START WITH STUFFED FLOUNDER
Whether you call it fluke or flounder, this Spinach Stuffed recipe is a delicious mix of flaky white fillets and creamy spinach filling, baked to perfection. From prep to serve this should take you about 30 minutes- once the fish are filleted and cleaned. This dish has a lot of flavor and only uses a few simple ingredients. The combination of the cheeses with spinach makes a creamy stuffing for these mild fillets that goes just the right degree of gooey as it bakes. Depending on the season, other fish such as Black Sea Bass can be used as a substitution, and depending on personal preference, other types of cheese can be used. One common substitute is parmesan for the feta. The fish is what you catch. The cheese is what you choose. The spinach? You really want fresh baby spinach as it is tender, has almost no stems, and a very mild complimentary flavor.
INGREDIENTS
6 6-oz skinless flounder fillets
½ tsp. Old Bay Seasoning or to taste
1 tbsp. olive oil
For the Stuffing
3 oz. cream cheese
½ cup mozzarella cheese
½ cup feta cheese
3 oz. baby spinach, roughly chopped
DIRECTIONS
1. Start by preparing the filling. Place the cream cheese, mozzarella, feta, and chopped baby spinach into a large mixing bowl. Massage the spinach and cheeses with your hands until they are well combined into a paste and set aside.
2. Place the flounder fillets onto a large board. Sprinkle the desired amount of Old Bay Seasoning onto each fillet.
3. Divide the stuffing into 6 equal portions. Working one at a time, shape the stuffing portions into
an egg shape and place it close to the tail of the fillet. Starting from the tail, roll each fillet up jelly-roll style and place it seam side down on a baking dish. Make sure you check each fillet for small pin bones that may have been missed during filleting and remove before stuffing.
4. Sprinkle some more Old Bay seasoning on top.
5. Using a pastry brush, spread some olive oil over the fillets.
6. Bake at 350ºF for about 20 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.
Wondering what to serve with this dish? You can never have too much spinach- just ask Popeye-so you might take any leftover baby spinach and saute’ it. If you prefer potatoes to rice, use multi colored fingerling potatoes. Instead of sautéed, you can put the spinach along with other mixed greens into a salad. If you want grain instead of potato, put your rolled fillets over a bed of rice pilaf or couscous.
Got leftovers? No worries, place fillets in an airtight container once cool and refrigerate. They will stay fresh for about 3-4 days. When you reheat, place the fillets on a baking sheet and warm them in the oven under heated through.