The River Cottage Fish Book: The Definitive Guide to Sourcing and Cooking Sustainable Fish and Shellfish [A Cookbook]

by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Nick Fisher

The formidable River Cottage team turns their attention to all matters aquatic in this definitive guide to freshwater fish, saltwater fish, and shellfish. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Nick Fisher examine the ecological and moral issues of fishing, teach individual skills such as catching and descaling, and offer a comprehensive (and fascinating) species reference section. They also demystify the cooking of fish with 135 recipes for preparing fish and shellfish in diverse ways, from pickling to frying to smoking.
 
This ambitious reference-cookbook appeals to both intellect and appetite by focusing on the pleasures of catching, cooking, and eating fish while grounding those actions in a philosophy and practice of sustainability. The authors help us understand the human impact on the seafood population, while their infectious enthusiasm for all manner of fish and shellfish—from the mighty salmon to the humble mackerel to the unsung cockle—inspires us to explore different and unfamiliar species. Fish is superlative food, but it’s also a precious resource. The River Cottage Fish Book delivers a complete education alongside a wealth of recipes, and is the most opinionated and passionate fish book around.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference, Food and Drink

608 pages, Hardcover

First published November 19, 2007

About the author

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a British celebrity chef, smallholder, television presenter, journalist, food writer and "real food" campaigner, known for his back-to-basics philosophy.

A talented writer, broadcaster and campaigner, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is widely known for his uncompromising commitment to seasonal, ethically produced food and has earned a huge following through his River Cottage TV series and books.

His early smallholding experiences were shown in the Channel 4 River Cottage series and led to the publication of The River Cottage Cookbook (2001), which won the Glenfiddich Trophy and the André Simon Food Book of the Year awards.

The success of the show and the books allowed Hugh to establish River Cottage HQ near Bridport in 2004.

In the same year, Hugh published The River Cottage Meat Book to wide acclaim and won a second André Simon Food Book of the Year Award.

He has just finished filming his most recent series, which accompanies his most recent book, River Cottage Every Day.

He continues to write as a journalist, including a weekly column in The Guardian and is Patron of the National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association (FARMA).

River Cottage HQ moved in 2006, to a farm near the Dorset/Devon border, where visitors can take a variety of courses. http://www.rivercottage.net

During River Cottage Spring (2008) Hugh helped a group of Bristol families start a smallholding on derelict council land.

The experience was so inspiring he decided to see if it would work nationwide, and Landshare was created to bring keen growers and landowners together. The movement now includes more than 50,000 people.

Son of https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a fabulous book — I might need it. This is good food. This is good writing. Slow, seasonal, and — most of all — sustainable. Poetic and just. Nice things in a cookbook.

Faults? It's too compendious. Relatedly, it's not a good library book; I'd need to own it to truly have access to the preponderance of its wonderful offerings. That, ridiculously, makes me grumpy. Maybe because I know that even if I did own it ... it's really well tailored for a regional (UK) reader, not for me. This is not a fault, but it is a major frustration. It lets me in on getting the intimate contours of a local fish scene, but not mine, thus highlighting a lacuna.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much preaching and not enough cooking.

Useful section identifying fish available in the UK.

Not the best of Hugh's books by far.

[Peter SC · Rating 5 out of 5]

All-in-one recipe book and fish encyclopaedia. If you're a casual seafood lover, this will be right up your street.

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love river cottage books and love seafood so win, win. So book is 607 pages and has sections on raw,salted and marinated then smoked then open fire, baked and grilled, soups stewed and poaching, shallow and deep fried , cold fish and salads and standbys. True to river cottage books all sustainable easy to cook dishes. Was a pleasure to read . Only tried a few dishes like nettle soup with smoked fish and whole fish baked in foil and fish and chorizo soup all worked well and tasted nice no special equipment needed , no special ingredients required really is a great book with easy to make recipes and easy to find or forage ingredients. And all recipes are in kg and grams and ml so love that too

[JC Cornell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not the kinds of recipes I was looking for.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the best book on the subject for decades. Perhaps the definitive bible for decades to come.
Hugh F-W is a learned and researched author who has not only spent time acquiring knowledge on fish but has tried and tested the information.
Much like his Meat bible, this provides you with a one volume that covers anything you need to know.

I buy most of my cookery books from charity and second hand bookshops at low prices. The Meat version appears regularly as perhaps gifts donated by those who have received them as gifts and found them too much of a good thing.
I have never found his Fish book at any of the fore mentioned outlets.
Is this because it is so good that everyone buys it because they appreciate it, and those that receive it as a gift think likewise ?

This is one of the few cookery books where I was happy to purchase at full price rather than wait to find a copy sold cheaply.
If you enjoy fish, do the same.

[Robdguk · Rating 5 out of 5]

essential reading.
very informative and ethical.
excellent recipes