces each)
2 tablespoons harissa paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon, juiced and zested
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt, to taste
Fresh cilantro, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
1. Heat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Combine the harissa paste, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and minced garlic in a small bowl.
3. Put the pollock fillets on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Evenly brush the harissa mixture over each fillet, and season with salt.
4. Cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes. The fish should be well done and it should flake easily with a fork. Add some fresh cilantro as a decorative touch just before serving.
8. Thai Basil Fish Curry
Fish fillet curry with Thai basil is a tasty meal made by cooking fish fillets in a sauce of red curry paste and coconut milk flavored with fish sauce, lime juice, and fresh Thai basil.
Ingredients
Fish fillets (such as cod or tilapia), 1 lb
Red curry paste, 2 tablespoons
Coconut milk, 1 can (400 ml)
Fish sauce, 2 tablespoons
Thai basil leaves, 1 cup
Vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons
Lime juice, 1 tablespoon
Instructions
1. In a large saucepan, over a medium flame, heat up the vegetable oil. When it is hot, add the red curry paste and cook it for 1-2 minutes, or until you can really smell it and know that it is loaded with deliciousness.
2. Combine the coconut milk with the curry paste by stirring in a saucepan. Once combined, heat until simmering.
3. Mix in the fish sauce and lime juice. Add the fish fillets,submerging them in the sauce. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
4. Add the Thai basil leaves just before serving, letting them wilt slightly. Serve the curry hot over jasmine rice.
9. Sicilian-Style Sardines
Sicilian-Style Sardines
Sardines prepared Sicilian style is a time-honored dish you’ll find across the Italian seaside, where the fresh catch of these delicious fish typically dictates the local menu. In this version, the sardines are brushed with olive oil and then seasoned with garlic, pine nuts, and raisins.
They are topped with breadcrumbs (as you’d find in any sardine recipe from the era of the Roman Empire), baked until browned, and served.
Ingredients
Fresh sardines (about 500g), cleaned and gutted
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1. Set your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 175 degrees Celsius, so that it can begin heating up.
2. In a skillet, warm olive oil over medium heat. Stir in minced garlic, being careful not to let it brown. Then add the pine nuts and golden raisins, sautéing until the pine nuts turn golden; if necessary, reduce the heat to low to avoid burning.
3. Set in a baking dish the cleaned sardines. Generously season them with salt and pepper.
4. Place garlic, pine nut, and raisin mix on top of the sardines. Then sprinkle breadcrumbs over the whole mixture, and bake for 20 minutes. By this time, the sardines should be cooked all the way through. If not, fry them in a skillet until they’re done.
10. Brazilian Moqueca
A Brazilian Moqueca is a not-too-thick seafood stew that features firm white fish fillets. The fish is bathed in a marinade of lime, which is key for both flavor and texture.
The fish fillets share the pot with coconut milk that adds sweet creaminess, color, and moisture essential for a sauce. The stew is flavored with onion and red bell pepper, which is also the base for a Brazilian national dish called “Baião de Dois” (a mix of rice and beans).
The stew is rich, but it is not too heavy. It embodies the vibrant flavors of South American culinary tradition.
Ingredients
1 pound of firm white fish fillets (such as cod, halibut, or snapper)
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 can (14 oz) of coconut milk
Instructions
1. Soak the fish fillets in lime juice, salt, and pepper for about 15 minutes.
2. In a big saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Include the onions and sauté until see-through.
3. Add the bell pepper, red, to the pan and sauté for a few minutes until softened.
4. Add the coconut milk to the pan and then carefully place the marinated fish fillets in the pan. Cook until the fish is done, about 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.
11. Fish En Papillote
The French-inspired cooking method known as Fish En Papillote has its origins in the classic culinary techniques of France, but it has found its way into the kitchens of cooks everywhere. This is a simple yet elegant technique that allows you to bake any firm white fish in parchment paper.
Your fish can be seasoned any way you like, and you can add any vegetables that pair well with your seasonings.
Ingredients
Cod fillets or other white fish
Lemon slices
Fresh dill
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Instructions
1. Set your oven to 400°F (200°C) to warm up.
2. Place a fish fillet in the center of a piece of parchment paper. Season it with salt and pepper, then lay lemon slices on and top the fish with fresh dill and halved cherry tomatoes.
3. Drizzle olive oil over the fish and then make a pouch out of the parchment paper by folding it to completely enclose the fish.
4. Put the pouch on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.
