Fresh Anchovies (smelt actually) stuffed with Serrano Ham (prosciutto actually) and Spinach

Tapas With 50 New Recipes, an Updated Edition of the Classic Book That Introduced America to Tapas, by Penelope Casas
Cookbook 7 Recipe 3 (Total 16)

Happy Birthday to Stephen Part 3 How do I love Stephen? Let me count the ways... On his 33rd Birthday I learned to gut a fish. On his 33rd Birthday I gut 10 fish. On his 33rd Birthday I chopped off 10 fish heads. On his 33rd Birthday I learned how to strip the spinal cord out of a fish. I popped the air sack of 10 fish... I even cut the top and bottom fins off the fish.

Anyway - I also cooked a blueberry pie for dinner and served him blueberry scones and a latte in bed for breakfast.

For Dyanna & Jason's benefit this recipe can be found on page 19.

Did I like it? Yech.. But Stephen ate 8 of the 10 - it was his most favorite dish. He loved it.


Recipe:
Gut and remove the fins and spinal cord of 10 smelts. Set aside

Wash 1/4 lb spinach - chop - throw in to a pan with some salt and pepper and wilt.
Meanwhile, heat 1 T oil in a saute pan with 1 crushed garlic clove. Add wilted spinach when garlic is just cooked.

Make white sauce: Heat 1 T butter and add 1.5 T flour - cook 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup clam juice and 1/2 cup milk. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg - cook until thick. Add 2 T to the spinach, coat the bottom of a 8 inch square pan and set the rest aside.

Stuff each fish with a strip of prosciutto and 1 T spinach. Cover fish with reserved sauce and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.