Canned tuna bears as little resemblance to fresh tuna as a cherry lollipop bears to a fresh picked cherry. Salmon out of the can seems quite a different species than salmon from the sea, and herring needs no pickling to be palatable.
No one would serve a spinach salad sodden with canned spinach, yet we condemn tuna salads to this ignoble fate by thinking that canned fish is the ingredient of choice for such salads, rather than a convenient substitute for the real thing.
But once you taste a fresh tuna salad, you will realize that ”chicken of the sea” is not just a brand name. Fresh tuna salad is moist and meaty, more like a good chicken salad than the dry, fishy flakes that one finds in cans of tuna.
Besides tasting better than its canned counterpart, fresh fish offers another advantage: You can control its cooking. Because canned fish has to remain safe in the can for years, processing includes extended periods of heating at high temperatures to destroy bacteria. Such cooking is nothing short of fish abuse and results in a product that is dry and grainy. But when poaching a fillet of salmon or baking a tuna steak for your own fish salad, you control the moistness. The difference is well worth the small amount of added effort, time and expense.
Making your own fresh fish salad also broadens your repertoire. Construct hearty smoked fish salads from smoked trout, smoked bluefish, sable, chub or kippered salmon. Prepare warm salads with marinated fish steaks, still hot from the grill, perched atop a field of garden greens tossed in a pungent vinaigrette. Make a salad for sandwiches from broiled bluefish, baked cod, poached snapper, grilled swordfish or steamed sole by adding a dollop of mayonnaise, sour cream or creamy salad dressing to the flaked cooked fish.
One of the easiest ways to turn fresh fish into a sophisticated salad is a South American technique called ”ceviche,” which involves marinating small pieces of lean boneless fish in citrus juice until they become firm and opaque. Then this ”cooked” fish is tossed with vegetables, a bit of oil and some seasoning to serve as the focal point for a tossed or composed salad.
Fish salads are the perfect choice for luncheons or dinners during warmer months.
The following recipes include a straightforward fresh tuna salad, salmon salad made with olive oil and dill, ceviche of white fish surrounded by slices of avocado and tiny jewels of chopped tomatoes, and a warm entree salad of grilled fish on garden greens. Try them. You`ll be surprised what you can do when you do without the can.
FRESH TUNA SALAD
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 to 18 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
1 1/3 pounds boneless tuna steak
1 tablespoon oil
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
2 ribs celery, peeled, diced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, seeded, diced (optional)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Rub tuna steaks on all sides with oil, celery seeds, salt and pepper. Bake in a low-sided pan until fish is firm, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
2. Remove skin and excess fat and flake the fish into a mixing bowl with your fingers or the back of a fork. Toss with the celery and apple and mix in the mayonnaise.
3. Refrigerate until serving. Use as a focal point for a salad platter or as a sandwich spread.
DILLED SALMON SALAD
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
1 cup each: water, dry white wine
1/4 cup each, chopped: celery, onion
Juice of half a lemon
3 peppercorns
1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
2 tablespoons each: virgin olive oil, herb vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped dill
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt, white pepper to taste
1. Combine water, wine, celery, onion, lemon juice and peppercorns in deep skillet. Heat to boil. Add salmon. Reduce heat to simmer; cook until salmon becomes firm, about 6 minutes. If the poaching liquid does not cover salmon, turn after 4 minutes of cooking. Remove fish from liquid; cool to room temperature.
2. Remove skin and excess fat. Flake fish in bowl with your fingers or fork. Mix in olive oil, herb vinegar, dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
3. Refrigerate until serving. Use as the focal point to a salad platter or a sandwich spread.
SMOKED FISH SALAD WITH BELGIAN ENDIVE
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt, pepper to taste
1 pound smoked fish (trout, chub, salmon, bluefish, tuna, etc.)
1/3 cup finely chopped celery tops, leaves and ribs
3 tablespoons minced chives or green onions
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
4 heads Belgian endive, trimmed, broken into leaves
1 large cucumber, peeled, sliced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, cut into strips
4 slices of lemon
1. Puree cream cheese with mayonnaise and lemon juice in food processor or blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Remove all bones and skin from fish and chop coarsely. Toss fish with celery tops, chives and dill in medium bowl. Add cream cheese mixture; mix gently until everything has been moistened. Refrigerate.
3. To serve, arrange the endive leaves, cucumber slices and red pepper strips around the perimeter of a platter and mound the fish salad in the center. Garnish with slices of lemon.
WHITEFISH CEVICHE
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Marinating time: 3 to 4 hours
Yield: 4 servings
1 pound firm whitefish fillets (or use cod, scrod, orange roughy, sole, etc.) 2 fresh hot chilies, seeded, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon and/or lime juice
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper to taste
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, thinly sliced
1 ripe tomato, seeded, finely chopped
1. Remove any skin and bones from fish. Slice into 1/2-inch-thick slices about 1 inch long. Combine in non-metallic bowl with chilies and lemon and/or lime juice. Cover and refrigerate. Allow to macerate for 3 to 4 hours until fish pieces are firm and opaque. Drain.
2. Toss mixture with cucumber, olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. To serve, place 1/4 of the ceviche in a mound on one side of a dinner plate. Surround it with half an avocado, thinly sliced and fanned out, and a small mound of finely chopped tomato. Set up 3 other plates in the same way. Serve immediately.
GRILLED FISH SALAD WITH GARDEN GREENS
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt, pepper to taste
Pinch cayenne
4 fish steaks (4 ounces each) or a whole small fish
1 head leaf lettuce, washed, dried and broken into small pieces
1 head radicchio or arugula, washed, dried and broken in small pieces
6 green onions, finely sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
8 sprigs watercress
8 thin wedges of lemon
4 thin wedges of lime
1. Combine 1/2 cup of olive oil, vinegar, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Rub fish all over with remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil about 4 inches from a hot fire for 8 minutes per inch of thickness of fish, turning once halfway through the grilling time.
3. To serve, combine leaf lettuce, radicchio or arugula, green onions and parsley in bowl. Whisk dressing to combine and dress the salad with half the dressing. Arrange on one side of a dinner plate. Place the fish on the remaining side, overlapping the salad by an inch or two. Spoon the remaining dressing over the fish.
4. Garnish each plate with 2 sprigs of watercress, 2 wedges of lemon and a wedge of lime.
SUMMER FISH SALAD
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour
Yield: 4 servings
1 pound firm fish fillets (red snapper, sea bass or orange roughy), about 1 inch thick
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
6 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
6 ounces snow peas, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 cups cantaloupe chunks (about 1/2 medium melon)
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro (coriander) or parsley
1. Cut fish into 1-inch chunks. Combine lemon rind, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 3/4 cups water in large skillet. Heat only until mixture starts to simmer. Add fish; simmer, uncovered, 3 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork. Remove fish with slotted spoon to plate. Cool slightly; cover and refrigerate 1 hour, or until thoroughly chilled.
2. Meanwhile, boil peas until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes; rinse under cold water and drain thoroughly. Chill. Combine 2 tablespoons remaining lemon juice, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, oil, onion, thyme and sugar in a jar with screw-top lid; cover and shake well.
3. Combine peas, cantaloupe and cilantro in large bowl; add dressing and toss to coat all ingredients. Add fish and gently stir to combine. Serve immediately. –
