The season of eating fish is here and Kitchen Conservatory is offering some brand-new cooking classes featuring exciting and delicious fish recipes. No more fish sticks or fish cakes!

Two very talented chefs will be cooking from the freshest catch of the day. These all-fish cooking classes will excite your tastebuds as you watch the creativity of chef Steven Caravelli of Araka on Sunday, April 3 at 1 pm and chef Lou Rook of Annie Gunn’s on Saturday, April 9 at 1 pm. We are honored that these incredible chefs will share the secrets of their craft with our students.

Here is a sampling of the some of the exciting fish dishes in upcoming classes:

Shrimp Chowder in “Date Night for Couples: TGI-Fry Day” on Friday, April 1.

Lobster Pot Pie in “Girls’ Night Out: Seafood Pleasures” on Friday, April 1.

Smoked Trout with Horseradish Spread on Lavosh in “Girls’ Night Out: That Man and Robin” on Friday, April 8.

Mussels in Smoked Tomato-Saffron Broth in “Date Night for Couples: Mussel Beach” on Friday, April 8.

Pan-Roasted Scallops on Yukon Gold Potato-Sunchoke Puree in “Seduction of the Senses” on Monday, April 18.

Halibut Cardinal in Lobster Sauce on Duchesse Potatoes and Asparagus in “French Connection” on Saturday, April 30.

Register for Cooking Classes.

A wonderful way to cook fish is to poach the fish — but not in water. Poaching in oil keeps the fish tender and moist. This cooking method is not deep-frying, but cooking at a low, gentle heat. Heat olive oil to 110-150 degrees. Add the fish and slowly poach the fish. Remove and then eat the fish warm or chilled in a salad. Tuna is excellent when poached in olive oil.

Citrus-Marinated Salmon Poached in Olive Oil

• 1 side of salmon, skin and bones removed and trimmed of blood-line and any fat
  
• Zest of an orange
• Zest of a lemon
• Zest of a lime
• 1/4 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• Olive oil for poaching (about 3 cups)
• Finely-minced chives for garnish

Mix together the zests, salt, and sugar. Spread over the salmon and wrap. Place a weight on top. Refrigerate for 3 hours, but not any longer. Remove and rinse off the marinade and dry. Cut into serving-size pieces. Heat the oil to 120 degrees (use a candy thermometer). Add the salmon and let cook very gently (about 110 degrees) for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Serve on top of the orange confit.

For the orange confit:

• 4 navel oranges
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar

Supreme the oranges (cut off skin and section the oranges). Bring the sugar and water to a boil and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the hot syrup over the orange sections and let sit. Add the vinegar. Serve warm.