The story of the lionfish, like all good fish tales, is growing greater each day. These flamboyantly colorful fish with their diverse markings were originally bred in the Indian Ocean. But legend has it that they found their way over to us in the Caribbean when Hurricane Andrew liberated a handful of them from the aquariums of drug lords living in Florida.
Since then, lionfish have bred prolifically in a ceaseless invasion of our seas from Florida to the West Indies. They thrive in the warm waters of the Atlantic and Caribbean and wreak havoc on our ocean ecosystems and fisheries, gobbling up reef fish, juvenile snapper, and grouper. With no known predators to stop them, the lionfish are more threatening than they are beautiful. Not only are they dangerous to fragile ecosystems, they can also inflict an extremely painful sting on humans. Therefore, we need to jump in and put these delicious fish on our dinner plates.
Secial thanks to Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet for providing the setting for many of the photos in the book as well as setting an example for sustainable cooking.
Green Fig & Lionfish is available at Books & Books and on Amazon.
Spring Harvest list 2020 Award
Chef Allen Susser is a James Beard award-winning chef. He has a passionate commitment to local fresh ingredients. The New York Times called Allen the "Ponce De Leon of New Florida cooking." His landmark restaurant Chef Allen's forever changed the way people ate in Miami and affected how America eats today. Food & Wine magazine named Chef Allen "One of the Best 10 Chefs in America." Chef Allen’s Consulting is a boutique sustainable restaurant and hospitality consulting firm, providing strategic initiative, culinary resources, and innovative direction for the industry. Allen is the consulting chef to Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet, helping to create one of the most dynamic culinary destinations in the Caribbean. This includes pioneering Emerald Estate Vintage Chocolate, a bean-tobar authentically handcrafted organic chocolate from Saint Lucia in the West Indies. Susser is currently a Culinary Ambassador for the Monterey Bay Aquarium for its sustainable seafood watch. Allen recently was awarded a lifetime achievement award for his farm-to-table community involvement with Slow Foods. He received an honorary Doctor of Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University, as well as the President’s Award for community service from Florida International University. He was recognized as the humanitarian of the year by Share Our Strength for his commitment to End Childhood Hunger. Allen is the author of New World Cuisine and Cookery, The Great Citrus Book, and The Great Mango Book.
Listen to the Turk TV Podcast Steve Turk interviews Chef Allen Susser on Turk TV Podcast.
Listen to the Friday Night Book Club Podcast interview with Chef Allen Susser.
Read Chef Allen Susser's appeal for strong management of Florida's fisheries in the Miami Herald.
Watch Chef Allen Susser cook a lionfish at the 2020 Miami International Boat Show on NBC 6 SF.
Watch Chef Allen Susser's interview at the 2020 Miami International Boat Show on CBS 4 Miami.
Selected Seasonal Samples
Green Fig and Lionfish features 70 environmentally-conscious recipes created by James Beard Award-winning Chef Allen Susser with years of culinary leadership and knowledge to share as well as other prominent James Beard Award-winning chefs such as Jose Andres, Eric Ripert, and Andrew Zimmern.
With all due respect for the people of Saint Lucia, I have borrowed the name of this book, Green Fig and Lionfish, from the essence of their namesake, the national dish Green Fig and Saltfish. True to the history of Saint Lucia, mature green bananas are called green figs and play a vital role in daily local cooking. Taking a leap here, I have swapped lionfish for the saltfish that is usually in the pot. I endeavor to not alter the character of the ingredients but to enable them to embody the soulful essence of the Caribbean.
Photos
Bringing together the allure of the Caribbean Sea and Caribbean island life, this cookbook offers recipes for cooking with seasonal and unusual ingredients.
View Gallery
Throughout coastal Florida as well as the Caribbean, coral reefs are home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Some of these reefs date back over fifty million years. Many of the small reef fish feed on the plants and tiny creatures that make up the reef. In the natural course of the food chain, little fish are nourishment for bigger fish. Larger fish become prey for larger sea creatures, and so on, up to the apex predators of the deep.
Not only are the reefs at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and climate change, but lionfish are devastating many of the reefs in the Caribbean. They are eating many times their fair share of the nourishment present in the habitat. They have no predators in these waters as they are an invasive species.
Therefore, we need to step in and eat lionfish.
For us at Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet, sustainability is not a lofty idea but a fundamental and necessary endeavor. Sustainability at Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet
Chef…is it safe and is it delicious? This was the thought running through the minds of a dozen of my chef friends when I asked them to collaborate on this sustainable seafood cookbook focused on lionfish by sharing a soulful Caribbean-inspired lionfish recipe. I am humbled by the amazing and rapid responses I received from these chefs, who care greatly about fish cookery and seasonal freshness. These chefs know their fish and are happy to help you eat sustainably.
Sustainable seafood, in simple terms, suggests the intent to make sure that there are enough fish in the sea to maintain a natural balance and sustain life for centuries to come. This includes rivers, streams, lakes, bays, reefs, gulfs, seas, and oceans. It is our hope that our grandkids and their grandkids can enjoy the wonders of nature and have the choice of eating wild fresh fish. You can make that choice today.
Fish cookery is not just for chefs. Anyone can cook fish. It may take some nerve and some practice, but you will learn that it is worth every delicious bite. In fact, some of these chefs had never even tasted lionfish until I introduced it to them. I would like to note here that most of the recipes are for lionfish; nonetheless, these flavors and cooking techniques can be applied to most fish and shellfish. Go for what is freshest.
I have added recipes to each chapter from this group of very talented chefs and personal friends who are taking a leadership role and making a sustainable statement through their cooking.
Lionfish Suquet
Jose Andres
Author, Chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup, educator, television personality, humanitarian
Pan Roasted Lionfish, Squid Ink Fideos, Chorizo Emulsion
Eric Ripert
Author, Chef / Co-Owner of Le Bernardin restaurant, New York.
Breadfruit Gnocchi with Lionfish Sofritto
Nina Compton
St. Lucia Culinary Ambassador and native, Chef/Owner of Compère Lapin in New Orleans
Tangerine Miso Lionfish Kebabs
Tom Douglas
Author, Chef/ Restaurateur, Tom Douglas Restaurants in Seattle
Lionfish, Winged Bean "Tabbouleh" Black Beauty Aji de Ajo sauce
Robert Irvine
Author, Chef, Tireless supporter of our nation's military and their families.
Lionfish Sashimi with Shiro Ponzu, Avocado Mousse and Yuzu Kosho
Brad Kilgore
Chef / Owner Alter, Kaido, Ember and Brava by Brad Kilgore in Miami, FL
Orzo Sauté with Lionfish
Susur Lee
Author, Chef / Owner Lee, Kid Lee & Lee Kitchen in Toronto, prestigious TungLok Heen in Singapore
Grilled Lionfish with Curry Sauce
Cindy Pawlcyn
James Beard Award winning Author, Chef / Owner Mustard’s Grill in Napa Valley,
Wok Tossed Salt & Pepper Lionfish
Andrew Zimmern
Author, Chef, Anthropologist, Social Justice Advocate & Global Thought Leader
Smoked Lionfish Sea Saltine Nacho
Stephen Phelps
Chef / Owner Indigenous restaurant in Sarasota, FL
Key’s Lionfish Cakes with Lemon Herb Mayonnaise
Andre Bienvenu
Executive Chef Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami
Lionfish Island Style Poke Salad
Sam Choy
Author, Chef, Restaurateur, Media Personality
Rice Flaked Lionfish Dry Ginger Broth
Floyd Cardoz
Author, Chef / Owner The Bombay Bread Bar, The Bombay Canteen, O Pedro
Smoked Lionfish Haddies with Crispy Potato, Preserved Cabbages, and Dill
Jonathon Sawyer
Author, Chef/owner of Greenhouse Tavern, Noodlecat, and Trentina
As you will see visualized throughout the book, rising majestically above the six hundred-acre beach front resort of Anse Chastanet, Nick Troubetzkoy's Jade Mountain Resort on Saint Lucia's southwestern Caribbean coastline is a cornucopia of organic architecture celebrating Saint Lucia's stunning scenic beauty.
Architect and owner Nick Troubetzkoy expanded upon his philosophy of building in harmony with Caribbean nature in his creation of Jade Mountain. The two Saint Lucia resorts, Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain, were created with an environmental consciousness at heart, long before this became not only fashionable but a mandatory resort philosophy.
Jade Mountain was the first resort in the Caribbean to win LEED gold. In addition, it is recognized as one of the top resorts in the world and as the best Caribbean resort, and Anse Chastanet is acknowledged as having the best Caribbean beach. Jade Mountain Club restaurant was also named one of the Top 10 Caribbean restaurants.
Taking angling to the next level experience, Saint Lucia's Jade Mountain's luxurious sustainable lionfish gourmet dinner is a true hunt-to-table parallel to the premium farm-to-table menus. The resort's chefs prepare a multi-course lionfish tasting each Friday night right on the beach.
Here in Saint Lucia, Anse Chastanet is the only place that provides easy and sustainable access to divers due to its progressive green architecture by minimizing impervious surfaces, keeping shorelines stable, and completely preventing runoff from entering the water. Scuba St Lucia, the island's five-star Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) operation, provides the only beach entry to this incredible experience.
Scuba St Lucia now fuses marine conservation, sport fishing, and fine dining with a new innovative and unique lionfish removal program to fortify their aggressive conservation initiatives. Visitors are now authorized by special permit to spearfish the invasive lionfish as part of a win-win sustainable tourism partnership. Scuba St Lucia has also added a PADI "Invasive Lionfish Tracker Specialty Course" which provides two dives to educate visitors about humanely controlling the invasive species.
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