Fish

Tuna and 'shrooms contain two different umami compounds that work synergistically to enhance the savory flavor. This dish is the lightest of this noodly bunch, with only 350 calories per bowl.

Umami-rich cheese and chicken stock make an encore appearance, but this time they share the spotlight with high-fiber chickpeas. Adding 1/2 cup of these lean beans to your daily diet can help you cut your consumption of fatty foods, a study in the journal Appetite notes

We use fresh lemon juice for this vinaigrette as often as we do vinegar.

Save time by purchasing sliced stemmed shiitake mushrooms and wasabi paste in a tube. If the paste isn't available, mix 2 teaspoons wasabi powder with 1 tablespoon water.

The heat chars the edges of the romaine leaves and softens the inner layers.

Pork and beans never had it so good. This Spanish riff on French cassoulet pairs large, meaty beans with fresh sausages under a breadcrumb crust. Save time by quick-soaking the beans.

Anchovy is the secret ingredient that makes this dish so delicious. If you have anchovy haters in your family, don’t worry; the anchovies melt into the butter-and-olive oil mixture, so no one will even know they are there.

This may seem like a lot of garlic, but because it’s roasted it only contributes a mellow, nutty flavor that goes beautifully with the salmon. Capers and lemon zest add some brightness to the dish, which is a perfect light spring meal.

You’ll find many recipes for swordfish in Sicily, where it is plentiful, often combined with citrus to give the meaty fish a bit of pizzazz. Here the citrus flavors come from the pesto; it’s great over grilled chicken or a steak, too.

Somewhat reminiscent of a puttanesca sauce, but with the addition of olives and lots of vegetables, this is a homey dish that you would find in many Roman kitchens. Long, slow simmering is what makes the sauce so delicious, so if you like, make a double batch and freeze some to use next time you bake fish or chicken, or make a baked pasta dish.

Many Sicilian dishes feature swordfish, since it is very plentiful in the waters surrounding the island. Eggplant is also found in many dishes from this area, but I prefer the texture and taste of Japanese eggplants over the larger ones because their seeds are so tiny; there is also no need to salt the cubed eggplant because they aren’t as bitter as the fully mature ones can be.

Salade Niçoise meets all-American pasta salad in this all-in-one dish that’s perfect for a picnic or dinner on a hot summer night. The trick is to use the Italian canned tuna; the flavor of water-packed albacore tuna is just not comparable.

Garlic bread done even better: the salty, buttery, garlicky topping makes these toasts absolutely addictive.

Anchovies are among the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Here, the tiny fish top strips of roasted red peppers and are served over crusty bread—but the mixture can also be added to sandwiches or salads. Look for anchovy fillets packed in salt, which can be rinsed off for a less salty flavor than the oil-packed kind.

The flavorful ginger dressing that coats the parsnips calls for tamari, a sauce made from soybeans that’s darker and richer than conventional soy sauce (it’s also gluten free). Serve the fish with a wedge of orange along with peppery greens, such as watercress or arugula.

Also known as butterfish or black cod (though it’s not related to codfish), this large cold-water fish lives in the north Pacific Ocean. Its flaky white flesh is flavorful and, yes, buttery, with an omega-3 oil content that rivals that of salmon. Sablefish tastes milder than other fatty fish, but, like them, it can be prepared by high-heat cooking methods such as grilling. Limited supplies and high demand in Japan have driven up the price of sablefish, but it’s a healthful and flavorful splurge. (And it’s an environmentally sound choice.)

Sablefish’s succulent texture and high oil content make it an exceptional choice for steaming. In this recipe, the fish is steamed in parchment-paper packets (en papillote), which seal in moisture and flavor.

This aromatic stew can be made with other types of fish, including haddock or regular cod, but sablefish delivers higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. A whole-wheat baguette is good for sopping up the broth.