So Many Dishes

It amazes me that I didn’t eat spinach until I was an adult. Like all kids at that time, I knew about spinach from watching Popeye cartoons on tv. I don’t remember ever eating spinach, however. Did my mother ever cook it? One of these days I will remember to ask my brother if it appeared on the dinner table when we were growing up.

Ken introduced me to creamed spinach not long after we got married, and from then on I became a spinach eater. Spinach salads aren’t at the top of my list, but sautéed spinach or good old creamed spinach are among my favorite sides.

As soon as I see a recipe that includes Florentine in the name, I’m ready to give it a try. After all, it usually refers to some protein served over a bed of creamed spinach. What’s not to like?

Fish Florentine was one of the featured recipes in the Skinnytaste weekly newsletter a few weeks ago, and I was anxious to try it. The result was good, but I think the sauce needs some tweaking.

Spinach is clearly the star; the recipe calls for 9 ounces of fresh baby spinach, which is about 1 and 1/2 bags. A cup of chopped red bell pepper goes into the sauce, too, and the creaminess comes from some reduced fat cream cheese, aka Neufchâtel, and half and half. But because spinach has such a high water content, the sauce was awfully thin. It tasted great, but ran all over the plate. I wouldn’t want to use less spinach; the recipe is for four servings, but we came close to eating all the spinach, and it was just the two of us. I’m going to experiment the next time, to maybe see if there’s a way to drain off some of the liquid from the spinach before adding the cream cheese and half-and-half.

We picked up some beautiful flounder fillets, which cooked up nicely. This is one of those two skillet entrees: one to make the sauce and another to sauté the fish. As usual, when we went to Whole Foods for the fish, we also bought a loaf of bread from the bakery. That turned out to be perfect for sopping up the sauce. Some sliced tomatoes on the side completed the plate.

Fish Florentine

• 4 5-ounce pieces of skinless white firm fish fillet
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 9 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 2 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon butter, red bell pepper, and garlic; cook about 4 minutes.

Add spinach. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix until spinach wilts.

Add cream cheese, half-and-half, and Parmesan. Mix well until cream cheese is melted and the sauce resembles creamed spinach. Reduce heat and keep warm.

Heat a separate skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining butter and oil. Season fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Place in hot pan.

Depending on thickness of fish, cook 4 to 6 minutes on one side; flip fish over and cook other side until cooked through and browned. (I use my instant-read thermometer to check for doneness, which is 145 degrees).

Divide the spinach mixture on the bottom of four plates and top with a piece of fish. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Happy eating!