Pesce Fiorentino Tre Formaggi

To continue with my Italian food celebration, I thought I’d present a seafood entrée.  They cook a lot of seafood in Italy, as one might imagine, being surrounded by water on 3 sides.  They do a stellar job of it, too!  This baked fish dinner has the hallmark of spinach seen so often in dishes originating in Florence, thus its name.  Having had my first kidney stone now, I’m told by my doctors I must reduce the frequency of my spinach as it is very high in oxalates, known to be the primary cause of kidney stones.  I will not, however, be willing to eliminate spinach entirely from my diet, as I just love the stuff!

My mixture of 3 cheeses here sets off the flavor profile of baked fish perfectly!  My husband isn’t a big fish fan, but he said I could fix this one again any old time.   It was so yummy!  I confess I had misgivings about whether it would have enough flavor, but it DID!  The ricotta and mozzarella mellowed the fishy taste; the Parm cheese and the particular brand used of No-Salt Lemon Pepper by Victoria Gourmet was just the pizazz it needed.  Her blend has a trace of sugar in it, but the flavor is so much superior to any brand I’ve ever tasted, I’ll pay that price.  This recipe isn’t suitable until you reach Phase 2 (OWL, Ongoing Weight Loss) of Atkins.  It is suitable for Keto diets and those primal followers that eat dairy occasionally.

INGREDIENTS:

2   6-oz. fish filets (flounder, Blue fish, or whatever is available to you)

½ c. ricotta cheese

½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 small clove garlic, minced

½ tsp. No-Salt Lemon Pepper by Victoria Gourmet

1 c. frozen chopped spinach, cooked, drained well

2 T. grated Parmesan cheese

3 cherry tomatoes, halved

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly oil a baking pan.  Boil the spinach and drain.  Either press the liquid out using a sieve and the back of a large spoon or squeeze the moisture out with your hands or a clean kitchen towel.  Set spinach in a small bowl and stir in the minced garlic.

Pat dry the fish fillets with paper towels and lay them on the pan so that they are not touching each other.  With the back of a spoon thinly spread the ricotta evenly on each fillet almost out to the edges, but not quite.  Sprinkle 2 T. mozzarella shreds on top of each fillet.  Slightly press it into the ricotta with your fingertips.  Evenly line up the spinach down the center of each fillet as shown in the photo.  Top each row of spinach with 1 T. grated Parmesan cheese.  Place 3 tomato halves down the center of the spinach hill cut side down.  Pop into 350º oven for about 30 minutes or until it begins to brown just a bit.  Remove and serve at once with your favorite side dish or a lovely green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 2 servings, each contains:

335 cals, 17.5 g fat, 8.65 g carbs, 2.50 g fiber, 6.15 g NET CARBS, 38.5 g protein, 620 mg sodium