Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m glad you’re here!
This morning, I woke up to a thick fog–the kind of fog known as Tule fog. It occurs in the fall and winter after rains that are followed by clear, cold nights. It is common in the San Joaquin Valley, but this year, we had an unusually wet fall, followed now by a persistent high pressure system that has brought the Tule fog all the way to the Silicon Valley and beyond.
I like fog. I feel like I can really think when it’s foggy. I like taking a walk in it and enjoying the feeling of no distractions. This morning’s fog was so thick that I felt like I was all by myself, wrapped up in an immense fluffy, chilly cardigan. All around me, life continued, but it was all very murky and indistinct. Even the sounds seemed muffled by the fog. I could only see what was right in front of me and everything else was obscured.
I’ve lived in my neighborhood for more than 30 years, so it is familiar and comforting to me each time I return; but this morning, it was fuzzy, a bit undefined and a little mysterious.
I think Advent is like that: we think maybe we know what’s out there, but it’s still a mystery–still undefined. We have to be patient and wait for the fog to lift before we can gain clarity on what’s really out there. I intend to continue to think about this concept as I walk through this Advent journey.
I’m continuing my observation of Advent through foods of Italy, and in particular, the Feast of the Seven Fishes, which is celebrated particularly by Italian-Americans on Christmas Eve. Today, I’m sharing another seafood recipe–this time for salmon en croute!
My inspiration for this dish came in 2018, when Mr. Stone Soup and I took a barge trip down the Loire River in France. Our chef on the barge was named Mohammed, and he was a genius. Mohammed made food for 22 (plus his staff) in a space no larger than a walk-in closet that was kitted out with only a four-burner stove, an oven and a warming oven.
At each of our stops along the river, Mohammed would hop ashore and get fresh groceries for our next meals. We ate like royalty, with each meal being better and more imaginative than the last.
One evening for dinner, our meal was salmon en croute. It was a pasty stuffed with salmon, spinach, dill rice and a cream sauce. I am not good enough with puff pastry to be able to get that much into a pastry, but this recipe is my homage to Mohammed’s masterpiece.
It includes a piece of salmon topped with a dill cream sauce and cooked spinach. It was actually pretty easy to do, but looks spectacular! It would be very much at home as one of the courses at a Feast of the Seven Fishes as either a starter or a main.
I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for another fish recipe as we continue to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes!
Until then,
Peace, love and good food,
Keri
