Spinach & cream cheese-filled salmon fillets
I've always loved a good salmon and cream cheese bagel, so it seems a natural choice to pair cream cheese with a salmon fillet. My parents had given me The Definitive Canadian Wine & Cheese Cookbook, which I enjoy for several reasons: a) it incorporates some kind of cheese into every recipe, and b) it talks about specifically Canadian cheeses and artisan farms (which I never hear about in cookbooks). Oh Canada, how I miss you!
Recipe
adapted from The Definitive Canadian Wine & Cheese CookbookServes 22 oz. fresh spinach leaves1/8 cup cream cheese1/8 cup St. André cheesepinch ground nutmeg2 salmon fillets (about 4 oz each)1 cup panko1/8 cup melted buttersalt & pepperPreheat oven to 350 F. Sauté spinach over medium-low heat until wilted. Drain spinach and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. Place in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add cream cheese, St. André cheese and nutmeg and process until smooth.Cut a horizontal slice off the tops of the salmon fillets and spread the spinach/cheese mixture on the bottom halves. Place the tops back on (creating a little salmon sandwich). In a small bowl, combine panko and butter and season with salt and pepper. Coat the fillets with the mixture, piling the majority on top of each fillet. Place them in a prepared baking sheet/pan and roast for 10 - 15 minutes, or until centre is warmed through.
Musings
A few notes on preparation: The original recipe actually called for quark; however, they mentioned that we could substitute cream cheese if it was unavailable. Instead of St. Andre, they called for marscapone, but that's usually fairly expensive, and we happened to have St. Andre on hand. They also suggested stirring in a 1/4 cup grated Parmesan into the panko mixture before administering it, but we were lacking that cheese as well.We were both quite pleased with this dish, as it turned out very well. The crispiness of the panko and the creaminess of the spinach and cream cheese mixture was delicious. The salmon was nice and moist and its flavour wasn't overpowered by any of the other additions. The spinach blend was also a lovely green colour, which was a bright counterpoint to the salmon pink. We paired it with a simple risotto (made with some delicious homemade chicken stock), and the resulting meal was superb.