A Sunday Night Celebration

With fall weather finally upon us here in Sunny California, I thought it time to explore some fall flavors, fire up the oven, and enjoy the longer nights that the season brings.

Having worked all week, and not having as much time to prepare my usual big Sunday meal, I decided to try a preparation I have been curious about since childhood, but have never attempted; cooking food incased in salt. Salt-crust cooking is a centuries old technique, and second only to frying in its efficiency. But, as I did not have a whole fish to try it on as I would have liked, I brought out the copper river salmon I had been saving in my freezer for a special occasion. Copper River Salmon is only available for three to four weeks out of the year, and is wild caught from the Copper River in Alaska. Though tonight was not a celebration as such, food is made for eating, and this preparation is definitely not my usual, everyday technique, so copper river salmon seemed an appropriate indulgence.

This preparation began in a cast-iron pan, where the skin side of the salmon is crisped in olive oil, heated until shimmery, for about 3 min. Then egg whites, dill, and the juice of a sweet lime were mixed together with what seemed like half a box of kosher salt, to make a mixture with the consistency of wet sand. The salt mixture was used to line a baking dish, and then to encase the filets. They were placed in a 400 degree oven and cooked for a little longer than the recipe called for, as I was trying to achieve a hard salt casing.

In the same 400 degree oven, I placed the butternut squash, which had been tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and fresh thyme. It was cooked for approximately 30 min.

The final portion of tonights dinner was a potato medley I picked up from Trader Joes. I love purple potatoes, so being able to use them to do one of my favorite preparations, salt-crusted potatoes, in the pressure cooker, is a real treat. The potatoes are submerged in a salt water brine, cooked for 15 min in a pressure cooker, then drained, and boiled in the same pan, until the water evaporates.

All told, this meal only took about an hour to make, and was finished before midnight struck. With the added benefit of being a more colorful creation than my usual fare.

Salt Crusted Copper River Salmon, with Roasted Butter Nut Squash, and a Salt Crusted Potato Medley. Completed at 11:55pm

the Midnight Chef