Halibut

Ceviche is a much-loved dish in Miami, with a million delicious variations. In a nutshell, it’s seafood that is prepared by marinating in citrus juice, which makes the fish more opaque and firm, just as if it had been cooked with heat. I like to keep my recipe pretty straightforward and often use grouper, a favorite local fish. If you want to play around with other kinds of seafood, snapper, striped bass, scallops, and halibut are all the right texture. Whichever you choose, it’s important to start with the freshest, cleanest fish possible. The bright, refreshing combo of orange, lemon, and lime with creamy avocado and sweet mango makes for a great balance of texture, flavor, and visual appeal. If I had to describe it, I’d say it tastes like sashimi salsa! A little of the kimchi base adds another level of pow. You can sub a good hot sauce but trust me; it’s crazy good with the kimchi! As with all cold preparations, all of the ingredients should be cold to start. Also take the time to chill your serving bowls to ensure the dish is enjoyed at the proper temperature. For a cocktail party, serve the ceviche in tablespoons or wonton spoons as single bites.

Let your oven do the work on this juicy, piquant fish and the succulent red and orange roasted vegetables.

When I meet with fans I often hear this recipe mentioned as a favorite. People really seem to enjoy the bright combination of flavors in the salsa topping.

Gina: This is an idea that Pat and I hatched when we were thinking of other ways to use our Neely’s Barbecue Seasoning. We were already sprinkling it over various meats, and I was using it to season catfish. So, one evening when I was having a cocktail (which is when I am most creative), I thought, why not combine the barbecue seasoning with butter?!? I checked with Pat, and he thought it was a great idea, and, voilà, barbecue butter was born. You know, some of our best dishes have come from just messing around, so you might want to do what we do and let yourself go in the kitchen! During warm weather, when we don’t have the time (or the desire) to stand over a hot stove, few meals are as enticing as a piece of grilled fish like halibut, tuna, or salmon alongside grilled spears of asparagus slathered with this lively butter. The addictive butter (flavored with fresh herbs, scallions, and orange zest) is also incredibly versatile. Try it tossed with pasta and grilled shrimp, or melted over a seared steak. Boiled creamy new potatoes or steamed rice is a great accompaniment to this simple, satisfying meal. Barbecue butter will keep in the fridge for 4 or 5 days.

This dish is preventative medicine; it prevents one from ordering and pigging out on bad Mexican-style take-out food. If you make this instead you won’t end up feeling too fat or too full.

Fancy? Yup! Got people you need to impress? Invite them over . . . you’ll get the raise. Then you won’t be so tired.

Try halibut, mahi-mahi, or tilapia in this recipe, too. Leeks and bacon are so delish . . . add some fish and they become good for you, too.

This dish is fast and healthy and incorporates a favorite Sicilian combo: oranges, red onions, and oregano.

If you are looking for a superbly elegant, gentle dish, look no further. In a long line of meats and seafood grilled after they have been marinated very simply in a paste of fresh ginger, garlic, and chilies, this dish is a great family favorite. Have the fishmonger remove the halibut skin. I like to serve this with Karhai Broccoli and a potato or rice dish.

I used to make this dish with fillets of halibut until the cost, at least in New York, made me look at other fish. Now I use cod or hake. They both flake a bit more but still manage to hold their shape. Salting them ahead of time helps hold them together. I like to use fresh tomatoes even if they are out of season, as they are gentler in flavor. I grate the tomatoes on the coarsest part of a four-sided grater (see method on page 289), which removes the skin but keeps the seeds. Four medium tomatoes will yield roughly 1 3/4 cups of fresh puree, about what you need here. Light and lovely, this dish is best served with rice. I like to add a dal and perhaps a green, leafy vegetable.

This is a fast and easy method for preparing firm, thick fish fillets. A heavy skillet with a ridged bottom will produce nice grill marks when preheated in the oven. Serve this fish with stir-fried Asian noodles or spaghetti tossed with sautéed bok choy, green onions, and any type of sprouts, seasoned with minced garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.

A coating of herbed mayonnaise keeps the fish moist while it bakes.

It takes a very hot oven to roast this fish, and the results are incredible! The halibut is gently browned on the outside. You’d never be able to accomplish this “blast of hot air” in a conventional oven because the circulating heat hits everything at one time. Sometimes I add a few baby potatoes, scrubbed and quartered, or a quartered fennel bulb, tossed in melted butter and scattered around the fish. They’ll be done at the same time as the halibut.

Strawberries are a gem at the gym. Their vitamin C helps you melt up to 30 percent more fat during exercise.

Making a parchment envelope in which to steam a fillet of fish surrounded by aromatic vegetables may sound a bit fancy for just one, but cooking in parchment is actually one of the simplest and most effective ways of steaming, because it seals in the flavors. What a treat it is to have that golden-tinged, puffed-up half-moon of parchment on your plate, and then to tear it open and breathe in all the heady aromas. Moreover, you’ll have no cleanup afterward; just wipe off the Silpat mat and throw away the parchment after you’ve scraped and scooped up every last delicious morsel and its jus. If you want just one meal out of this, get about a 6-ounce fillet of flounder, halibut, salmon, red snapper—whatever looks good. Or, as I did recently, try tilapia, which is quite readily available these days and at a reasonable price. But bought almost twice the amount I needed, so I could play with the other half of the cooked fillet a couple of days later. I learned from Katy Sparks, whose book, Sparks in the Kitchen, is full of great cooking tips from a chef to the home cook, the trick of pre-roasting several slices of new potato so they can go in the parchment package. This way you have a complete, balanced meal-in-one cooked all together.

A little coconut milk adds richness to this sophisticated dish from the Sugar Mill restaurant at Rosewood Little Dix Bay.

The colored beets and bright green arugula in this dish make for a visually stunning presentation. The sweet roasted beets marinated in lemon vinaigrette play off the pure white fish and horseradish cream. Look for a few different types of beets, such as golden beets and Chioggia beets, and dress them separately, so the dark ones don't bleed their juices onto the lighter ones. In the spring, you could make this dish with wild salmon.

Traditional chowders all start off with a hearty soup base of onions and potatoes, and that makes a good soup just by itself. To this fragrant base you then add chunks of fish, or clams, or corn, or whatever else seems appropriate. (Note: You may leave out the pork and substitute another tablespoon of butter for sautéing the onions.)

Fennel and tomatoes go silky when poached in olive oil, and when halibut follows suit, it picks up hints of the vegetables' flavor and becomes succulent and delicately nuanced.