Today's haddock recipe includes a super creamy, rich and totally delicious florentine sauce, full of fresh spinach and sun dried tomatoes. I don't want to toot my own horn, but we've got a real winner on our hands here!
The florentine sauce tastes like it has tons of butter and cream in it, but it does not. I used light whipped cream cheese and a few other goodies to create a cheesy and rich, yet much healthier sauce for the haddock.
This may sound like a long and complicated recipe that will take you hours to prepare. However I promise you that this recipe will only take about 20 minutes from start to finish.
Plus you probably already have most of the ingredients in your fridge!
Start With Some Fresh Haddock
Haddock has a light flavor and delicate texture, which is perfect for the rich florentine sauce. Haddock is a white fish that flakes very easily. In my opinion haddock is not a great option for fish tacos - it's best in a dish like this one where it is served as a whole filet.
My husband Ryan with a fresh caught haddock caught in Cape Cod Bay during May of 2022.
You can find haddock in fish markets year-round, but in the waters off Cape Cod you also have a good chance at catching one yourself. This is a wonderful opportunity to create your own catch and cook meal!
The local haddock I used in this recipe was caught during early May in Cape Cod Bay. As you can see in the photo below, it was served with the lightened-up florentine sauce that is seriously restaurant worthy.
First and foremost, cook the fish separately in a pan with a little olive oil and a touch of butter. Season with salt and pepper while the sauce cooks alongside it in a different pan.
Next, wash the baby spinach and slice your sun dried tomatoes (if they haven't already been sliced).
How to Make the Florentine Sauce
A florentine is a French method of cooking spinach with a creamy white sauce that is full of butter and cream. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of that, but I like to lighten things up a bit - especially when working with such a delicate white fish as haddock.
This lighter florentine sauce starts with milk and minced garlic, followed by light whipped cream cheese, Italian blend shredded cheese, and grated parmesan.
For the Italian blend, I use a bagged mix of fontina, part-skim mozzarella, asiago, parmesan and provolone. However any 5-cheese Italian blend should do.
Once that all melts down over medium heat, I then stir in the fresh baby spinach and sliced sun dried tomatoes.
When everything is plated and ready to be served, I swear you may think you're in a restaurant.
Detailed Recipe & Instructions
If you serve this dish on a beautifully set table and light some candles, then you will wow the bejeezus out of your friends and family!
This recipe is meant to serve two people (with extra sauce) and will take you about 20-25 minutes to prepare. You can serve this with jasmine rice or just on its own with a side salad.
You can view the full recipe below or click here to print a hard copy.
I hope you will give this haddock florentine recipe a try. I think you will be pleased with the results!
Of course please let me know if you have any questions by leaving me a comment below.
Thanks for reading and as always - Happy Cooking! 🍽
Looking good Lauren! I printed it out! I’ll send a pic when I make it!
That’s great! Looking forward to hearing how you like it!
Looks delicious! I like full fat heavy cream, so I would not substitute the milk, wonder if that would make it to thick with the whipped cream cheese?
Also no sun dried tomatoes for me – to much sugar…I might go with another veggie?
Thank you so much! It would definitely be a lot thicker and heavier of a sauce using full fat heavy cream – I would say if you want a thicker cream sauce while you’re making it, to add more whipped cream cheese until you get the desired consistency you want. As for the tomatoes, you could try some blistered cherry tomatoes or steamed broccoli florets, but I haven’t played around with other substitutes quite yet.
Will definitely try this Lauren! Sounds delicious. Roche Bros has jars of sun dried tomatoes already julienne sliced. Just have to drain them as they’re packed in oil.
That’s perfect! Just make sure to drain and squeeze as much oil out of the tomatoes as you can so the sauce doesn’t get oily. This sauce is also really good with chicken or shrimp too! Let me know what you think when you make it 🙂