Salmon Florentine Recipe

4.52 from 76 votes

Salmon Florentine is made with juicy, tender, baked salmon and topped with creamy spinach and mushrooms.

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: dinner

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings:

Calories: 713kcal

Preheat the oven to 425℉ and line a small rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Rub the bottom of the salmon with oil and place it skin down on the parchment paper.
Season salmon with salt and pepper.
Place crusted salmon onto the baking sheet, skin down, and bake for 18-22 minutes. (Note that the cook time will depend on the size and thickness of salmon filet. Small and thin filets can take as little as 15 minutes and larger, thicker ones can take up to 25 minutes.)
Once salmon is cooked, take it out of the oven and off the baking sheet.
While salmon is cooking, heat up a large pan over medium heat. Add some cooking oil and diced onion. Saute onion until transparent.
Add mushrooms, garlic, and spinach. Cover and let the spinach cook down, stirring occasionally.
Once spinach is cooked down, drain off the liquid that accumulated from mushrooms and spinach.
Return to the stove and add white wine. Simmer for about a minute to cook down the alcohol.
Add heavy whipping cream and mix well. Season with salt and red pepper flakes. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add spinach and mushroom mixture to the cooked salmon, over the top.

Salmon: it's best to use salmon filets with skin on because salmon skin acts as a protective barrier between the delicate flesh and the baking sheet. Secondly, you want to hold on to the fatty layer between the skin and the flesh since this is where most of the healthy fats are. The fatty layer between the flesh and the skin stores a lot of flavor, fish oil, and of course, many of salmon’s health benefits.
Heavy whipping cream: this is the best option because of the rich and creamy texture that also results in a thicker sauce. You can substitute half and half (or lactose free half and half) if needed but the sauce will be thinner.
To thicken the sauce: you can thicken the sauce by simply mixing in a cornstarch slurry into sauce during the last couple of minutes of cooking. To make the cornstarch slurry, mix together 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch with a splash of cold milk or cream. If you want to make the sauce thicker and you are using heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch may be enough. If substituting for half and half, you may need to use 2 teaspoons of cornstarch.
Internal temperature of salmon is always the best indicator if it's done. Use a Digital Instant Read Thermometer to check the temperature in the center of the thickest part. Salmon is considered done at 145° and it you want it medium to medium-well range, cook it to 125° – 135°. Obviously, the higher the temp the more done the fish will be.