Good Fish: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the Pacific Coast

by Becky Selengut

It can be intimidating to shop for seafood. You wonder if it's healthy for you, you worry about whether it's overfished and whether it's caught in ways that harm other species or the environment. Making smart seafood choices has never been more confusing or more important for the planet and our health. Chef and seafood advocate Becky Selengut knows from good fish, and in a voice that's informed but down-to-earth, she untangles the morass surrounding seafood today. From shellfish to finfish to littlefish, fifteen good fish are featured, and the accompanying seventy-five recipes will appeal to a wide range of home cooks: from beginners, to busy parents trying to put a healthy weeknight meal on the table, to the more adventurous who want to create special-occasion dishes. Sommelier April Pogue provides wine pairings for each recipe. Good Fish is an invaluable resource for anyone living on the Pacific Coast. Chef Becky Selengut is an advocate for seafood sustainability and seasonal, regional cuisine. Her writing has been featured in Seattle Homes and Lifestyles and Edible Seattle magazines. She lives in Seattle.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference, Humor

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2011

Reviews

[Jonathan Hiskes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderfully helpful guide to responsible Northwest seafood. Selengut's recipes are a tad demanding for my taste, but she's a friendly guide. And she teaches part-time at Bastyr, so she's awesome. (I interviewed her about sardines last year.)

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be worth the price of admission for the Oregon pink shrimp salad alone (Swoon...). Divine!

[Phyllis Bismanovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great description of fish, time to shop, where to find, recipes with few ingredients.

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't glean as many "must-make" recipes from this as I'd hoped, but glad to see inclusion of fish like sardines.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I have moved this to my 'read' pile, I know I will be repeatedly coming back to this cookbook time and again. I have now prepared and sampled many items from this book and I can say that every one of them was delicious (even the ones I thought were a little suspect - who knew sardines and raw scallops could be sooo delicious??!!!). :)

I have had the pleasure of taking two cooking classes with Becky Selengut and I'm about to sign up for a third. Not only does her sardonic humor come through in this cookbook, so does her to-the-bone belief that sustainable seafood must be our future and yet you will never feel that she has pulled out the soap box to share her knowledge with you. Then we can get down to the matter of the yummy beyond measure recipes and photographs that will inspire you to prepare the dishes. Wild Salmon Chowder? Go make this right now. I just had it for lunch and my taste buds are still doing a happy dance!

[Julie Mickens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful book, an inspiring concept and gorgeous photography. However, although I was hoping for more in-depth ecological and biological info, this is mainly a cookbook.

The recipes seem exciting, but good quality seafood -- sustainable or otherwise -- is a too-rare treat in my budget. Also, as meals, the recipes would require some hearty sides to be filling, but I guess that's typical with fish.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous layout and design. This book is a treat to peruse. I tried the scallop searing method which involves very high heat and some smoke. My hubby stood by shaking his head sadly at the apparent waste of some good shellfish. Perfection! Seriously good. I look forward to trying more recipes soon. I also love that the fish are specific to my region.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book by a wonderful woman (and chef) from Seattle.

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seattle based — sustainability focused — sardine section!

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is outstanding. I really like the win and beer pairing selections, and the excellent intro which is a really good primer on fish in general.

[Douglas]

Becky Selengut is an amazing cook and perhaps a better teacher! Her books are beautiful and the recipes are relatively simple. Worth the preparation!