More Mackerel Please!

Friday, February 25th, 2011 | posted by mike

Sarah Monahan holding a Spanish MackerelWe’ve been singing praises of the mackerel family for years. Atlantic, Spanish,King and Wahoo are some of our all time favorites. I’m happy to say that more customers at our market have been giving these fuller flavored fish a try, including Michigan Daily reviewer, Lila Kalick, who tried a fillet of Spanish Mackerel with our San Remo butter (sun-dried tomatoes, herbs white wine and Parmesan) for lunch, loved it and wrote a nice little review about our cafe.

Part of our menu includes a section where you can pick a fish straight from the display, choose a sauce or rub, a side and we prepare it for ya. When folks ask for a suggestion, I often push flavorful fish like mackerel because it’s probably something that they haven’t tried. It’s so satisfying to see the happy faces out there just loving that robust and healthful fish. We’d like to have you come in for our Monahan’s Mackerel Challenge…try the mackerel prepared at the market for lunch, and if you don’t love it, you don’t have to pay for it.

Today’s recipe uses Atlantic mackerel but Spanish or King would work well too

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Pan Seared Curried Mackerel

Friday, February 25th, 2011 | posted by wendy

Mackerel is a great fish to cook if you want to use a spicy preparation like curry. This recipe serves 2.

3/4-1 lb. Atlantic Mackerel fillet. Pin bone removed

For the sauce

  • 3 T olive oil
  • 3 scallions thin sliced
  • 1 garlic clove fine chop
  • 1 tomato cubed
  • 1/4 cup tomato sauce
  • 1 T tomato paste
  • 3 T red curry paste
  • 2 t shiracha sauce or more if you like hot
  • 1 T mango chutney
  • 2  t coriander powder
  • 3 t cumin powder
  • 1/2 cup canned chick peas
  • 1 t turmeric  powder

For the fish

  • 2 T olive oil
  • Drake’s batter mix or seasoned flour
  • Pinch of cumin powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

To make sauce heat pan over medium high heat add olive oil and sauté scallions and garlic until softened and starting to brown. Add the rest of sauce ingredients stir and simmer over low heat while you prepare the fish.

Dust mackerel fillets in Drake’s and sprinkle with small amount of cumin powder. Heat an oven proof pan or iron skillet over high heat. Add olive oil, and when oil is sizzling hot place fillets flesh side down and sear for about 2 min or until fillet looks browned and crispy around the edges. Flip and pop in the oven for another 3-5 min or until fillet is barely opaque in the center.

Serve on top of sauce.

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Monahan's Seafood Photo Contest!

Friday, February 18th, 2011 | posted by mike

one-pot seafood recipe

One of our favorite photos by Lisa Monahan

Every week here in the Friday Fish Report we try to come up with a (hopefully) interesting article accompanied by a nice recipe along with a photo of the featured dish. I am very fortunate to have a pro  photographer on staff—My wife, Lisa Monahan. Lisa studied graphic arts and photography at the U of M and later—to our great advantage—went on to study food photography at Washtenaw Community College. Every week Lisa shoots for the Fish Report—sometimes the shot takes place at the Market and it’s often taken on our dining room table at home. Most times she puts me to work as a stylist or sometimes I even get to hold up reflectors or props. It’s always interesting to watch her work, even as dinner is getting colder by the minute.

A lot of planning and skill goes into good food photography. The moment a dish is prepared it starts losing its luster by the second. There are lots of tricks used by the pros, such as spraying with oil, microwaving water-soaked cotton balls for steam, paint, blowtorches even the use of fake props are commonly used. I notice when watching Lisa that her success is in her preparation. Setting up the shot, focus, lighting, background etc. are all ready to go before the star of the show is even out of the oven. Her skills make our fish look exciting and delicious.

Lately we’ve been getting some emails with photos from customers who send in great shots of some of the amazing dishes that they’ve prepared at home with our fish or shellfish. I got to thinking that we maybe we should have a little photo contest.

I know that it might be a little difficult to judge because not everybody has the same equipment to work with but I think it will be fun. Since some of you are great cooks but not great photographers we’ll have another prize for the best recipe in an upcoming contest (to be announced).

The Rules…
Photos should be of anything from Monahan’s, on a platter, a pot , an individual entree, anything!

The Prizes…
Now you’re probably wondering what the prizes are…well, we’re gonna pull out the stops!

  • First prize for best photo will be Dinner for Four, cooked by Mike Monahan at your house! (If the winner isn’t from within 20 miles of Ann Arbor, we will swap that out for a Monahan’s gift certificate redeemable for $100).
  • The top 2 Runners-up will receive our world-famous squid t-shirt!

The Judges…
Our panel of judges will consist of current and former fish-mongers: Mike Monahan, Lisa Monahan, Bernie Fritszch and Wendy Williams. Photos will be judged in terms of creativity, composition, and how appetizing the dish appears.

The Results…
Judging will take place as the contest takes place and we will announce the winners in the Friday Fish Report on March 24!

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The Great American Fish: Stripers Forever!

Friday, February 11th, 2011 | posted by mike

The royal, regal and mighty striped bass has an important history in our country that goes back to colonial times. In 1623 enough of these incredible fish were caught on one fishing trip to feed the Mayflower colonists for three months! In colonial New England, Striped Bass was such a prized resource that the first conservation measure was taken to protect them. Part of that measure was to prevent them from being used as fertilizer. The first free school was founded on Cape Cod in 1670 with funds largely generated from the sale of these fish.

Striped BassStriped Bass are still still a very important commercial food fish and a fantastic game fish. Called “Stripers” in New England and “Rockfish” in the Chesapeake Bay, their range is from the St. Lawrence Seaway in Canada to northern Florida. Stocks have historically had some serious ups and downs. One low point was in the early 80s right when we opened Monahan’s Seafood Market. The fishery was in bad shape and in 1981 the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission enacted a coastwide management plan. Tough management measures protected the stocks and in 1995 the stocks were formally declared as restored.

We are so lucky to still be able to enjoy this most incredible fish. They have everything going for them! Good looks—big (saltwater record 78.5 lbs.), handsome in the well-proportioned classic kind of way—and a texture and flavor that’s hard to beat! They are anadromous so they spawn in fresh water and have successfully been introduced to rivers and reservoirs all over the world. Because of their size and strength they are a super popular sports fish. I’ve surf-casted with live eel bait on Cape Cod and had a blast fishing off the rocks in Maine using fresh-caught mackerel. Bass are so strong that they feed in the heavy currents right of the rocks eating any fish or shellfish that they can fit in their mouths. I ‘ll never forget the perfectly intact 2 lb. Lobster we removed from the belly of a 25 pounder at the market several years ago.

The flavor is fantastic—not full flavored like mackerel or bluefish—but not too delicate either. It’s got a taste with character that will hold up to many preparations. I think the best size fish for the table are small 2-4 lb. fish (great to roast or steam whole) or fillets from 5-15 lb. fish. The fish is incredibly versatile. There’s not much that you can’t do with ‘em. We’ve baked, steamed, fried, stuffed, grilled, used in chowders and bouillabaisse, made ceviche and sashimi—all with great results. Flavor-wise, the best striped bass at market (in my opinion) are wild caught.

Because these fish can live in fresh water they have successfully cross-bred wild striped bass with their freshwater cousins the White Bass. You can tell the difference because they are much smaller, average 1-2 lbs., and the black horizontal stripes are broken. Not bad farm raised fish, but the taste and texture of wild Striper is something you’ll never forget.

An American fish hero at the table or at the end of a fishing line, the striped bass is truly one of our top classic fish.

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Sea Bass Braised with Fennel

Friday, February 11th, 2011 | posted by wendy

3/4 lb. sea bass fillet
4 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste
4 T chopped onion
1/2 c fish stock
1/4 c chopped celery
1/4 c chopped carrot
1 fennel bulb, diced (reserve fronds)
1 t grated orange rind

Preheat oven to 450º. In a heavy bottom casserole or ovenproof pan, heat olive oil. Add everything but stock, fish, fennel fronds and orange rind, season with salt and pepper and sauté approximately 5 minutes.

Clear a space in the middle of pan and sauté fish 2 minutes per side, then add fish stock and spread chopped fronds on top. Place pan in the pre-heated oven for approximately 10 minutes or until fish is just opaque in center. Garnish each portion with a pinch of the orange rind. Serves 2.

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Saffron-Rice Seafood Chowder

Friday, February 4th, 2011 | posted by wendy

This might be a great recipe to have for your superbowl party Yield, 1 gallon.

  • 2 T butter
  • 2 c chopped onion
  • 1 clove garlic (minced)
  • 1 t thyme
  • 2.5 quarts of stock (we carry frozen homemade fish stock at the market)
  • 1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes (drained)
  • pinch saffron
  • 1/2 c long grain rice
  • 1.5 lbs. seafood and fish (diced 1 inch)
  • 1/2 pint half and half
  • salt & pepper to taste

(Roux: 2 T butter and 1 T flour, cooked in a skillet to make a thick paste)

Melt 2 T butter in heavy soup pot. Add onions, garlic and thyme and sauté until translucent. Add stock, tomatoes, saffron and rice. Bring to boil and cook until rice is al dente.

Meanwhile, make roux in separate sauce pan. Melt butter and add enough flour to make thick paste but still smooth and creamy. Cook roux for 6 minutes, stirring often.

Add roux to boiling soup slowly. Stir well, turn down to simmer nad cook 8 minutes. Add seafood and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Add half and half and stir well. Season to taste and serve.

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Get Your Soup On!

Friday, February 4th, 2011 | posted by Monahan's

As this wonderful Michigan weather puts a chill in our bones, there’s nothing like warmin’ up to a hot bowl of chowder. And what’s a fish market without chowder? It’s part of our history and all the credit goes to the people who brought us this hearty dish—the fishermen.

Dating back to around the early 1700s, some say that chowder most likely originated at sea. There were early European references made in England and France. Fishermen fishing the waters of the English channel would place a large pot or caldron (chaudiere in French) over a fire to cook all day. They used ingredients at hand: salt pork, vegetables, milk and fish as it became available. They added hardtack or ship biscuits to help thicken it. After a hard day of work, the pot of “jowter” (English) or “chaudiere” (French) became the meal of the day.

Chowder certainly has evolved since those days and one thing’s for sure—it now enjoys universal appeal. It’s popular all over the world, spanning many regions and culinary circles and utilizing many diverse ingredients. Chowder has become uber-popular at Monahan’s throughout the entire year. We have quite a few loyal fans and chowderheads.

I have been cooking chowder/soup for years. From cooking Maude’s (blast from the past) famous soups in Big Bertha (their 50-gallon soup kettle) to here at Monahan’s. I’ve always enjoyed it—it keeps my knife skills honed and I love seeing it all come together and enjoyed by some many of our customers.

Authentic chowders had salt pork, potatoes, onion, water, fish or seafood and were more than a soup, bearing a closer resemblance to stew. To me, there are no rules, it’s all right. Jasper White says “the essence of chowder is making something great out of what is immediately available.”

Chowders are usually pretty easy in preparation, a little choppin’, nothing fancy, and just keeping an eye on the pot. Chowder is great to start a meal and it’s even better AS the meal. It’ perfect for large gatherings and is truly best when made ahead, giving you more time to enjoy your company. Chowder is a wonderful one-pot-dish, it’s great comfort food and the varieties are endless. So jump in the “chowdah” pool, grab your caldron and get your soup on!

Here’s my recipe for Saffron-Rice Seafood Chowder.

—Bernie Fritzsch

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