Seafood

Quick shrimp dish with wonderful taste of garlic, tomatoes and white wine. 

They might sit there, unnoticed and undisturbed, in your fridge or cabinet, for weeks or months or even longer. But they’re waiting — or at least they should be — until your stir-fries need a jolt of distinctive, impossible-to-mistake flavor that nothing else can give you.

They are fermented black beans, and in an Asian market a dollar or two buys a pound, a supply that will last you a long time because you use only a tablespoon or two at a time.

Salmon cooks over a bed of lemon and fresh herbs to infuse it with flavor and keep the fish tender and moist. We like a blend of thyme, tarragon and oregano, but any of your favorite herbs will work. Make it a meal: Serve with grilled new potatoes tossed in an herb vinaigrette and steamed green beans.

I first tasted freshly caught grilled seafood with salsas on the beach in a small restaurant in Mexico. Wrapped in warm flour tortillas, they make an ideal lunch or dinner. You can skip the tortillas and serve this with rice or quinoa. You need 10 bamboo skewers. 

Celebrated cookbook author Jacques Pepin made this dish for a party recently. He used the bright coral salmon that you would eat on a bagel with cream cheese. The pate, which is pureed, has the pleasing quality of an unusual tartare. I happened to have some hot-smoked salmon in the fridge and made his pate using that. The fish is nothing like the slightly oily slices of regular smoked salmon. Hot-smoked, as the name suggests, is cooked on a hot fire until it's fully done and flaky. Sometimes called "smoked-roasted" salmon, hot-smoked salmon is usually sold in small pieces.

This chowder is easy to make and requires only one pot. The salmon comes out tender and is a good match with the dill and potatoes. For a smokier flavor, roast the ears of corn directly over the fire before removing the kernels. If you don't have fresh salmon, frozen will work fine, or you can use smoked salmon. If using smoked salmon, cut back on the salt for seasoning.

The spring flavors of asparagus and pesto combine beautifully with fettuccine and shrimp in a light and simple pasta dish that works for family or casual entertaining. Make it a meal: Serve with a tomato-and-arugula salad tossed with mustard-balsamic vinaigrette and fruit sorbet for dessert.

Mahi-mahi has a large, moist, and pleasantly firm flake. Topping it with briny feta, herbs, and lemon slices evokes the warm shores of Greece.

Lovers of fried fish get the taste without all the calories in this recipe. Seasoned whole-wheat flour improves the usual fish-and-chips batter. A good pilsner or lager makes this dish taste best-and since you only need 1/2 cup, there's some left over for the cook to enjoy.