Easy Creamy Stuffed Fish Florentine
Fish on Friday just got fancy with Creamy Stuffed Fish Florentine
I haven’t done the best job at being consistent with my ‘Fish on Friday series’, but I’m going to try to jump back on the bandwagon with this amazing 30 minute dinner for Creamy Stuffed Fish Florentine. I love how this fish is stuffed with spinach and parmesan, then smothered in a deliciously seasoned white sauce. (Okay I know not the healthiest, but I’m trying; at least it’s homemade!) So let me take you through how it’s made!
Creamy Stuffed Fish Florentine Recipe
I think any recipe that calls for shallots is ‘fancy’ to me, and this one is no exception! If you’re not familiar with shallots, they’re in the onion family, but taste like onion and garlic got married and had a sweet mellow baby . Their taste is sharp like an onion when raw, but when cooked has a lovely mellow flavor with an almost garlic quality to it. Look for shallots next to onions in the produce aisles at your local grocer.
To start off this recipe, we’ll build the white sauce first. Begin by cooking a minced shallot in melted butter in a medium saucepan.
Add pressed garlic, then half-and-half with a little cornstarch whisked in to help it thicken as it cooks. Also LOTS of thyme, because well, thyme is delicious! Bring this sauce to a boil to thicken it, then we’ll move on to preparing the stuffing.
The stuffing for Creamy Stuffed Fish Florentine is a simple one; just thawed dried spinach mixed with some parmesan cheese and some of the white sauce we just finished cooking on the stove. It’s important to remove as much moisture from the spinach as possible, so I dump it into a kitchen towel and wring the heck out of it over the sink. It’s amazing how much water comes out!
Next, prepare the fish by blotting it dry with paper towels and seasoning it well with salt, pepper, and your favorite fish seasoning if you have some. Weber is a great brand and they always have excellent seasoning blends that I use in my everyday cooking! Make sure the fillets are all ‘skinned side down’ and distribute the stuffing evenly onto the center of each fillet. Fold the ends of the fillet over starting with the thin end to form a ‘fish bundle’.
Place all ‘fish bundles’ seam side down into a prepared baking dish, leaving a little space in between.
Now smother the fish with the rest of the amazingly, delicious shallot, garlic thyme sauce.
Sprinkle the top with crushed Ritz crackers and pop it in a very hot oven for about 15 minutes. In these pics I’m using Swai fillets (because they were a good price). They took about 17 minutes to cook through. If you want to use a thinner fish like Tilapia, it will cook faster, so keep an eye on it. The dish is ready when the fish easily flakes with a fork but is still moist. Just remember fish cooks fast so keep an eye on it!
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Fish on Friday tastes GOOD!
And here is the finished product, Creamy Stuffed Fish Florentine underneath a crunchy topping! Yum yum!
I haven’t always been able to observe ‘Meatless Monday’ and ‘Fish on Friday‘ as well as I’d like, but that’s life. I keep trying. I’ll always want to keep myself and my family healthy! I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe and don’t forget to rate it as well! Enjoy!
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Creamy Stuffed Fish Florentine
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This fantastic ‘Fish on Friday’ recipe for Creamy Stuffed Fish Florentine feels decadent, yet is loaded with Omega-3’s protein and fiber, and is on the table in less than 30 minutes!
Support The Goldilocks Kitchen by simply giving this recipe a comment and star rating in the comments section below; your comments and ratings are greatly appreciated by me AND the Google algorithm. Thanks for your support!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2–3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 3 cups half and half
- 6 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 heaping tablespoon minced fresh thyme, or two teaspoons dried
- 1 tablespoon Weber Roasted Garlic and Herb Seasoning or your favorite fish seasoning blend
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 (12-ounce) package of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 8 boneless, skinless fish fillets, such as Swai, Tilapia or Sole
- 16 Ritz crackers, crushed
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Set your oven to heat to 475 degrees, and spray a 13X9 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the minced shallot and cook until softened and just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for about a minute. Whisk the cornstarch into the half and half, then pour into the saucepan and whisk in the thyme.
- Cook the sauce over medium-high heat, stirring often, until it boils and thickens. Remove from heat and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the spinach and parmesan. Pour in one cup of the white sauce and stir to combine and melt the cheese.
- Lay out the fish and pat dry with paper towels. season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper and Weber Roasted Garlic and Herb seasoning. Place a large spoonful of spinach mixture into the center of each fish. Fold the ends of the fish over the stuffing starting with the thin end first.
- Place each fish bundle into the prepared baking dish, seam side down, leaving a little space between, and gently pour the rest of the white sauce over the fish to coat. Sprinkle with Ritz cracker bits on top and place in the oven. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the fish easily flakes with a fork, but is still juicy.
Notes
Any thin white fish can be used like Swai, Sole, or Tilapia. Simply adjust your cooking time according to the thickness of the fish~Sole or Swai will need 15-20 minutes, and a thinner fish like Tilapia will need around 12-15 minutes to be done. Also with thinner fish, using a little less stuffing is recommended, and increase the serving size to two fish bundles instead of one.
This fish bake freezes well too! Make it ahead of time and bake it at 425 until heated through as in step 6. If the topping starts to brown too deeply, cover with foil.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 fish bundle
- Calories: 519
- Sugar: 4.4 g
- Sodium: 686 mg
- Fat: 30.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 13.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.6 g
- Fiber: 2.4 g
- Protein: 21 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
I follow this recipe to a “T” except for the stuffing. For the stuffing I actually chopped up deli ham into small pieces and added some Parmesan cheese & some of the cream sauce and it came out phenomenally. My family raved about it & even my picky 10 year old daughter absolutely loved it . I paired it with yellow rice & poached potatoes & side of steam broccoli. Will make this again this recipe is a keeper thanks!
★★★★★
That is awesome Sylvia! I’m so glad you and your family loved it. I like that you added the deli ham; that sounds amazingly delicious. Thank you so much for the feedback!
Thank you for the reply & yes it was delicious. Having a picky 10 year old daughter i had to omit the spinach (I digress because me & My hubs love spinach). I have made many white cream base sauces & this one is hands down the BEST, once again many thanks for this delicious recipe that will now be a family staple!
★★★★★