Fish Book

Sophie Grigson is famous for her recipe columns for the London Evening Standard and Independent, her television show and her books Eat Your Greens and Sophie Grigson's Meat Course. William Black is a fish merchant who was the subject of a Channel 4 programme, "Matters of Taste", which went on to win a Glenfiddich Award. He is also Sophie's husband. Jane Grigson, Sophie's mother, wrote a classic work in the 1970s called The Fish Book and now Sophie and William have written Fish, which aims to complement, rather than replace, Jane's wonderful, erudite work. An informative introduction to buying, preparing and cooking fish follows a chapter of reflections on the state of marine ecosystems, catching your first fish, and what can or cannot be classified as a fish. The rest of the book is divided into 14 sections describing different types of fish--flatfish, clupeiformes, shellfish, migrants, squid and cuttlefish, and even preserved fish. Each section is prefaced with a list of the different sorts of fish in the category with a star ranking indicating what the authors consider the best buys and a heart symbol for fish which are high in Omega-3 fatty acids. In the section on tuna, mackerel and game fish, for example, bluefin tuna has a two-star rating and a heart, but skipjack only has one heart. What really makes the book fabulous, however, are the recipes. Whether it's a recipe for Taramasalata, Marinated Anchovy Dip or Grilled Swordfish with Marinated Cucumber Salsa, you'll find it here. Beautifully illustrated and creatively designed, Fish is an inspirational book which is also a well-conceived and brilliantly executed reference work. -- Dale KneenRead More