A Fishy Surprise
On a recent trip to France, we found ourselves overcome with memories from our childhood visiting that country. One in particular was recounted to us by our mother, a story which has earned the status of an inspiring fable in its own right. It begins with one of our elder brothers, Khaled, who held a lifelong fascination with and love for fishing, following after our mother and grandfather. Whenever we were in France and the glistening Mediterranean Sea was tantalisingly in his sights, he would tirelessly beg parents’ friends in the area to go on fishing trips despite being assured that the Azure coast didn’t offer the best environment for catching big fish.
During one summer holiday to France when our grandparents were visiting with us, a family friend named Alain finally obliged and took young Khaled to a fish farm just to satiate his desire to capture a creature of the sea (since there would be larger fish surrounding that area opportunistically waiting for the farmed fish’s feed). Sure enough, Khaled triumphantly returned with a few hefty-sized fish. Our grandmother Basima was in the habit of preparing a tasty catch from the Red Sea back home in Saudi Arabia at least once a week, and in true fashion couldn’t wait to cook us up a delicious feast from the freshly caught fish. Alain had insisted that this certainly wasn’t a fish that was cooked for its delicious taste, and definitely not favoured by anyone looking for a scrumptious meal. But of course, nothing could come between Basima putting her best foot forward to cook a delectable meal for her family, and in her typical headstrong way she went ahead anyway and put together our dinner.
Once Alain tasted it that night, he was nothing short of astounded at what had become of this usually plain and unimpressive fish. A man who is well-known for his love of food, he exclaimed with true wonder at how delicious the dish tasted, and asked with surprise how Basima could have accomplished such a feat. Needless to say, Alain was the only one at the table who was so taken aback. Whenever my mother tells this story, it only reinforces our memory of the truly magical and inspiring way our grandmother’s loving hands could always make a meal taste like the best we’ve ever had. Until the next one, of course.
Khaled, Alain and their catches of the day