When you feel like a fish, check the weather to see
\nwhether it’s better to bake indoors or grill out.
\nSmall ones can be poached. Small fry can be fried whole.
\nAny place you buy fish should smell fresh, no trace of bleach
\nor antiseptic, instead should exude the very attar
\nof the sea, shore, river or shoal which was their home.
\nEschew asphyxiated fish, those with glaucous eyes
\nand limp flesh. Buy them scaled, gutted, extracted from crushed ice.
\nOnce you have your catch, wash, pat dry. Salt and pepper
\nthe cavity, stuff with smashed garlic and aromatics,
\nrelying on your own counsel and taste \u2014 I have a weakness
\nfor basil and thyme and have taken to sumac, the dark
\nvermilion grains ground from the berries of the tropical
\nshrub related to mango and cashew; not the southern
\nUS bush with its toxic resin, the poison of the same name.
\nSumac,\u00a0rhus coriaria\u00a0<\/i>to be precise, is harmless,
\nthough far from innocuous. Its pungence lays out
\na canvas on which aerian savours, here those of fish,
\ncan be feathered or brushed in. In this case what was aquatic
\ntransforms into a wing\u00e8d essence which, like a kite, flies
\nbest in a steady wind tethered to the tang of the earth.
\nIf, at this stage, you need lemon, maybe this was not
\nthe right fish. Many like citrus to veil\u00a0such miasma.
\nOn this point, accomodate your guests. Quarter a couple
\nwith your sharpest knife once the sumptuous \u00a0fish,
\nafter fifteen minutes in an intensely hot\u00a0milieu
\n(flesh at the thickest point showing 145 F)
\nis deposited with a flourish on a trivet centerpiece \u2014
\nbut only after a short rest, so its juices can seize.
\nSlide off portions from the top half with a spatula,
\nostentatiously detach the bone structure from the tail,
\nthen dangle the head before the gathered assembly,
\nwhose eyes should still look out intact, alert to their fate.
\nThis is when you learn who likes fish, as opposed to
\npescatarians from principle. The former will put dibs
\non the eyes and those delectable morsels behind \u00a0the cheeks.
\nThe latter will avert their eyes, praising\u00a0their choice filet.<\/p>\n
For Nasrin<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you feel like a fish, check the weather to see whether it’s better to bake indoors or grill out. Small ones can be poached. Small fry can be fried whole. Any place you buy fish should smell fresh, no trace of bleach or antiseptic, instead should exude the very attar of the sea, shore, … <\/p>\n