New book to help home cooks 'eat with the ecosystem'

Warren and Bristol residents collaborate on new cookbook that practices what it preaches

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 12/14/18

Sarah Schumann, of Warren, at an Eating with the Ecosystem "Scales and Tails" food boat event at last year's Bowen's Wharf Seafood Festival.Chef Rizwan Ahmed of Bristol created the recipes for …

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New book to help home cooks 'eat with the ecosystem'

Warren and Bristol residents collaborate on new cookbook that practices what it preaches

Posted

If you've been hearing the gospel being preached by environmentalists and fisheries management experts in recent years, chances are, that bluefin tuna or mako shark you enjoy for dinner might be coming served with a hard-to-swallow side order of guilt.

The reality is that a lot of our favorite fish are being harvested at unsustainable rates, or by using methods that are harmful to the environment. Seafood Watch (seafood watch.org), an initiative of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, provides a comprehensive list of fish stocks on a global scale, giving each a green, yellow or red rating. It's not as simple as it sounds, however — while all bluefin tuna are rated red (avoid), swordfish, other types of tuna, cod, and many other varieties of popular fish have a range of ratings, depending on where, and how, they are caught. For example, broadbill swordfish, caught in the North Atlantic using hand lines or hand-operated poles are considered a good choice; the same fish caught with drifting longlines in the Northeast Pacific are considered unsustainable.

Locally, we are fortunate to have Eating with the Ecosystem, a Warren-based organization that combines the ecological knowledge of marine scientists and commercial fishermen, with the culinary creativity of the regions most innovative chefs, to support our marine ecosystems and promote the wild seafood they produce. Eating with the Ecosystem's mission is to rebalance our local seafood diets with the local ecosystem — to make our seafood eating choices mirror the kinds of fish that our ecosystem is producing. With programming that includes a combination of educational events, citizen science research, collaborative research with fisheries ecologists and economists, and awareness-raising, they work with members of all parts of the local seafood supply chains, taking a place-based approach to sustaining wild seafood in our local food system.

Their founder, Warren resident Sarah Schumann, recently collaborated with Bristol resident and chef Rizwan Ahmed, as well as co-authors Kate Masury of Newport and Marie-Joëlle Rochet of France, and illustrator
Léa Tirmant-Desoyen of France to create "Simmering the Sea: Diversifying Cookery to Sustain Our Fisheries."
Simmering the Sea blends delicious recipes, ecosystem science, and eye-catching illustrations to bring to life to the marine ecosystems off New England’s shores.

Chef Riz knows his fish. The native of Pakistan first came to the United States to earn his degree in Marine Biology from the University of Maine. After graduation, he moved to Florida where he worked in the Marine Fisheries industry in Sarasota and gained both an understanding of sustainability and a love for cooking wholesome food. He attended and earned honors at the Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts in London. After several years as owner and chef of the acclaimed Hourglass Brasserie in Bristol, Chef Riz hit the road with Rhode Rage, his food truck which serves global haute cuisine.

Simmering the sea is a book with a mission. To re-balance the human relationship with the sea, the book calls on seafood lovers to eat a wider diversity of local fish. It inspires readers to seek out a spectrum of edible marine plants and animals in the marketplace.

The book is a tribute to the rich diversity that our ecosystem produces: not just the well-known species that take center stage at the seafood counter, but also species that are plentiful in the sea but overlooked by the market. By following the book’s culinary advice, readers will find that these neglected species, including limpets, scup, and sea robins, can be just as delicious, and perhaps even more interesting, than your usual fare.

According to charter captain and columnist Dave Monti, “Simmering the Sea takes it hook, line and sinker. I am always looking for new fish recipes for readers and customers, especially those under-appreciated species like sea robins. Simmering the Sea gives you some background on the species and suggests how to turn it into a delicious meal."

Simmering the Sea is the result of a partnership between Eating with the Ecosystem, the University of Rhode Island, and Johnson & Wales University College of Culinary Arts, with financial support provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is priced at $20 and is available at local bookstores and seafood markets, including Inkfish Books at 488 Main St. in Warren. It can also be purchased online through eatingwiththeecosystem.org and Amazon.com.

For more information about Eating with the Ecosystem, please call 401/297-6273 or visit eatingwiththeecosystem.org.

Eating with the Ecosystem, Simmering the Sea, Sarah Schumann, Rizwan Ahmed

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