Category Archives: Seafood

The One and Only Joyce Goldstein

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Fish fillets cooked Catalan-style -- with pine nuts. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

For four decades, San Francisco’s Joyce Goldstein has been a cooking teacher, cookbook author, chef and restaurateur.

She introduced us to tapas long before the now-crazed small plates trend existed.

She was making couscous at her restaurant before most people even knew what it was.

Now, she’s hard at work on what will be her 26th book.

And oh, by the way, she just turned 75.

This tiny, bespectacled woman continues to teach us all about cooking, eating and culture. Read all about her in my story in the September issue of Food Arts magazine, in which she is spotlighted as this month’s recipient of its Silver Spoon Award.

Then, enjoy this dish from her book, “Tapas: Sensational Small Plates from Spain” (Chronicle Books).

As Goldstein notes, “Fish in Pine Nut Sauce,” which I spied on Epicurious.com, is typical of many Spanish fish dishes in that it features sauces made with nuts. Fillets of firm, white fish are either baked in the oven or cooked on the stovetop in a homestyle, brothy Catalan sauce of tomatoes, green peas, dry white wine, garlic, and sweet paprika that gets its body from ground pine nuts and bread crumbs.

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Whole Foods Showcases Sustainable Swordfish & A “Next Iron Chef” Contestant

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Through August or until supplies last, Whole Foods Markets are selling fresh, harpoon-caught Novia Scotia swordfish that have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as sustainable.

Whole Foods is the only major grocery store selling the MSC-certified swordfish, which retails for $18.99 per pound.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s “Seafood Watch Guide” lists harpoon-caught swordfish as a “best choice.”

Instead of being caught in giant gillnets, which can be destructive to ocean  habitats and capture unwanted fish, these swordfish are captured in a very primitive, time-honored method. Fishermen use harpoons to target individual, mature fish one by one. The fishing boats, many family-owned, usually return to shore within 72 hours, ensuring that swordfish arrive at stores within 48 hours.

The Canadian government also has worked to limit the fishing season to three, five-day intervals, to help maintain the swordfish population.

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Good Eats in Australia

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VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA — Traveling opens your eyes, as well as your taste buds.

My recent week-long trip to Australia, sponsored by Boundary Bend Ltd., was no exception.

Both in Melbourne and throughout the outlying countryside of the state of Victoria, there were so many wonderful new ingredients and dishes to revel in. Here are some of the highlights:

Prahran Market:

I could have stayed for hours meandering through the stalls at the famous Prahran Market, Australia’s oldest continuously running central marketplace. The covered marketplace, teeming with produce, seafood, fresh pasta, flower, soap and olive oil vendors, originated in 1864 at a smaller locale in Melbourne, and moved to its present location in 1881.

If there weren’t those pesky agriculture and customs laws (for good reason, of course), I would have brought back to the Bay Area armloads of the mesmerizing finger limes (above and below photos). The fragrance alone is intoxicating — beautiful enough to be a perfume that you’d want to dab on all the time. It smells of kaffir lime, with a bright floral, refreshing and very complex nose.

What’s really fascinating, though, is that this lime doesn’t have much juice at all. Instead, give one a squeeze and out will come these little globules that look for all the world like caviar. Damian Pike, a wild mushroom specialist, whose stand was selling these, explained that the fruit can be used in marmalade and all manner of dishes. One taste of the chewy globules that burst with tangy delight and I was dreaming of them atop sashimi.

Pike’s stand also sold fresh pepper berries, which I had never seen before, having only been used to the dried variety that fills my pepper grinder at home.

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Fish Tacos Still Rule

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With all the hub-bub lately about the spicy Korean short rib taco craze, you might think fish tacos have gone passé.

Not so.

In fact, two San Francisco Bay Area spots have rolled out new, inventive versions just in time for summer.

First up, Gott’s Roadside (the restaurant formerly known as Taylor’s Automatic Refresher) is serving up fish tacos — poke-style. Yes, three crispy tacos ($13.99) are filled with Hawaiian-style raw, marinated ahi tuna cubes, avocado, green cabbage, cilantro and spicy mayo.

Gott’s also features a new “B-Side” menu — sly, you-have-to-ask-for-it selections on a special list that you have to specifically request at the counter or follow @gottsroadside on Twitter for updates on that particular menu.

A few of the recent secret menu items have included the “Big Tasty” (buttermilk fried chicken with house-made ranch dressing, aioli, melted Swiss cheese and bacon on a butter-toasted egg bun) and the “Fish Royale Sandwich” (fresh mahi-mahi, tartar sauce, Romaine, and American cheese on a toasted bun).

The “B-Side” items are meant to showcase fresh-picked ingredients from Gott’s new garden in St. Helena, which will be used at all Gott’s locations. Those include heirloom tomatoes, herbs, shallots, squashes, potatoes and peppers.

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New Happy Hour, Good-For-You Granola, Seafood Fund-Raiser & More

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On the Peninsula:

If you haven’t yet checked out Junnoon’s swank revamped cocktail lounge, now’s the time to do so at the downtown Palo Alto restaurant’s new extended “Happy Hour,” every Thursday, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Starting June 17, the 15-seat lounge rolls out its new “Street Food Meets Bollywood Beats”, which will feature DJ tunes, two-for-one cocktails and Indian street food-inspired bites. Sip a Mumbai Mojito while nibbling on “Darjeeling Steamed Wontons” ($9) or “Tangy Semolina Shells” ($8).

June 25-26, Marché in Menlo Park will spotlight Pacific seafood on its menu with proceeds to benefit the Gulf Coast cleanup.

The four-course menu will include the likes of “Confit of Half Moon Bay Albacore with Olive Oil Pudding and Kalamata Granité” and “Hawaiian Mero Bass and Local Abalone with Porcinis.”

Price is $80 per person with an additional $59 for wine pairings. Ten dollars from each dinner sold will be donated to the Louisiana Bayoukeepers, members of the Waterkeeper Alliance, which have been the first line of defense against this oil leak disaster. Donations will help pay for clean-up supplies, protective gear, emergency office space and food for volunteers.

The Asian Chefs Association, which will be cooking up a storm at the James Beard House in New York on Oct. 4, will be preparing a preview dinner June 27 at Chef Chu’s restaurant in Los Altos.

The five-course dinner will give you a taste of what the chefs have up their toques even if you can’t make it to New York for the real deal. Dishes include crab Napoleon with Kobe beef and foie gras butter sauce by Jackson Yu of Live Sushi Bar in San Francisco; and kaffir lime broiled scallop with asparagus, gobo and corn pudding by Scott Whitman of Sushi Ran in Sausalito.

Price is $100 per person. Reservations must be made in advance by calling (510) 883-9386 or emailing chau@chilipepperevents.com.

Galaxy Granola of San Rafael, which touts its healthful granola as having about 70 percent less fat than its competitors, wants you to trade in your fatty foods for good-for-you ones.

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