Fancy French Fish (Ooo La La!)

Instead of the usual dinner out on the town, I stayed in Saturday night to indulge in some all-to-rare home cooking. I normally tend to gravitate toward fail-safe stir fry, curry and pasta dishes, but this night I wanted something to try on something with a little more flair.

So I dug through my cupboard and pulled out the "International Cookbook" 2005 edition, a delicious collaboration between the University of Nebraska-Kearney, International Student Association and Morris Press Cookbooks. Thumbing through many exotic dishes from around the world, the one that ultimately stood out was "Terrine de Saumon Aux Epinards - Riz Spécial," translated as Salmon and Spinach Terrine - Special Rice, contributed by Julien Champarou of France. Not only did it look scrumptious to eat, it also struck me as possibly easy to make, with most of the ingredients already in my kitchen. I was a little nervous that the souffle salmon wraps would fall apart or suddenly burst into flames when I took them out of the oven, but it turns out that evening I was a certified Julia Child with this recipe. The eggs mixture was fluffy, the salmon was tender and the dish was rich and satisfying. So with due thanks and credit to Julien, here is the my two-serving modification of the "Terrine de Saumon." Bon Appetit!

Ingredients (measurements are approximate):
1/4 bag fresh baby spinach
2 salmon tail fillets, about 1/3 pound each.
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 strips of bacon
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Grease the inside of two 7-ounce oven-safe ramekins or souffle dishes. Preheat oven to 410 F. Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the fresh spinach until wilted. Drain liquid and set cooked spinach aside in a small mixing bowl. Cook bacon, cut into small bits and add to the spinach. Take the skin off the salmon fillets and place the wide part in each of the greased ramekins, with the narrow end hanging over the edge. Add the sour cream and egg to the spinach and bacon in the bowl and mix well with a fork. Add dashes of salt, pepper and nutmeg to the mix. Spoon the spinach/sour cream/egg mixture over the salmon, and fold the tails over the top of the mix. Bake at 410 F for 10-15 minutes. Serve with rice or other side of your choice.

RNA