Praise for Green Fig and Lionfish
“Allen Susser’s Green Fig and Lionfish (Books & Books Press) takes what we have learned from overfishing and uses it to help the ecosystem, making it truly a book for our times. The idea and the recipes are not to be missed.”
—Mark Kurlansky, New York Times bestselling and James Beard award-winning author of Salt: A World History, Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, and Milk!: A 10,000-Year Food Fracas
“From Florida, throughout the Caribbean, and down to my home of Saint Lucia, Chef Allen Susser raises awareness of the real threat posed by lionfish and a yummy way to help eliminate it. Fortunately, the pesky invader is quite tasty, and Chef Allen’s fun recipes will brighten your table with their bold island flavors. Let’s get them off the reef and onto your plate!”
—Nina Compton, Saint Lucian culinary ambassador and native; chef/owner of Compère Lapin in New Orleans
“At Le Bernardin, we spend our days evaluating seafood, which means not simply the quality, but also the ethics and sustainability of how they are harvested. We believe deeply in supporting the artisanal fishers who are seeking out the most sustainable methods and species. What we’ve recently discovered is that lionfish, an extremely invasive and detrimental species, are not difficult to catch and in fact have delicious and very versatile flesh. They are truly one of the best examples of sustainable fishing, which I’m happy to encourage!”
—Éric Ripert, author of 32 Yolks: From the Mother’s Table to Working the Line and chef/CEO-owner of Le Bernardin restaurant in New York
“I love the ocean and I love to eat sustainable seafood. We must continue to keep our oceans healthy for future generations and for our own survival.”
—Cindy Pawlcyn, author of Mustards Grill Napa Valley, chef/owner of Mustard’s Grill in Napa Valley, and James Beard award-winning chef
“Chef Allen has always been a champion of local, seasonal cooking, even before it was ‘cool.’ With this cookbook, he is promoting something even cooler…the sustainability of the seas, one of our most important natural resources, by giving us many amazing recipes for the damaging (and delicious!) lionfish.”
—José Andrés, author of several books, including Made in Spain, chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup, educator, television personality, and humanitarian
“The first time I saw a lionfish in the wild was many years ago while snorkeling off the beach on Andros Island, Bahamas. Since then, working as a fisherman and diver from Bimini to the Keys and beyond, I have seen firsthand the devastation that these predators can cause to our fragile reef system. They’re easy to spear and have no fear of divers, and their stings are VERY plentiful (unfortunately), but the good news is they are out-of-this-world table fare. Spearing them, we have eaten well. I only wish my dear friend Chef Allen was with us to cook! Chef Allen loves South Florida, its people, and our natural resources. This is the perfect time for this book, and he’s the perfect person to write it!”
—Paul Castronovo, Radio personality of BIG 105.9, fisherman, diver, and member of the Board of Directors of both the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and OCEARCH
“Making the right choices about what we eat has a broad impact on the world around us. In the case of lionfish, choosing to eat it as often as possible is the best way to protect our oceans. Eat them to beat them!”
—Sheila Bowman, Seafood Watch Manager of Culinary and Strategic Initiatives at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, whose mission is to inspire conservation of the ocean
“I’ve known Allen Susser and followed his career with avid interest ever since back in the 1980s, when he and some young colleagues pioneered what was then called ‘Floribbean Cuisine,’ and his new cookbook brings into twenty-first century focus everything he has learned and created in a style now uniquely his own, one highly influential among his peers both in Florida and throughout the Caribbean.”
—John Mariani, one of America’s premier food writers with multiple James Beard Awards, lead food and travel correspondent for Esquire magazine, and author of several of the most highly regarded books on food, including The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink
Green Fig
and
Lionfish
Green Fig
and
Lionfish
Sustainable Caribbean Cooking
By Allen Susser
Coral Gables
Copyright © 2019 Allen Susser
Published by Books & Books Press, an imprint of Mango Publishing, a division of Mango Media Inc.
Cover, Layout & Design: Morgane Leoni
All photo credits: © Bernd Rac
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Coral Gables, FL 33134 USA
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Green Fig and Lionfish: Sustainable Caribbean Cooking
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2019948621
ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-164-3, (ebook) 978-1-64250-165-0
BISAC: CKB076000—COOKING / Specific Ingredients / Seafood
Printed in the United States of America
Table of Contents
Summer
Fall
Winter
Sweets
Cocktails
Resources