Harbor Fish Market

Harbor Fish Market: Seafood Recipes From Maine
by Nick, Rian, and Kathleen Alfiero
Down East Books, $29.99

Harbor Fish Market: Seafood Recipes, by Nick Alfiero, his son Rian, and his wife Kathleen, published in 2013 by Down East Books, includes a section on buying fish; a section on the three basic ways to categorize seafood sources (wild, farm-raised, and managed resources); a section on various methods of storing seafood; a section on groundfish; one on lobster and other shellfish; a section on steakfish (tuna, salmon, halibut, and swordfish); and a section called Specialty Fish (shrimp and squid). It contains a few general paragraphs on cooking fish, shellfish, hard and soft shell lobster, and how to make fish and seafood stock. The book also includes numbered descriptions and photographs of how to filet a fish and how to skin a filet. Nick combines (and undoubtedly improves) his versions of the kinds of seafood we’re all used to with marvelous-sounding Italian versions and a few elegant special-occasion versions.

The recipe sections start with salads, soups, and chowders. Nick features calamari and jumbo shrimp arugula salad, and fresh tuna with Wasabi over (peaches, tomatoes, cucumber, and romaine) salad, the tuna seared and served rare with something called Montreal spice, which I assume the retail store carries. The chowders include corn chowder with a pound of fresh crabmeat, and two kinds of fish chowder: Italian and Scandinavian.

The section on Appetizers contains recipes for baked clams, a “Mained-up” version of Maryland crab cakes complete with how-to photographs, and two raw dishes: a heavenly looking salmon carpaccio, much like gravlax, Nick says, but not as complicated or lengthy to prepare; and an easy-to-prepare scallop ceviche. Asked what recipes he genuinely loves, Nick mentioned, “decadent Lobster Shortcake, a really old and unique dish.” But he also admitted this sumptuous dish is rich, made with butter and cream, and is definitely not heart-healthy.

Entrées feature a number of baked recipes: haddock plain and with Maine shrimp sauce, baked stuffed lobster, and cod loin. Nick includes a sumptuous-looking, though complicated, halibut with spring pea risotto, and a homey mac and cheese made elegant with the addition of lobster. He even offers a fish taco recipe, again using the combination of peaches and tomatoes along with black beans. He ends the book with a recipe for whole roasted fish, suggesting the cook use branzino, black sea bass, hybrid striped bass, red snapper, or pompano, and noting that cooking the whole fish with skin and bones “imparts much more flavor than just a fillet.”

It’s a wonderful, tremendously useful book with so much information on seafood included it belongs in every kitchen. Because it’s published by Down East, it’s available everywhere.