So I really threw this meal together fast…I was not expecting anything great from it and actually let it stay too long in the oven, so I was exceptionally surprised when I took my first bite. It was good, really good. But how? I took too many short cuts, I didn’t know what I was doing, I made it too fast, etc., etc., etc. Goes to show that you don’t always need to cook like a superstar to eat like one. Oh, and I know the Italians say that dairy and fish shouldn’t go together but I’m not Italian so here’s what I did…
-Defrosted 6 small fillets of flounder, opened a can of diced tomatoes, drained them. Defrosted a few handfuls of chopped spinach, drained it. Thinly sliced a cup or so of fresh mozzarella.
-Laid 2 fillets down in a greased oven-safe, deep, glass dish.
-Seasoned fillets with S&P, garlic powder, and sprinkled with flour.
-Covered with half the tomatoes, half the spinach, and a third of the mozzarella slices.
-Seasoned with fresh nutmeg.
-Repeated the above steps and then finished with the remaining 2 fillets, seasoned and floured, and the rest of the mozz.
-Topped everything with bread crumbs and a handful Parmaggiano Reggiano. -Covered with foil and baked at 350 for 2ish hours. (Obviously it would have been done in less than 1 hour, but I couldn’t get to it then so…there it stayed. And what resulted was a wonderfully thick and deeply flavored sauce that surrounded the still- moist fish. I’ve never in my life cooked anything with fish for this long and was so surprised when we ate it and discovered it wasn’t dry and ruined! So that’s how long I’ll be cooking this meal the next time!)
(*I took the foil off during the last 30 min. or so to let the juices thicken and served it with roasted lemon potatoes. It was just a really great meal. I hope you think so too.
Food + Wine
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