The start of summer has us trying and testing light and easy recipe ideas and this feta and spinach stuffed fish fits the bill and then some! Not only is this recipe easy and relatively quick to make but you can use just about any fish filet and it’ll taste great. Plus, since it’s stuffed with lots of spinach, you don’t need much to round out the meal, we enjoyed serving it with salad and couscous.
start with the greens
Fresh or frozen spinach work for this recipe but I prefer using the fresh since it makes the stuffing a little “meatier”. If you’re using fresh rinse and dry the spinach leaves and set aside.
Next peel and crush the garlic. Pour the olive oil to a large sauté pan set on a low heat, add crushed garlic and stir. Sauté the garlic and once it’s light brown add the spinach. Stir so most of the leaves are coated with oil and garlic. Sauté 2-3 minutes until the spinach is just wilted, but not completely cooked. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully transfer the wilted spinach into a large mixing bowl.
make the stuffing
Feta is a favorite and works well in so many recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner that I usually keep a block in the fridge that I can chop up but if you are starting with crumbled feta you can skip this step. If you do start with a block cut off a piece of feta and chop into small pieces. To the bowl of spinach add the chopped or crumbled feta, a dash of nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
rolling the fish & baking
When picking the filets try to pick similarly sized pieces so they cook evenly. Pat dry each fillet and lay flat. Towards the top of the filet (not the very top but just below where it’s wide enough to hold the stuffing) put 1/4 of the stuffing mixture. Then, starting from the top (above the stuffing) gently roll the fish and secure with 1-2 toothpicks (that can go in the oven). Repeat for the other filets.
Lightly coat the bottom a glass pan or spray with cooking spray. Place the filets seam side down in the pan.
Zest a lemon and sprinkle the lemon zest and a little pepper on top of each filet. Place the pan in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes (time will vary depending on how big your filets are). The fish should flake easily when it’s cooked.
Remove pan from oven and serve immediately.
- Fish filets – 4
- Spinach – fresh, 1 bag (6-8 oz)
- Garlic – 4 cloves, crushed
- Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
- Feta – ½ cup crumbled / chopped
- Nutmeg – 1 dash
- Salt and pepper
- Cooking spray / olive oil (for pan)
- Lemon - 1 zested
- Toothpicks (oven safe)
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Wash and pat dry spinach
- Peel and crush the garlic
- Pour olive oil into a large sauté pan and add crushed garlic
- Sauté garlic until it is light brown
- Add spinach and stir so all leaves are tossed in garlic and oil
- Stir frequently for 2-3 minutes until spinach starts to wilt, do not over cook the spinach
- Carefully remove from heat and transfer spinach to a large mixing bowl
- To the bowl add chopped feta, salt and pepper to taste and a dash of nutmeg
- Stir mixture thoroughly and set aside
- Pat fish filets dry with a paper towel
- Lay 1 filet flat and put ¼ of the mixture towards the top of one filet
- Gently roll the filet (starting at the top where the stuffing is) and secure with 1-2 toothpicks
- Repeat for other 3 filets
- Coat the bottom of a baking dish with cooking spray or olive oil
- Place the filets in the coated pan seam side down
- Zest 1 lemon
- Sprinkle the lemon zest and a little pepper on top of each filet
- Bake fish in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork and is cooked through
- Serve immediately