Salmon Florentine

I'm attempting to move to an anti-inflammatory way of eating. I don't want to call it a "diet". I love food. All food! Even healthy food. So, I'm not just trying to cut unhealthy things out, but I'm trying to purposefully eat things that are good for me. I have a list of items I want to eat more of, and so I'm looking for recipes that incorporate those items. This meal hit dead on last night. And to be truthful, it was one of the best things I've every eaten, let alone made! I sent a picture to Jewell and Colby, and they have requested it this weekend!

Y'all. This. Stuff. It was so delicious, rich, and filling! It literally looked and tasted like a restaurant-quality meal. This will definitely be put in the recipe rotation. And except for a little heavy cream, it's clean and healthy! As usual, I found a recipe and then played with it some. Here's what I came up with!

Salmon Florentine

four salmon steaks

(Mine were frozen from Costco. More about that later.)

salt and pepper to taste

one small yellow onion, diced (I always use sweet onions)

8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms

1 tbsp minced garlic

6 oz bag of baby spinach

1/4 cup water

Better Than Bouillon chicken paste

3/4 cup heavy cream

red pepper flakes, to taste

EVOO

avocado oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pat salmon dry and brush with avocado oil. (You could just use EVOO here. Avocado oil is one thing I'm trying to add to my cooking. It is an unsaturated fat and has been linked to reducing bad cholesterol. It also has lots of vitamin E, and it helps your body absorb other nutrients and vitamins.) I used parchment paper to make my cleanup easier and placed it on a sheet pan. Place salmon on parchment paper and salt and pepper to taste. Bake for about 15 minutes or until fish reached 145 degrees. Do not overcook.

Meanwhile, saute your onion in about a tablespoon of EVOO. Saute over medium heat until translucent. Add mushrooms. Allow to brown some before turning or stirring. (The difference between a good and bad mushroom is COLOR!) Once it begins to caramelize, stir. They shouldn't get soggy because you only used a little EVOO. Once they are good and brown, add your garlic. Garlic is so good for you, and I love it! I use a lot. Stir for 10 seconds and then add spinach. Stir and cover for a few minutes until the spinach begins to wilt. Add a healthy teaspoon of chicken paste and a 1/4 cup of water. Stir to dissolve. Allow it to cook for about three or four minutes until the chicken broth has cooked down. Then add your heavy cream. (You could probably get away with a little less than the 3/4 cup cream the recipe calls for, but since this is the ONLY "unhealthy" thing, why skimp? It's being split between four servings! Stir well and let it simmer at low heat for about three or four minutes until it thickens and becomes creamy.

Spoon spinach mixture over salmon and serve! I made my favorite blend of ancient grains and brown rice. It only takes 15 minutes! I chopped up a lot of fresh herbs from my kitchen garden and stirred them into the rice right before serving. (I used all fresh herbs: rosemary, German thyme, lemon thyme, Greek oregano, Italian oregano, and chives. Once it was all chopped, it was about 1/4 cup of herbs. The herbs just upped the healthy aspect, plus made it so pretty and fresh!)  

Notes - This recipe makes enough for four. It was just me, Gerald, and Brack last night. I didn't make any other veggies, so I split it three ways. Ok - actually, Gerald and I got most of it! But Brack did try it. He loves salmon and rice. If you are making it for more than four, be sure to double your recipe.

And more about salmon. I love the healthy convenience of frozen salmon. However, it can be really soggy sometimes. I laid this out on the counter (still individually shrink wrapped) one hour before I began cooking. It was still a little frozen, but that was fine! It hadn't gotten too soggy. I opened the packages, drained them well, and then sat them on paper towels to drain. I patted them several times with clean, dry paper towels before cooking. The fact it was still a little frozen actually kept it from drying out in the oven.

You've got to try this soon. Like I said, I'm making it for the kids this weekend, but this is good enough for a fancy company meal! And the best part - it's full of healthy ingredients. I'm trying all kinds of new recipes. I'll keep you posted!

 I'm so glad you stopped by my neck of the woods!

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***All pictures are original and are the property of Missy Hilyer Jones. Please do not use without giving proper credit to me and the blog post they were originally used in. Thanks!