- Are you floundering when it comes to adding fish to your line-up?

Are you overwhelmed at the fish market?

Or befuddled once you land your catch on the kitchen counter?

Today, I'll be your fishing guide as I demystify the choosing, prepping and cooking of fish.

On the menu, Tilapia Milanese with three ingredient seasoned breadcrumbs, Salmon wrapped in greens, with walnut yogurt dill sauce, An easy bouillabaisse.

So, throw a line with me, right now, here on Ellie's Real Good Food.

(latin music) - [Announcer] Funding for this series has been provided by (lively music) And by (serene guitar music) - [Announcer] Grapes from California, grown by families for families.

- [Announcer] And by Regal Springs Tilapia.

- [Announcer] Ellie's Kitchen is provided by Clarke, New England's Subzero and Wolf showroom and test kitchen.

- Hi, I'm Ellie Krieger and fish is on the menu today here at Ellie's Real Good Food.

Fish has unbeatable health benefits, and most of us, the vast majority of us, don't eat enough of it.

I'm breaking down the barriers to show you how easy, affordable, and most important, delicious, fish can be.

(latin music) I'm starting with one of my go-to dishes, Tilapia Milanese, which basically is a crispy tilapia dish, so it's breaded and crispy, but crispy from being baked, not fried.

First of all, I made my own breadcrumbs and it really makes such a huge difference to make your own.

Basically, I took three pieces of bread, took the crusts off, and put that in the food processor, and just baked it at 350 for 12 minutes.

Easy, easy.

So I'm just gonna combine these breadcrumbs in a skillet with one and a half tablespoons of olive oil.

Just get 'em seasoned up and kind of browned, so that when it gets in the oven I don't have to worry about getting the breadcrumbs crispy because they already are.

So in here goes also one clove of garlic and some salt and pepper.

Minced garlic.

So the garlic's going to get a little bit toasted in here with the breadcrumbs, which are further toasting and further browning until they're beautifully crisp and tasty.

Quarter teaspoon of salt, about an eighth of pepper.

These are where I want them to be.

Just gonna pour them into here, let them cool a little.

Beautifully brown, seasoned with garlic, that right there are my three ingredient breadcrumbs.

And now, for the star of this dish, the tilapia, the beautiful fish.

And the thing I love about tilapia it's the fish that really everybody loves.

It's so clean tasting and so mild that really even people who don't think they like fish, usually they like tilapia.

So it's one of those fish that's great to serve to kids, great to serve to grownups who are sort of, oh maybe they're not sure about fish, this is a great kind of introduction.

It has a beautiful flake to it and it's really versatile, it has a firm texture that stands up to the grill.

It's nice for making kind of fish fingers, so you can do this exact same recipe, kind of finger style.

And so I'm just going flour, egg, breadcrumbs.

So, fish is amazing, lean protein, right?

And the fat that it does have is good for you.

But beyond fat, omega-3s and so on, beyond that, it's an incredibly good source of so many nutrients.

Vitamin D, niacin, B-12, all these really important nutrients that most of us actually don't get enough of.

A lot of people ask me, "Oh, is farmed fish okay?

"Can I get farmed?

"Is wild better?"

Frankly, when it comes to sustainability and health, both are great options, farmed and wild caught.

But, for both, you wanna make sure that it's ethically caught or ethically raised, sustainably caught or raised, and so one of the first things you do is go to a reliable fishmonger, someone you can really ask questions of and who has good answers for you.

But, otherwise one great resource online is the Vancouver Aquarium Ocean Wise.

If you go to their website, they have a whole listing of ethical and sustainable producers and catchers of fish.

So, that's all there is to it on this end, I'm just gonna rinse my hands.

Get this in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees, and then we'll top it with a gorgeous salad.

Crispy and beautiful.

You know one of the things a lot of people tell me is they don't know when fish is done.

"How do I tell when fish is done?"

All you do is go in with your fork like this and if it flakes easily like this, it's done.

And the thing is, if you check it and it's not done, you just put it back in and cook it some more.

So it's not difficult at all.

So on top of this fish goes a beautiful and very simple salad of arugula and tomatoes, with a little olive oil lemon juice dressing.

I'm just gonna finish cutting these tomatoes.

And so the classic Milanese is made with chicken, pounded thin and fried, and so this is really a nice healthy take on it, to get fish into your life in a way that everyone loves.

'Cuz who doesn't love a piece of crispy fish?

And one and a half tablespoons of olive oil.

So, classically it's served with this exact salad, a little arugula tomato salad, but you could really put any salad on, so that's another fun part.

Any salad on top will work.

About a tablespoon of lemon juice, some salt and pepper.

Let's give that a little toss to coat the leaves and pull it all together.

Let's see, I'll go with this one.

They all look great.

Top it with some salad.

Serve it with a little lemon, and there you have it, Tilapia Milanese.

It's wonderful.

(jazzy music) Andrea loves fish, and she has a favorite go-to salmon recipe that she finds works for any meal.

It's reliable and so convenient because Andrea always has the ingredients on hand.

And as a working mom, convenience and ease are paramount.

- [Andrea] I love all types of fish, I love salmon, tilapia, cod, but I'm always on the go, and to have salmon from the can and not stop off at the fish market every single day to pick something up, it's wonderful to just have something in the pantry on hand as an emergency.

This meal, I've been making from the time I can cook.

My mother taught it to me, she would come home from work from a long day and she would prepare this.

It was something that was quick, easy and very affordable.

Two cups of water for brown rice.

I prepare the rice first, since it takes a little longer.

This is boiling, I just add my brown rice and let that simmer.

In the meantime, olive oil in the pan with chopped onions.

Just let the onions get translucent.

This is the lovely part: clunk.

Not very appealing, but it's delicious.

And then just chop it up a little.

I do add a little bit of seafood seasoning.

No salt, because this is enough salt in this.

And a little bit of pepper in.

As the water evaporates, add a little bit of scallions and some dill, and you're ready to eat.

And voila.

Even though this is my go-to dish, I really would love to have more seafood dishes that are fast, easy-peasy and lots of fun.

Yummy!

- Andrea does love fresh fish, but she says the cost and preparation put her off.

I am going to change her mind about both today.

Andrea, thank you so much for joining me on Ellie's Real Good Food.

- Hi Ellie!

Great to see you and meet you.

- Yeah, and so you know what, the thing is, I think your fear or hesitance for fresh fish is really a misconception because it can be just as fast, if not faster, to prepare and can run about the same as boneless skinless chicken breast.

But that said, also you should know that canned salmon is a great option.

I mean, it has all the omega-3s and nutritional value of fresh salmon, so you don't have to feel bad.

In fact, you should feel great that you're including fish in your life.

I wanna show you this fabulous, fresh salmon dish and it's my salmon wrapped in greens, and I have this lovely yogurt, dill, and walnut sauce to serve with it.

You wanna make it with me?

Virtually?

- Yes.

It sounds delicious.

- So I'm just going to start off by seasoning the fish with some salt and pepper, and I just love salmon, and it's one of the best sources of omega-3.

Pepper.

For the extra twist here, I'm gonna wrap each of these filets in some greens, so the thing is you can use any green you want, any kind of large green.

So, I'm gonna let you pick, Andrea.

Which green do you want me to use right now?

Swiss chard, kale, collards?

- Let's do swiss chard, yeah.

- Alright, I love that, so pretty.

- Yes, the color.

- So basically, I'm just gonna slice it off of the stem.

So I have two halves there.

I'll do the other one swiss chard also.

I think swiss chard is one of the most underrated greens.

Do you cook with swiss chard a lot too?

- Not very often.

- So then you basically just take the filet and you just kind of wrap it like that.

And then I secure it with a couple toothpicks.

- Ellie, how much fish per week will give you the perfect amount of omega-3s?

- Okay so it really depends on the fish 'cause different fish have different amounts of omega-3s.

But, really what's recommended overall is to have at least eight ounces of fish, of seafood in general of any kind, each week.

I'm gonna brush this with a little oil.

- Is that olive oil, or?

- Yes, that's olive oil.

Alright so I'm just gonna put this on top of the hot grill.

- Can that also be done in the oven?

- I would imagine it could, and certainly you can cook salmon in the oven.

I would just put it on a baking sheet and cook it at like 400 degrees, again for about eight minutes per inch thickness.

So while this is going, I'm just gonna make this wonderful sauce and you're gonna see how easy it is.

Basically, I'm gonna start by zesting a lemon.

Okay, so we have some lemon zest in there, got some fresh dill fronds.

- This is the time of season to grow all your herbs outside.

- Oh yeah.

Okay so this right in the bowl.

And a half cup of yogurt.

I think this salmon needs to be turned.

The salmon will wait for no one.

Oh you can see, these leaves have gotten a bit charred, which is what we want, gorgeous.

- Can't wait to try that one, it really does look delicious.

- I think you're gonna be surprised at just how easy it really is.

Half cup of greek yogurt this is, by the way.

And you can use low-fat or full-fat, whatever you like.

But for this, I use low-fat because I'm also gonna put some oil in it.

So, I'm kind of infusing it with a healthier fat.

Two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and the juice of a lemon, so this is gonna be really nicely lemony.

Just catch the seeds with my hands here.

And, last but not least, some toasted walnuts.

So, I toasted these in a dry skillet for three minutes, maybe five minutes until they're just fragrant.

And it just really brings out that nutty flavor.

And I'm just gonna give them a chop.

- So that's gonna give it like a nice crunch in the sauce.

- Exactly.

Okay.

Walnuts are in, and this fish is looking ready.

Let me give this sauce a stir, and I'll get the fish off.

Wait 'til you see how gorgeous it is.

I'm gonna add a little salt and pepper to this though, too, before I seal the deal here.

Alright.

Ready?

Ready, Andrea?

- Would that travel well if I needed to take it like, out for lunch?

- Yeah, well I would put it in a cooler pack, and then you could kind of just let it come to room temperature when you're ready.

I think it would be delicious.

Alright.

It's a beauty.

Should I drizzle a little bit on so you see how it looks with the sauce on it?

Alright I have to dig in.

I'll let you know how it is.

You're totally gonna love it.

Thank you, Andrea, for joining me.

Salmon wrapped in greens with a walnut yogurt sauce.

It's wonderful.

(jazzy music) I'm so excited to share with you my easy bouillabaisse because it's genuinely easy, and it's one of those things that you will make over and over again.

It's such a delicious way to enjoy the fruits of the sea.

It starts off with this wonderful base.

It's almost like a soup, kind of soup-stew.

Loaded with flavor, with herbs, and zest, so I'm starting off with this little bouquet garni.

It's really like an herb bundle.

And I'm putting in some lemon zest, bay leaf, some thyme sprigs, and some parsley sprigs.

I'm just gonna tie that up with a little kitchen twine, and it will release its glorious flavor into the soup-stew as it cooks and then I can pluck it out later, before serving.

Okay, so I'll set that aside.

I'm gonna get some oil heating in the pot here, three tablespoons of olive oil, and in there is gonna go some fennel.

So I'll cut the fronds off, so I'm just gonna use the bulb in there, but you can use the fennel fronds as a garnish for this dish, also for salads and things, so I'll hang on to those.

I'll just take the core out first.

Just slice this thinly into half moons or quarter moons, doesn't have to be precise.

Get the onion in there.

And fennel has this kind of like anise flavor, it's very delicate anise flavor, so there's just lots of different layers of delicate flavors in this dish that build together to make something really special.

Just gonna let that cook down and soften a bit.

Next layer of flavor, some garlic, four cloves of minced garlic.

Get some heat through that for about 30 seconds.

One cup of dry wine, white wine.

I'm just gonna let this boil down until it's reduced by about half, two minutes.

And most of the alcohol will boil off at this point.

Okay that looks good.

Now, I'll throw the herb bundle in, some fish stock, and you can buy fish stock now, just in the store in a box, but one of the things to be careful of with fish stock is that depending on where you get it, it has different levels of saltiness.

So really taste it and see how salty it is before you add additional salt.

I'm gonna put three quarters of a teaspoon of salt in here, but you may need more or a little bit less, depending on how salty your stock is.

And some pepper.

And a can of diced tomatoes with juice, low sodium.

And last, but definitely not least, a quarter teaspoon of saffron threads.

And I just adore saffron, and just a little bit goes a long way, so I'm just gonna crumble a quarter teaspoon of those, not wasting any of it, into the stew, and it just will impart this beautiful sort of golden hue and glorious fragrance.

So now this just comes to a boil, then I'm gonna cover it and let it simmer for about an hour where all of the flavors and all of the textures can kind of meld together.

(latin music) So once you have the base ready, which this is, and it is looking golden and glorious, this is like the golden child of fish dishes, you wanna pluck out that bouquet garni, 'cause it did its job.

And put in all this glorious fish.

And again, just to remind you, you can make this ahead.

Just bring it back to a boil, and then put the fish in.

So, here is some cod, which I've cut into two-inch pieces basically, so that this all cooks at the same time and it only takes five minutes, so you have company coming over, you just have this base simmering and ready to go, and when you're ready to eat, you put the fish in and serve and you get oohs and ahs guaranteed.

Shrimp, those were cockles, they're small clams, and some mussels, so I like to mix up some shellfish and usually white fish is really nice in here.

Just kinda give that a little stir to make sure it's in there.

Cover, five to six minutes, and you're good to go.

(lively music) I mean, really, just look at that, it's so beautiful.

Just take it in for a minute.

It's like aromatherapy.

(laughs) So I'm gonna put some fish on the plate, got those great shrimp, gorgeous chunks of cod, get some mussels, and some of those little cockles, and that is a luscious looking dinner.

Garnish with some toasts, parsley leaves, and those fennel fronds, and you have a delicious and easy bouillabaisse.

And that is how you put fish in the sweet spot where delicious and healthy meet.

Mmm.

Oh my goodness.

This is heaven.

So I'm starting of with this little bouquet garni.

It's really like an herb bundle.

So it has one strip of lemon zest, a leaf of bay, (laughing) otherwise known as a bay leaf ... (crew laughing) That was ridiculous, okay.

- [Announcer] For these recipes and much more, go to ElliesRealGoodFood.com.

Also, connect with Ellie on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Funding for this series has been provided by ... (lively music) And by ... (serene guitar music) - [Announcer] Grapes from California, grown by families, for families.

- [Announcer] And by Regal Springs Tilapia.

- [Announcer] Ellie's kitchen is provided by Clarke, New England's Subzero and Wolf showroom and test kitchen.