One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish,
Bluefish: The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook
Carole C. Baldwin and Julie
H. Mounts. 2003. Smithsonian Books, Washington, D.C.
330 pp., hardbound. $35.
"A
significant part of the pleasure of eating is in one's
accurate consciousness of the lives and the world from
which the food comes."
—Wendell Berry
"In the hands of an able cook, fish can become
an inexhaustible source of perpetual delight."
—Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Cookbook and conservation are words that rarely appear in the same sentence. But that may well change with the publication of this delicious volume that mixes gourmet recipes, scientific research, colorful illustrations, and seafood recommendations to serve up a uniquely appealing feast for the senses and the socially responsible soul.
Carole C. Baldwin is a marine biologist at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, and Julie H. Mounts a research assistant there. The text that surrounds the recipes in One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish: The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook reflects their expertise in fish and their concern for the future of marine resources. Their focus is not on what seafood not to eat—any number of lists are available to tell consumers that—but on what seafood to eat, and how to prepare a variety of familiar and less familiar species, from salmon and tuna to eel and opah.
The premise of the book is upbeat: “We [the authors] believe the public can reap the benefits of a diet rich in seafood and at the same time support marine resource protection. . . .individuals can have a positive influence on conservation of marine resources simply by diversifying their seafood selections among well-managed stocks.” Few conservation challenges are so amenable to such direct and painless action by the public, action that can really make a difference.
To provide the book’s 150 seafood recipes, Baldwin and Mounts recruited contributions from 105 of the best chefs in the United States. These include such local luminaries as Roberto Donna of Galileo, Michel Richard of Citronelle, Bob Kinkead of Kinkead’s, and Nora Pouillon of Restaurant Nora, as well as food celebrities such as Julia Child, Alice Waters, and Wolfgang Puck.
The book is organized into 20 chapters, each covering one or more types of shellfish or finfish. For instance, scallops and crabs merit a chapter each, while oysters, mussels, and clams are grouped in one chapter, catfish and tilapia in another. The number of recipes per chapter varies from 14 for the salmon, trout, and Arctic char group to two for herring and shad. Each chapter opens with an introduction to a species or group of species that describes their status in the wild or in aquaculture, how they are harvested to minimize ecological damage, their place in cuisine, and in a healthy diet.
The authors carefully explain the sometimes confusing rules for selecting seafood. Farmed Atlantic salmon should be avoided in favor of wild Alaskan salmon. Farmed rainbow trout and catfish are good choices, however, as are farmed mussels, which is a better choice than wild mussels. They explain that you have to be careful of misleading labeling: Line-caught may conjure up an image of a solitary fisherman with a rod and reel, but this label is also used for fish harvested by longliners, “. . .which lay thousands of baited hooks on or within miles of ocean, [and] frequently catch sea birds, sharks, and sea turtles. . .”. On the other hand, diver scallops truly are handpicked by divers, while most other, non-farmed scallops are caught by dredging, which destroys marine habitats.
The recipes are clearly written, with careful instructions, planning and cooking tips, wine suggestions, and more. Suffice it to say, all sound delicious—and the ones I’ve tried have been. Grilled calamari with warm white-bean salad is a standout, and easy to prepare. More complicated but worth the effort is salmon (wild Alaskan salmon, that is) braised in grape juice with whipped red potatoes and horseradish, an unlikely combination of flavors that proved wonderful. Caesar salad with spicy fried oysters is a fabulous first course. But even if you never prepare a single one, you’ll likely enjoy leafing through this book, because it includes much more than inspiring recipes.
In each chapter there is a sidebar called “In the Wild,” offering an interesting bit of natural history on the animals. (Did you know that during warmer periods in the Pacific sardines dominate the waters, while anchovies prevail during cool periods, alternating in 25-year cycles?) A box in each chapter details scientific and common names, U.S. distribution, season, what to look and smell for when selecting, color, taste, and texture, and cooking methods. All of this helps in selecting and preparing seafood, whether you follow the recipes or not. The back of the book includes an article on U.S. seafood conservation issues, as well as sources for seafood in the book’s recipes, a culinary glossary, and references and websites for more information.
Whether you’re interested in great food, fascinating fish stories, or saving the planet—or all three—One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish should be on your bookshelf. I think Wendell Berry and Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin would agree.
—Susan Lumpkin
Please visit the related Smithsonian website at 
www.mnh.si.edu/seafood
for more information.
ZooGoer
33(1) 2004. Copyright 2004 Friends of the National Zoo.
All rights reserved.
