Pan-Fried Tilapia With Herbed Yogurt Sauce

Treat delicate white fish, such as tilapia or pickerel as simply as possible, such as pan-frying with salt and pepper, and serve with steamed vegetables. This yogurt sauce complements the fish extremely well but it is also great with curries.
Cost: $4.72/serving

Coconut Curry Simmered Fish Fillets

Any fish will work beautifully, but pickerel, whitefish or lake trout are especially tasty. There are several curry pastes available, so experiment to find one you like (try Thai red curry paste for a really fiery dish). Serve this saucy curry over rice or rice noodles.

Grilled Fish and Vegetable Soup (Diningding)

Diningding (pronounced with short "i"s as in "thing") is an Ilocano specialty from northern Philippines, where vegetables and fish play the largest role in cuisine. Use this recipe as a guideline and vary the vegetables according to availability and freshness. In Canada, black cod (sablefish), salmon or halibut are especially good for diningding, but freshwater fish, such as pickerel or whitefish, also makes a tasty dish.

Shore Lunch-Style Fried Whitefish

Northwest Territories

Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories is a destination for fishermen from around the world. A shore lunch of fresh-caught fish is a must when fishing in N.W.T. In this version of the classic shore lunch, inspired by Greg Robertson of Bluefish Services, whole wheat flour replaces all-purpose flour and a touch of cornmeal adds a pleasant crunch to the coating. Use the freshest firm white-fleshed fish you can find, such as whitefish, pickerel, halibut or cod.

Best Fried Potatoes and Onions

Frying onions in the oil before adding the potatoes adds subtle flavour to the fries. Plus, the onions become meltingly tender inside, with crisp edges and a wicked sweetness. Oil-blanch the potatoes in very small batches; the moisture in them makes the oil really bubble, which could cause it to overflow.

Baked Beans

The baked beans at the shore lunch was a dish I always looked forward to. Dipping fresh-cut fried potatoes in beans is certainly better than ketchup!

Crusted Sablefish and Chips

By Eva Fong, Burnaby, B.C.
Cook of the Year 2009 Winner, Fish & Seafood category & Grand-Prize winner

The inspiration for this dish comes from Eva's husband, who loves fish and seafood. Before the couple had children, Saturdays were known as Seafood Sat­urday in the Fong house. The Asian spin on this dish displays the diversity we have in Canada: fish and cucumbers from British Columbia, sweet potatoes from Ontario. Eva serves this dish with Sweet Potato Fries.

Coriander Spice Fillets