Salmon with Curried Creamed Spinach

I'm a new devotee of spinach. Like most kids, I hated the stuff when I was growing up, and it took quite a long while for me to acquire a taste for it as I reached adulthood. Even then, in the early years, I'd only eat it raw, as a salad or greens on a sandwich.

Somehow, though, about the time I hit middle age (that vague time frame when a person's metabolism shifts to put on the brakes, but too often fails to tell the appetite), I realized I should be eating more of it, even when the fresh stuff is not so pretty (ah, the memories of dread!). Thus, I have learned to enjoy the frozen stock, and creamed, curried is my favorite way to consume it. I've made it with a little more chicken broth, so I could have a nice sauce to serve it over rice, but for my parents, who are still not the biggest fans of spinach or curries, I've helped it by serving it with a tasty slab of salmon… The Bat can't resist a good bit of that pink fishy goodness.

So this is for The Bat.

Popeye would be proud…

Salmon with Curried Creamed Spinach

Ingredients:

2 10-ounce packages of frozen spinach, thawed, and some of the liquid gently pressed out

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small sweet onion, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon curry powder

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 Tablespoon butter, melted

salt and pepper to taste

2 lbs fresh (or frozen, thawed) salmon sides or filets, skin removed

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375º F.

(If you are cooking with raw spinach or raw mixed greens, you will want to stem & coarsely chop, then, in a large frying pan on high heat, quickly wilt the greens, then allow them to cool in a strainer, lightly pressing excess liquids out, before starting the rest of the stages).

In a large, oven-safe frying pan over medium-low heat, cook onions in oil until transparent. Add curry powder, chicken broth, and garlic, and stir until evenly distributed and curry powder is dissolved. Stir in heavy cream. Allow to simmer over low heat about 10 minutes, until it becomes very fragrant. Remove from heat. 

Combine lemon juice and melted butter.

Place salmon filets on top of the spinach mixture. Pour lemon-butter over the top of fish, allowing to drizzle onto the spinach. Lay slices of lemon over the top, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake in middle of oven about 30 minutes (as soon as the spinach has been boiling and the fish turns opaque). Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 5 minutes before serving.