Out of This World Seafood Florentine

I didn't eat a lot of fish in my gluten filled past life. Most of the pregnancy books that I read say that it's packed with essential vitamins and antioxidants and is important for the development of baby. I'm sure fish will become a permanent staple in my gluten free diet because it's so versatile. There are so many different ways to bake, poach, and fry fish.

For frugal families like mine, fish is always on sale somewhere. We buy our fish from the frozen food section and can find a bag of shelled shrimp for as little as three dollars.

Over the holidays, Mark made me this delicious gluten free Seafood Florentine that quickly became my new favourite dinner dish. Mark rarely uses a recipe so we tried to come up with one to share with our friends. I hope you'll try it and tell me what you think.

Out of This World Seafood Florentine

Mixed fish chunks and raw shrimp (we used pollock, haddock)*
1 sweet potato
3/4 pack frozen spinach
Parmesan cheese
dash of nutmeg

Cheese Sauce

1 small onion
1/8 cup + 1 tbsp butter
1 - 1 1/2 cups milk (we used lactose free)
mixture of 2 Tbsp cornstarch + 1/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup cubed cream cheese
parmesan cheese
dash of nutmeg
salt and pepper
hot sauce**

* scallops, lobster and crab would be a fantastic substitute
** adding 2 or 3 dashes of of hot sauce or a pinch of cayenne make a great addition to this dish.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Slice sweet potato into thin slices and parboil until almost fork tender. Steam spinach until wilted. Grease a 13 x 9 casserole dish. Line the bottom of the dish with sweet potato slices then top with spinach.

Cheese sauce
In frying pan, saute 1 small onion in 1 tablespoon of butter until onions are translucent. Pour in 1 - 1 1/4 cups of milk. Add 1/8 cup butter and a dash of nutmeg. In a separate dish, mix 2 tbsp of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of cold water. Add cornstarch mixture to frying pan when milk starts to boil. Let the sauce thicken. You can add more milk if you find the mixture too thick. Add 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and stir well. Remove from heat and drop in 1/4 cup of cubed cream cheese. Whisk the mixture well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add hot sauce (optional).

Pour some of the cheese sauce on top of the spinach and potato layers. Lay fish chunks and raw shrimp on top of the cheese sauce. Pour remaining cheese sauce on top of fish. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese and a dash of nutmeg. Bake for 30-40 mins until bubbly. Remove and sprinkle with more Parmesan and broil dish for two minutes until cheese browns.

Photos - coming soon!