Rock Fish and Spinach Gratin Recipe (2024)

There’s no need to pre-steam the fish especially if you’re using a thinner filet. I also used frozen chopped spinach (1 to 1 1/2 lbs is plenty since frozen is more compact than fresh). I kept everything else the same and it was delicious.

Make a richer variation; use Mornay sauce (with Gruyere, egg yolk and cream) instead of the Provencal version here. And monkfish works well with this (though is harder to flake).

Tom's advice to put gruyere in the sauce took this recipe from good to great. I made this with much less fuss and time. Used frozen spinach and once it was thawed and drained, put it in the food processor with the grated cheese. Then made the cream sauce, added it and blended it, which also chopped the spinach finely. There was no need to steam the fish, unless one was using something much thicker than rockfish. Layered it, put in oven. When the breadcrumbs were golden, the fish was perfect.

I subbed in almond milk cuz I’m lactose intolerant & was happily surprised to see that it produced a fine roux. That said, this dish did not float my boat. It needed a lot of salt to add taste & the creamed greens were too retro for my lighter sensibilities. I ended up squeezing an entire lemon on the dish which provided a much needed lift. Next time, I will simply broil the fish on a bed of seasoned greens w lemon slices on top.

Cooked as noted, except for adding generous amount of red pepper flakes. We loved it.

Loved this dish. Used snapper and Panko bread crumbs. Also, used a bay leaf in the white sauce and nutmeg is a must. Added about 1/3 cup of cream cheese. Otherwise followed the recipe as written.

Overall pretty good! The sauce is good once seasoned aggressively with lemon, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic, and really thickened. Don’t pre steam the fish— I used 2 deboned thinnish rock filets (not cup up) and cooked for about 23 minutes, and the fish texture was fantastic. I didn’t oil the pan or add oil on top; I think it would make everything too greasy and liquid. I used about a pound of baby spinach, but didn’t blanch it or chop it out of laziness. For the bread crumbs, I used focaccia.

I wasn't sure this was going to be any good, and offered to take my husband out to dinner if we didn't like it. We loved it!! Both of us had seconds, and I had some for lunch the next day. Start with fresh fish and fresh spinach! I bumped up the shallot to an entire large shallot, added more garlic, dried thyme and red pepper flakes. Didn't blanch the spinach and didn't cook the fish before. Cooked at 425 for 10 minutes, then 3 minutes on broiler, as someone else had suggested. Perfection!!!!!!

Wonderful use of Rockfish! Step 2 took more than 15 minutes and it is a bit time-consuming. Next time I will add more shallots--adds a nice carmelized sweetness.

Used 3 garlic cloves, 1 large shallot, 1 T olive oil to saute (didn't use more oil afterwards), 8 oz. baby spinach (all I had but could've used a full lb.), a mix of 2% milk and almond milk, 1/4 cup almond flour plus a sprinkle of xanthan gum to help thicken, 1/4 cup pork rind bread crumbs and just over a pound of cod. Didn't blanch spinach and didn't steam fish but sliced the filets into thick chunks. Layered as directed and baked at 425 for 10 minutes; broiled for about 3 minutes. Spectacular!

There’s no need to pre-steam the fish especially if you’re using a thinner filet. I also used frozen chopped spinach (1 to 1 1/2 lbs is plenty since frozen is more compact than fresh). I kept everything else the same and it was delicious.

Made recipe as written but with cod fish. Excellent!

For a filling dinner serving 2 or 3: 1 lb cod,1 lb or more spinach, 1 1/2 cups milk. Everything else stays the same. (This makes a thicker sauce.) I chopped spinach lightly, microwaved to wilt, drained liquid. Stirred spinach into sauce. You might add milk if it still seems too thick, but remember that the spinach will shed more liquid while baking. Baked in large individual ramekins with timbales of brown rice on the side. Perfect classic dish with clean flavors. No need to amp this up.

Great dish, but it is not a quick, weeknight meal. Added red pepper flakes and dried parsley. Didn’t steam the fish in advance; it’s not necessary. Served with crusty bread, which was nice with the creamed spinach.

Made sauce in oven safe gratin pan, using Ripple Milk for cows milk, added 2 garlic cloves, 1/4 tsp each Aleppo pepper flakes and thyme, 1/2 cup shredded gruyere, handful of chopped fresh parsley, and lots of S&P. Would consider a 1/4 tsp of ground mustard and maybe also white pepper. Did pre-steam the 1lb of baby spinach, but did not precook the fish. Nestled the fish in the spinach sauce. 425 oven for 15 minutes, then hit it with the broiler to crisp up the Panko breadcrumbs.

I had pretty high expectations for this one, but was pretty disappointed in the end result. I made the changes to the sauce based on other comments (added thyme, red pepper flakes, and seasoned it well) and the sauce was pretty good, but nothing to write home about. I used frozen spinach, which I do think made the sauce a little runnier than it would have been otherwise. In the end it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. Probably won’t be making it again.

Why steam the fish before putting the assembled dish in the oven? I live in a coastal fishing village in Alaska and have a horror of overcooked fish. So I didn’t. Cubed it and layered it a couple of times with the spinach mix, made some of the changes suggested by others (stirred thyme in to simmer in the sauce, and red pepper flakes), and it came out great. 20 minutes in a 425 oven is plenty of time to cook fish!