Simple enough for home cooks while showcasing the incredible flavors of Monterey Bay seafood, this dish highlights locally sourced spot prawns—one of the region’s most prized catches.

Dungeness crab is naturally sweet and delicate. This preparation keeps it simple and lets fresh, early-spring produce — fennel, herbs, and citrus — elevate the flavor without overpowering it.

Courtesy of Chef Santos Majano of Hook + Line, this mouth-watering recipe, featuring locally caught petrale sole is the perfect comfort dish for winter weather.

As crab season opens on the Central Coast, enthusiasm is high to head to the favorite local seafood hubs (or watch for dock sale alerts!) to bring home these tasty crustaceans. This recipe, courtesy of our friends at Real Good Fish, is a perfect way to incorporate fresh dungeness crab into a healthy, nutritious dish to kickstart a new year.

From the creative culinary mind of Chef Tim Eeelman of Solstice restaurant in Big Sur, this hearty, healthy winter chowder will be a sure crowd pleaser. Check our Local Catch Guide for tips on how to find local rockfish right off the boat, or from one of the local seafood businesses, such as Sea Harvest Monterey or Moss Landing, H&H Fresh Fish Co, Ocean2Table, or Real Good Fish. Don’t have rockfish? You can use lingcod or sole, and the squid is optional if not in season. Don’t forget a fresh baked sourdough bread to go with it!

Looking for a family-friendly seafood recipe that'll have everyone asking for seconds? This month we're featuring Katie Wiley's Bang Bang Lingcod from Positively Groundfish. Made with local, wild West Coast lingcod (known for its firm texture and sweet, clean taste), this dish is quick to prepare, packed with nutrients, and seriously kid-approved.

Poke, a beloved Hawaiian dish, traditionally features fresh ahi tuna marinated in a savory blend of soy sauce, sesame oil, and seasonings. While ahi is classic, poke is incredibly versatile and works beautifully with the fresh fish we catch right here in Monterey Bay.

This bright summer pasta pairs fresh tomatoes with anchovies – tiny nutritional powerhouses packed with omega-3s and heart-healthy oils rarely found in everyday foods. This pasta dish offers the perfect introduction to anchovies, which melt seamlessly into the sauce to create a rich, savory base without overwhelming newcomers to their distinctive flavor.

Local halibut is in season right now, with fresh catches available throughout the Monterey Bay area. This recipe, courtesy of Chef Diego Felix of Santa Cruz's Colectivo Felix, draws inspiration from his travels to Peru and Mexico, featuring local halibut paired with Hoja Santa, melon, smoky ancho chile oil, and roasted yams. The dish showcases the versatility of our local catch while incorporating vibrant international flavors.

We love Rockfish. It is one of our favorite fish, is bountifully available from the Monterey Bay’s sustainable fishery, and is so much fun to cook with. This recipe, courtesy of Chef Paul Corsentino of the Lantern Room at the Monterey Beach Hotel, is a unique (and insanely delicious) way to utilize rockfish’s versatility and bring out a great flavor profile. Make sure you start this one the day before so the fish can cure overnight! 

While crab season is officially over in Monterey, it doesn't mean you can't still find it around town, and prepared deliciously. Johnny's Harborside in Santa Cruz does an amazing crab cake with local dungeness, that tastes amazing, and is easy to recreate for yourself!

Acqua Pazza means “crazy water” in Italian, and is a traditional Neapolitan dish where fish is poached in a flavorful broth of tomatoes, herbs, garlic, and white wine. It stems from the way fishermen would cook their catch in seawater, and is an easy, delicious way to cook a number of the flaky fish species we have here in the Monterey Bay.

Dungeness Crab season is likely coming to a close soon, so make sure to get it while it is still available! If you’re looking for an elevated, exciting way to prepare it, Chef Michael Chang has a recipe that will make any meal feel like a special occasion.

Whole grilled rockfish is easy, delicious, and always makes a beautiful and impressive presentation. For a unique Southeast Asian spin, try this Vietnamese peanut pesto, spread liberally over grilled whole rockfish. 

Whole grilled rockfish is easy, delicious, and always makes a beautiful and impressive presentation. For a unique Southeast Asian spin, try this Vietnamese peanut pesto, spread liberally over grilled whole rockfish. 

A brewpub isn’t the first place eaters hunt for fresh seafood dishes. But Alvarado Street Brewery isn’t a standard brewpub. 

ASB burst on the scene with its downtown Monterey location a decade ago, parlaying Great American Beer Fest gold medal beer with a great setting and—yes—outstanding food.

This is a simple green herb sauce that’s tangy from lemon, a little spicy and garlicky, but made with seaweed so it has a little more mineral flavor and depth. Fresh herbs you have on hand in any combination work well; chives or thyme can also be used. I find that rosemary can be overpowering, but a little is good, and garnishing with the blue rosemary blossoms adds a lovely and light touch.

Calamari is a staple dish, found on just about every menu along the central coast that serves seafood. Offering a new take on how to use Monterey Bay squid in a creative and delicious way, Chef Nestor Marin of Saltwood Kitchen and Oysterette in Marina shares with us his favorite recipe to highlight this local species. 

It is always a joy to reach out to different restaurants in the area, and ask for their favorite recipe highlighting local seafood. We are fortunate to have some remarkable chefs, who are fully committed to sourcing their ingredients locally, and understand the impact of their efforts. 

For this edition, we highlight Chef Michael Chang of Foray, a fine-dining restaurant located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, whose mission is to take their diners on a “guided tour of the Central Coast” from the comfort of their dining room.

As we move into summer, we are VERY excited to start seeing the first seasonal landings of local California Halibut. This recipe is one that definitely leaves your mouth watering, and is a preview of the culinary expertise of Chef Isaiah Cortright, executive chef at MOW, eliciting even more excitement for our upcoming Get Hooked Dinner that he will be preparing July 19th.