Flounder Stuffed with Spinach and Mushrooms

Fresh, light flounder fillets, baked atop a mound of savory, earthy mushrooms, leek and spinach.
12 oz fresh mushrooms, diced
10 oz fresh baby spinach leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 leek, cleaned and diced, about 1 cup
2 Tbsp panic bread crumbs
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

4 large flounder fillets
dash dried dill weed

Preheat oven to 400F. Sauté the spinach leaves in a non-stick skillet with a dash of butter and olive oil until the leaves wilt and release water. Remove to a bowl.

Add the mushrooms and a dash of butter and olive oil to the skillet and brown mushrooms over fairly high heat, until they release what water they will, and brown up nicely, about 10 minutes.

Add garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes, then remove mixture to the bowl with the mushrooms.

Now add the leeks to the same skillet with another dash butter and olive oil.

Warm the leeks and then add 2 tablespoons water. Sauté until the water evaporates and the leeks have softened quite a bit. Continue cooking until the leeks color up just a bit. Return the spinach and mushroom mixture to the skillet and add the panko crumbs and red pepper.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Lay flounder fillets flat on a work surface. Place one quarter of the spinach filling in the center of each fillet. Wrap the two ends around the mound of filling and place seam-side down in an oiled casserole (here I just cooked two flounders at a time, serving 2, saving the second half of the filling for another fish on another night.)  Spray the fillets with oil and dress with a dash of dill weed.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.

Serve with your favorite side - here I served baked leek and pearl onion gratin - my wife’s favorites for her birthday.

Serves 4.

Cook's Note:  You don't have to actually wrap the fish around the filling, just bake on top.  A few nights later I baked fresh perch fillets on top of the spinach filling, scattered on the base of a casserole. I topped the fish with a dash of melted butter and baked.  

 The results were equally delicious.