Receta Florentine or Italian for Spinach Involved.
When a recipe has the name "Florentine" (pronounced "FLOR-en-teen"), or the term "à la Florentine", as part of its name, it refers to a dish that is prepared in the style of Florence, Italy. In other words, it involves spinach as a main ingredient in the recipe; a sauce and/or cheese may also be used in the full creation of the dish.
So it came to pass that I found tilapia on sale, and as much as I enjoy simply baking it with lemon and dill, it was time to experiment. I remembered having a Florentine type dish at a restaurant once, so decided I was going to make it from scratch. Personally, I think I did a bang up job on it; with simple ingredients and prep work to boot. Now I wonder, tilapia is such a mild flavored fish; how would this recipe work with salmon?
- (Spinach Stuffed
- Tilapia)
- Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp. diced red bell
- pepper
- 6 tsp. olive oil
- 4 oz. fresh baby spinach
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 tsp. Italian herbal mix
- 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta
- cheese
- 1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
- cheese
- 2 (6 oz. each) tilapia
- fillets
- Preheat oven to 375F;
- spray 1 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small skillet,
- medium-high heat, sauté red bell pepper in two teaspoons of olive oil until
- softened; add in spinach, drizzle two teaspoons oil over leaves and cook until
- wilted.
- In a medium bowl,
- thoroughly combine egg, garlic, herbal mix, cheeses; gently fold in spinach
- mixture. Cut slit into tilapia
- lengthwise (not all the way through); with tip of knife cut halfway into both
sides of the fish to create a pocket.
Stuff half the mixture into each fillet; place into baking dish and
drizzle remaining two teaspoons of oil over the fish.
Bake 20-25 minutes; until
fish is flaky and filling is warm throughout. (Remember, I live at a higher altitude, so your baking time might be 15 to 20 minutes instead.)