Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and The... (73 page)

For most Americans, fish is a restaurant food; few know how to prepare it at home, and the average American child doesn't like it. This is a lamentable state of affairs, especially as nowadays fresh fish is so readily available in our markets.

Fish is
the
health food,
par excellence
(except, of course, for those who are allergic to it). When Dr. Weston Price traveled throughout the world, studying traditional peoples on native diets, he discovered that those who ate seafoods had the best health, as revealed by their freedom from caries, width of palate and general state of well-being. Fish eaters had thicker bones and better skeletal structure than groups that ate red meat. (Largely vegetarian groups placed third in all categories Dr. Price used to determine good health.)

Consumption of fish promotes excellent growth and bone structure; it also protects from the degenerative diseases so prevalent in this modern age. In a study conducted in the Netherlands, researchers found that just one serving of fish per week substantially reduced the incidence of coronary heart disease. All ocean fish are excellent sources of macro and trace minerals, particularly iodine and zinc. Our soils may be depleted of certain trace minerals, but every one we need exists in the boundless oceans; seafood is our only sure source for obtaining them all.

Mackerel, anchovies and herring are especially rich in mineral nutrients. Deep-sea oily fish, such as salmon, tuna and swordfish, are good sources of omega-3 and other long-chain fatty acids. Most important, fish and all seafood are excellent sources of fat-soluble vitamins—A and D. Remember that Dr. Price found the intake of these two essential nutrients to be
ten
times greater among the isolated groups he studied than among Americans during the 1930's. Today the disparity is almost certainly greater, as Westerners have cut back on their consumption of animal fats.

In recent years, many people have been persuaded to give up fish due to reports of mercury contamination. Mercury contamination
is
a danger when one eats fish from shoreline waters near industrial areas or from contaminated freshwaters. For this reason, we advise you to avoid freshwater fish unless you are sure of their origin, especially cat fish, carp and other scavengers, and to avoid overconsumption of shell fish. Shoreline feeders, such as sole and flounder, may be contaminated with PBC's. You needn't be concerned about mercury levels in deep-sea fish, such as salmon, tuna and swordfish, or from sole or flounder that come from relatively clean waters, such as those of the North Atlantic. Small amounts of mercury occur naturally in these fish, and they contain substances that bind with mercury to take it out of the body. Farm-raised fish are best avoided. Their fatty acid profile will not be as good as that of wild fish, and they are usually given inappropriate feed, such as soy pellets containing pesticide residues. Farm-raised salmon are actually given a dye to make their flesh pink!

If you have not cultivated the art of preparing fish but wish to begin, we advise you to start with simple preparations, such as sauteed filet of sole or grilled salmon, tuna or swordfish. These take little time to prepare and are most readily accepted by children and inveterate fish avoiders. They can be served plain or with any number of accompaniments listed in the sauces and condiments chapter (
Sauces, Marinades & Condiments
). We allow unbleached white flour in small amounts for browning and breading.

From these simple recipes you can graduate to our parchment paper and leaf-wrapped recipes. Many traditional societies prepare fish by wrapping it in leaves and steaming it in the coals of a fire. This method best preserves nutrients and protects the fish from possible carcinogens.

Classic gourmet recipes call for poaching fish in stock, then reducing the stock to make a flavorful sauce. Butter or cream, or both, are then added. These gelatin-rich sauces are easy to digest and just loaded with minerals (from concentrated stock) and fat-soluble vitamins (from cream and butter). Poached fish may be kept warm in a heated oven, covered with a piece of parchment or waxed paper, for up to one-half hour while the sauce is reduced and thickened by boiling and while you eat your first course. (See
About Stock-Based Sauces
.)

Fish must be fresh to be good. Look carefully at the eyes and gills of the fish you buy—the eyes should be clear, not glazed, and the gills should be red. Always ask your fish merchant when his fish came in. If the fish has been sitting in his display case more than a day, don't buy it.

A good habit to initiate in your household is to serve fish at least once a week; and we hope that the variety of recipes presented in this chapter, culled from many different cuisines, will make this easy for you to accomplish. You may want to prepare a special dessert for the same evening meal if your children need coaxing. No fish, no dessert, is a good rule. Serve fish the day you buy it to ensure that it is fresh.

BAKED WHITEFISH

Serves 4

1½ pounds filet of whitefish such as sole, whiting or turbot

juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon fish sauce (
Fermented Fish Sauce
), optional

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon snipped fresh herbs

½ teaspoon sea salt

about 1 tablespoon butter

Place fish in a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice, cayenne, fish sauce, herbs and salt. Dot with butter. Cover baking dish with foil (but don't let foil touch the fish) and bake at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Cayenne pepper is the powder produced from dried chile peppers. The so-called chile or cayenne peppers contain almost twice as much capsaicin as red peppers and thus have a much stronger, burning flavor. Cayenne pepper acts as a stimulant to the appetite, as a digestive aid and as an antibacterial agent. It is probably the high magnesium content of chile peppers that makes this universal spice so useful in treating cardiovascular problems. It is said that a spoonful of cayenne pepper is the best emergency treatment for a heart attack. However, in excess cayenne pepper may do harm to the mucous membranes and provoke ulcers and kidney problems.

Use cayenne pepper in moderate amounts with eggs, fish, meat and bland foods like grains and pulses. SWF

BAKED SALMON

Serves 4

1½ pounds wild salmon filet

½ lemon

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon unbleached flour

¼ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon sea salt

Set salmon, skin side down, in a buttered pyrex baking dish. Squeeze on lemon juice, then brush generously with butter. Sprinkle on flour and spread with your fingers to make a thin, even coat. Sprinkle on paprika and sea salt. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until salmon is almost, but not quite, cooked through. Place under broiler for about 1 minute until flour coating becomes browned.

Serve plain or with any one of a number of condiments and sauces, including
butter sauce
,
pesto sauce
or thin
red pepper sauce
.

SAUTEED FILET OF SOLE

(Filets de Sole Meuniere)

Serves 6

1½ pounds fresh filet of sole

²
/
₃
cup unbleached flour

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon sea salt

about ½ cup
clarified butter

about ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

This is the classic and simple recipe for sauteed fish. Purists will object that we include recipes for pan-fried fish. Poached fish is probably preferable from a nutritional point of view; but some individuals, especially children, need an extra incentive to eat sea food, and a crisp, golden exterior is the best one we know of.

Wipe filets thoroughly and trim off any ends that are very thin in comparison to the rest of the filet. You may wish to cut the filets in half, crosswise. Dredge well in the flour mixed with sea salt and pepper.

In a cast-iron skillet, heat about
¹
/
₈
cup each clarified butter and olive oil until they foam. Saute the fish filets until golden brown, a few at a time, over a moderately high flame, starting with the flatter side. Saute about 3 to 5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish. Transfer to a heated platter and keep warm in the oven while you prepare the other filets. You will need to replenish butter and oil between batches.

Serve with lemon wedges,
tartar sauce
,
red pepper butter
or
Creole mayonnaise
.

Communication is very difficult among many of the remote islands off the Irish Coast. It would be difficult to find more complete isolation. . .. We tried to get to the islands of Taransay and Scarpa on the west coast of the Isle of Harris but were unable to obtain transportation, since the trip can be made only in special, seaworthy crafts, which will undertake the passage only at certain phases of the tide and at certain directions of the winds. On one of these islands, we were told, the growing boys and girls had exceedingly high immunity to tooth decay. Their isolation was so great that a young woman of about twenty years of age who came to the Isle of Harris from Taransay Island had never seen milk. . .. There are no dairy animals on that island. Their nutrition is provided by their oat products and fish and by a very limited amount of vegetable foods. Lobsters and flat fish are a very important part of their foods. Fruits are practically unknown, yet the physiques of these people are remarkably fine. Weston Price, DDS
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration

If you just can't do without your coffee, you may have to do without some of the calcium in your bones, as various studies reveal. The more coffee you take in, the more calcium goes out. In one study, adult volunteers drank about four cups of coffee. . .. Three hours later, they passed more calcium in their urine than individuals not drinking coffee. James F. Scheer
Health Freedom News

BREADED WHITEFISH

Serves 6

1½ pounds thick filets of whitefish, such as turbot or whiting

²
/
₃
cup unbleached flour

½ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup whole grain bread crumbs

¼ teaspoon grated lemon peel

about ½ cup
clarified butter

about ½ cup extra virgin olive oil