The Americanization of Pascal

When Pascal Dropsy was a 16-year-old hotel school apprentice at Hotel du Moulin at Daverdisse in Belgium, he would go down to the cellar, where a small river flowed beneath the restaurant, catch fresh trout and cook them, frequently with ground hazelnuts from trees on the hotel grounds.

“We used the freshest ingredients we could find,” says Dropsy, now executive chef at St. Mark’s at the Beach Grill & Rotisserie in Venice. “Times have changed, and fresh trout has become farm-raised trout or salmon. And because of the rising price of hazelnuts, I have experimented with pecans and this works very well. Now, because of Mexican influences in Southern California, I also use a vanilla bean, chipotle chile and thyme-infusion sauce, which is my recipe.”

PASCAL DROPSY’S COHO SALMON WITH VANILLA BEAN

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 shallots, chopped

2 cups Chardonnay

2 cups fish stock

1 bunch thyme, leaves only

1 chipotle chile

2 vanilla beans, split

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Salt

4 (8-ounce) baby Coho salmon, boned

2 eggs

4 ounces pecans, chopped

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until tender. Add wine, fish stock, thyme and scraped flesh of chipotle chile and vanilla beans. Simmer until reduced by half. Set aside 15 to 20 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Strain sauce. Add cream and simmer over low heat until sauce is formed. Season to taste with salt, if desired.

Cut off heads of Coho salmon. Beat eggs lightly in dish. Dip fish in eggs to coat. Dip both sides of fish in chopped pecans. Melt remaining butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add fish and cook until lightly browned on both sides (nuts will brown quickly). Bake at 400 degrees 2 to 3 minutes to dry slightly. Place sauce in bottom of each plate. Place fish over sauce. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

994 calories; 466 mg sodium; 322 mg cholesterol; 81 grams fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 38 grams protein; 1.25 grams fiber.