Fish

No aspect of food buying has changed in the last twenty years more than that of fish. Once fresh fish was strictly local, and frozen fish was of generally poor quality. Now markets are as likely to offer fish from around the world as from local waters, living inland is not nearly as great a handicap as it was, and frozen-at-sea fish may be “fresher” than fish that has merely been refrigerated.

One thing hasn’t changed, though: you cannot count on finding any particular species at the market. That’s why the recipes in this chapter offer suggestions for substitutions. The good news is that once you get into the right category-mollusks, shellfish, fish steaks, and so on-the techniques are pretty much consistent from one variety to the next. And that’s why the chapter is divided by fish and shellfish category.