Baked White Fish with Artichokes and Pancetta With Golden Puff Pastry Crowns & Creamed Spinach

Serves 4

Anything with pastry on the top is regal, and gives the buttery crunch needed with this light dish. You can either wilt the spinach or make it creamy. And quick pickled shallots will be YOUR NEW GO TO garnish!

TO PLATE MEAL: In a shallow wide dish, place a bit of the spinach in the center. Top with the white fish, Ladle with a bit of the artichoke sauce on top and around the outside. Crown each with the pastry crown, and nestle a bit of the pickled shallot next to the base of the fish. I always like a flourish of chopped flat leaf parsley to give some flair!

TIP: You can include rice in this dish if you want more starch, but I find that it’s quite satisfying and healthy without it. You can serve with small toast points if you like.

 Ingredients:

Four 5 oz. portions white fish. Cod is amazing but you can also do Flounder. Make sure they’re ample cuts and sit tall and are uniform in shape and size
1 15 oz. can artichoke hearts drained and chopped into quarters
4 oz. pancetta (or bacon will do but isn’t as tender)
½ sheet puff pastry
4 T butter
¼ C plain Greek yogurt
2 T mayonnaise
3 T olive oil
Several sprigs of fresh thyme
Fresh grated nutmeg (1/4 t ground nutmeg in a container will work as well but you’ll miss the depth of flavor!)
1 egg beaten
Kosher salt and pepper

Method:

• Bring the sheet of pastry to room temperature. It comes folded in thirds, leave it that way and cut in half. Then roll it out to about double the size. Fold in half and roll out. Fold one more time and then finally roll into a square so you can cut out 4, 4” by 4” squares. YOU WANT THEM THIN. Brush with the egg wash.
  Trim and shape your 4 fish filets. Pat dry and set aside. In a small saucepan, sauté the pancetta in a little butter until slightly browned but not crisp. Remove and set aside. Chop the artichoke hearts and drain thoroughly. Mix the pancetta, the artichoke hearts, the yogurt and the mayo. Fold together and then add the nutmeg, and about ¼ t salt and a bit of black pepper. In a good square baking dish, rub the bottom with a little oil. Then coat the fish with the oil using your hands, place them in the dish about ½ inch apart. Ladle a dollop of the artichoke mixture atop each chicken piece, spreading it out slightly.
• Take the puff pastry squares and fold each over the tip of your index finger to create a kind of flower. Flatten the bottom so each one rests atop the fish. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15-18 minutes until fish is opaque and puff pastry is browned but not too crisp.