Wild Alaska pollock is the perfect protein for spring. Mild in flavor, it takes well to bright and zesty preparations that complement its lean, firm qualities. Wild Alaska pollock, portioned into ready-to-use quick cuts, also happens to be a (spring) breeze to cook, typically needing less than 10 minutes to cook through no matter how you’re cooking it.
Here are 7 wild Alaska pollock recipes for springtime that will brighten up your days after a long winter:
Rainbow Quinoa Bowl with Spicy Pollock
This ancho-spiced pollock rainbow bowl from the Marine Stewardship Council is just the dose of color and flavor you need after a long winter. Loaded up with sugar snap peas — a springtime arrival! — and a few standard “taco bowl” toppings like avocados, cilantro, and a honey-lime dressing, this recipe is easy to assemble and a total crowd-pleaser. To adapt the recipe for a pack of pollock quick cuts, simply cut the broil time down to 3 or 4 minutes, as the smaller pieces will cook much faster than a full fillet.
Pollock en Papillote with Spring Harvest Veggies
Try using pollock quick cuts for Food & Wine’s springy recipe for fish cooked en papillote. Steamed in a packet with white wine, roasted ramps and sorrel, your pollock quick cuts will be transformed into tender and tasty morsels worthy of a special meal. Feel free to substitute scallions and spinach, if the springtime harvest of sorrel and ramps aren’t available to you.
Broiled Fish Tacos with Radish Salad and Salsa Verde
A zesty radish salad brightens up the classic fish taco in this recipe from Everyday Food, making excellent use of the texture, mild bite and color of spring radishes. A simple salsa verde brings everything together; you can toss in a handful of washed radish greens into the blender, if you want to make use of the tops, too. As for the fish, swap in pollock quick cuts and reduce the cook time to 3 or 4 minutes; and rather than flaking the fish, you can leave them as bite-sized cubes for serving.
Pollock and Prawn Crumble Pie
Fish pies aren’t just for winter nights, but you might enjoy something a bit lighter coming into spring. Mary Berry’s recipe for a pollock and prawn pie is perfect for the season. The pie forgoes a rich pastry topping or heavy mashed potato crust for a savory crumble made with breadcrumbs, quick-cooking oats, and fresh herbs. It’s the perfect dish to cozy up to on a spring evening when there’s still a chill in the air. Note: Since this recipe is written for a U.K. audience, you’ll need to make a few conversions. In the U.S., use “quick-cooking oats” in place of “porridge oats,” as they’ll give you a nice texture in the crumble. The rest is basically self-explanatory — the oven temperature should be 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and you’ll need to make a few measurement conversions for a couple of the ingredients.
Quick and Easy Pollock Stir-Fry with Asparagus or Spring Peas
For a springy stir fry, our quick and easy recipe for stir-fried pollock quick cuts is a great template to follow. It’s zesty, flavorful, and can be made as written — or, if you’re keen on using the first harvest of the season, adapt the recipe by swapping out bok choy for something like sugar snap peas or pieces of asparagus.
Crispy Turmeric Pollock Summer Rolls
Sure, they’re called summer rolls, but this Vietnamese classic is a perfect vehicle for spring herbs. Tyna Hoang’s recipe, though, is a mashup of summer rolls and turmeric fried fish — another classic — which adds another dimension of texture and flavor to the rolls. Using pollock quick cuts allows you to fry up the pieces fast, and you can skip the step where you normally would flake the fish as the pollock is already bite-sized.
Green Minestrone with Pollock
Use up your early harvest of fresh basil and asparagus with this simple, ridiculously easy-to-make minestrone recipe from The Staff Canteen. Note that the recipe yields many servings — so you may want to halve or quarter it, depending on who’s at the table. Or instead, simply use the recipe as a guide, using enough stock to poach a package of pollock quick cuts and adding as much cooked pasta and as manys green veggies as you like to the bowl.
