Seafood Florentine

Seafood Florentine with Cod

While Andy was away at Craig Hospital, I basically stopped cooking. I love cooking but the joy just wasn’t there anymore. On one of my visits to Denver to see Andy I came across an interesting cookbook and picked it up. Upon Andy’s return home, I pulled out the new cookbook and set to work cooking again. What I discovered is it is more fun cooking for someone other than yourself. It feels good to be back in the kitchen and experimenting with new recipes. The following dish comes from my new cookbook! I’ve included information on the book at the end of this blog post.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total: 25 minutes

Serves four

Ingredients

4 (5 to 6 ounce) white fish fillets, such as mahi-mahi, sea bass or halibut (I used Cod and it was heavenly!)

Fine pink Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup flour

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons salted butter (I used unsalted butter)

1 shallot, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated

1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

Crushed red pepper flakes

¼ cup milk (I added a little more at the end because I like my dishes saucy)

2 ounces cream cheese, cubed (I forgot to cube it and it still turned out tasty)

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Pat the fish dry and season all over with salt and pepper. Place the flower in a shallow bowl or plate. Dip the fish into the flour and coat on both sides.

Next, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the fish and cook until lightly browned on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until lightly browned and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more. If you are using Cod, it will flake and break apart easily, which was not a bad thing, it allowed for the fish to bond with the sauce better. Transfer the fish to a plate.

Using the same skillet over medium heat, add the butter, shallots, garlic, tomatoes and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes, the milk, and cream cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the Parmesan and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted, 3 to 5 minutes more. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Slide the fish back into the sauce and cook until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes.

To serve, divide the fish among plates and spoon the sauce over the top.

Bon Appetit!

Half Baked Harvest Every Day: recipes for balanced, flexible, feel good meals

By: Tieghan Gerard

ISBN 978-0-593-23255-2