Tilapia Florentine

Recipes with “Florentine” in their names generally share one ingredient: spinach. (Sometimes they also include a creamy Mornay sauce, like eggs Florentine or chicken Florentine.) This tilapia Florentine recipe includes the leafy green cooked in a creamy, silky sauce that’s draped over the delicate fish fillets. It’s reminiscent of the luxurious layers in spinach lasagna, only baked over fish. Generous doses of lemon juice and garlic-herb seasoning make the sauce feel lighter than a rich roux-based cream sauce.

Tilapia tends to be small and delicate, so one whole spinach-dressed fillet per person makes a pretty presentation. This recipe is easy to scale up or down: Serve it alongside rice pilaf or roasted potatoes for a fancy dinner with friends, or make it for a casual weeknight meal for one.

Tilapia Florentine Ingredients

• Baby spinach: Baby spinach needs no prep other than a quick wash. Dry the raw greens before adding them to hot oil to minimize splattering.
• Canola oil: Neutral cooking oils like canola let you saute the spinach without filling your kitchen with smoke. You’ll drizzle more oil over the fish to help the fillets release more easily from the baking dish.
• Tilapia: If fresh tilapia isn’t available at the seafood counter, buy still-frozen tilapia for the freshest fillets. Thaw the fish overnight in the refrigerator or under cool running water. Remove it from the vacuum packaging as soon as it has thawed. Cook fresh fish within two days of buying it, and thaw frozen fish the day you plan to cook it. Either way, keep it in the fridge until it goes in the pan.
• Lemon juice: Lemon juice lightens this cheesy dish and adds flavor to the mild fish and greens. Drizzle bottled lemon juice over the fillets or squeeze half a large fresh lemon over them. Then cut the remaining half into wedges for serving.
• Garlic-herb seasoning: A seasoning blend gives the baked fish an array of flavors. Each brand uses different herbs and spices, so you may need to try a few to find your favorite. Homemade Italian seasoning covers all the bases and is capable of enhancing a range of recipes.
• Egg: A lightly beaten egg acts as a binder for ricotta so that it doesn’t fully separate as it bakes. For a smoother texture, pulse the ricotta and egg in a food processor until they’re combined before folding in the spinach.
• Cheeses: Part-skim ricotta cheese bakes into a creamy, gluten-free sauce. Grated Parmesan cheese is sprinkled on top, letting its nutty flavor seep into the baked spinach and fish.

Directions

Step 1: Saute the spinach

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large nonstick skillet, cook the spinach in 4 teaspoons of oil until the leaves are wilted. Then drain it well.

Editor’s Tip: The drier the cooked spinach, the better. Drain it through a strainer and press down with a spatula or squeeze it with your hands to remove as much liquid as possible.

Step 2: Season the fish

Meanwhile, place the tilapia fillets in a single layer in a greased 13×9-inch baking dish. Drizzle the fish with the lemon juice and the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Sprinkle the fish with the seasoning blend.

Editor’s Tip: Pat the fish dry before baking it to remove excess moisture. This keeps the sauce thick and prevents the fish from turning mushy.

Step 3: Mix the spinach sauce

In a small bowl, combine the egg, ricotta cheese and drained spinach. Spoon the mixture over the fish fillets. Sprinkle them with the Parmesan cheese.

Step 4: Bake the dressed fish

Bake the tilapia until it flakes easily with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. If desired, serve the tilapia Floretine with lemon wedges and additional Parmesan cheese.

Tilapia Florentine Variations

• Use full-grown spinach: Baby spinach wins points for ease, but loses points for its cost and tendency to turn slimy when heated. Full-grown spinach, especially a Savoy variety with slightly curled leaves, keeps its texture better when cooked and is usually more affordable. Lop off the thickest stems before you chop and cook it.
• Change the fish: Any lean whitefish bakes well in a Florentine sauce. Small, thin fillets of perch and swai take about the same time to cook as tilapia, but thicker cod portions might need a few extra minutes. Cut full-length fish fillets like walleye or sole into individual servings before baking them.
• Upgrade the cheeses: Part-skim ricotta has less fat than whole-milk ricotta but less flavor than high-quality brands because it uses stabilizers and gums to overcome wateriness. Look for ricotta that lists just milk, salt and an acid or starter as ingredients, or use homemade ricotta instead. Instead of generic Parmesan, spend a bit more for intricately flavored Parmigiano Reggiano.
• Intensify the flavor: Stir extra garlic-herb seasoning into the ricotta mixture. Enhance the seasoning with minced garlic, a spoonful of Dijon mustard, smoked paprika and freshly ground black pepper to taste. When sauteing the spinach and baking the fish, replace the neutral canola oil with extra-virgin olive oil or melted butter for more flavor.
• Add extra veggies: Add sliced mushrooms when cooking the spinach, or add fresh whole cherry tomatoes and coarsely chopped water-packed artichoke hearts to the baking dish.

How to Store Tilapia Florentine

Store tilapia Florentine leftovers in the refrigerator. Once completely cool, pack the spinach-topped fillets in individual airtight containers or lay the fillets side by side in a larger shallow container.

How long does tilapia Florentine last?

Tilapia Florentine lasts three to four days when stored in the fridge.

Can you freeze tilapia Florentine?

We don’t recommend freezing tilapia Florentine. The egg-enriched cheese sauce will separate if you freeze the leftovers, and frozen tilapia that has been thawed, cooked and refrozen often becomes soft and soggy when reheated.

How do you reheat tilapia Florentine?

Reheat tilapia Florentine in a covered baking dish in a 350° oven until it’s warmed through. Leftover fish overcooks easily when microwaved, so if you choose this route, place a lid over the fish and heat it in 30-second bursts just until it’s warmed through. If the fish appears to be drying out, add another splash of oil or lemon juice or a pat of butter.

Tilapia Florentine Tips

Can you use frozen spinach for tilapia Florentine?

Frozen spinach is an easy replacement for fresh leaves in tilapia Florentine. Thoroughly thaw it and drain off its liquid before you stir it into the cheese. However, frozen spinach does have some downsides. It usually includes large, tough stems, which would be painstaking to try to cut away compared with a fresh bunch of spinach. It also won’t have the bright taste of fresh sauteed leaves and might even seem a little bitter.

What can you serve with tilapia Florentine?

To serve tilapia Florentine with oven-roasted vegetables, start to bake the side dish while you prep the fish and then slide the fish into the oven beside the vegetables so that both dishes are ready at the same time. Prep roasted vegetable strata a day before and then cook it alongside the fish. On the stovetop, cook other vegetable side dishes like boiled potatoes, chive buttered carrots or jalapeno green beans. Soak up the leftover cheesy sauce with hot, crusty bread.