SC - Salmon Casserole (Recipe)

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

Here's what I had for dinner tonight.

CAZUELA DE SALMON -- Salmon Casserole
from _Libro de Guisados_ by Ruperto de Nola (Spanish, 1529)
translation and redaction mine

You must take the clean and well-washed salmon; and put it in a 
casserole with your spices which are: galingale, and a little pepper and 
ginger and saffron; and all of this well ground, and cast upon the fish 
with salt, and a little verjuice or orange juice, and let it go to the fire of 
embers; and then take blanched almonds and raisins and pine nuts and 
all herbs.  That is, moraduj, which is called marjoram, and parsley, and 
mint; and when the casserole is nearly half-cooked cast all this inside.


Ingredients:
1 pound salmon fillet
1/4 teaspoon ground galingale
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon peppercorns and a pinch of saffron, ground together
salt to taste
juice of 1 Valencia orange (approx. 1/2 cup)
1 Tablespoon pine nuts
1 Tablespoon blanched slivered almonds
2 Tablespoons raisins
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Place the salmon in a deep casserole dish.  
Sprinkle with the ground spices and the salt.  Add orange juice to the 
casserole.

Baked, uncovered, for 10 minutes.  Add the chopped herbs, nuts and 
raisins, and baste with the orange juice.  Bake 10 more minutes, or until 
the salmon flakes easily at its thickest part.  Serve with rice.

Notes: 

In the "embers" thread, I discussed my concerns over cooking method.  I 
felt that I could not be sure of thorough, even cooking on my electric 
stove.  Since baking in the oven is a period method of making the same 
dish with other fish, I felt it was an acceptable alteration.

A Florida Valencia orange was the sourest that I could find locally.  Its 
juice was noticeably tarter than store-bought juice.  Truly tart orange 
juice or verjuice would give the recipe more of a sweet-and-sour taste, 
especially with the raisins for contrast.

The juice cooked down and blended with the seasonings and the salmon 
drippings to make a very pleasant sauce.  I spooned some of it over the 
rice.  I would be tempted next time to use more juice and thereby have 
more sauce, although the recipe does specify using just a little liquid.

I used rice as an accompaniment.  The recipe gives no advice about side 
dishes, but another casserole recipe in the same chapter, for skate ( Raja 
bastis, a kind of ray), says that it is very good with rice.

Proportions of seasonings were guesses.  The only taste that really 
stood out was the galingale.  I am undecided as to whether next time I 
should leave things as they are, cut back on the galingale, or increase 
some of the other herbs and spices to get a stronger but balanced flavor.

My lord and I both enjoyed it and would gladly have it again.  There are 
similar recipes for other fish and shellfish, so I may well experiment with 
some of those, too.

Comments are welcomed.

Brighid


Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
harper at idt.net
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