FISH - Know it, Cook it, Eat it
Eating fish is one of the great pleasures of life. This book stems from that notion: it contains dozens of recipes from all principal regions of the planet. If you like seafood, aquatic foods and fishery products, there’ll be something in here for you. At the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with a presence in two-thirds of all countries, we know what ends up on the world’s plates. The urge to share some of that culinary wealth was reason enough to bring this volume to life. But it wasn’t the only one.
Most of the dishes we present are “national” or folk recipes, plucked from the gastro-lore that is the sum of household experience. The majority have been collected locally by our staff; often, it’s fare they grew up with, or versions of it. Yet you’ll also find a selection of dishes magicked up for us by celebrated chefs, in whose hands the national tradition is reimagined.
For each species of fish featured, we have sought to provide more context than cookery books normally offer – cultural, historic or environmental, and touching on matters of economics and trade. Food in our times is, after all, a form of world-wise awareness as much as a question of mere sustenance. And while most cookbooks start with the fish sitting on your kitchen worktop, ours starts at the fish stall – and even underwater – with tips on gauging the merchandise and avoiding the common phenomenon that is fish fraud.