Last summer, my mom, sister and I attended a Sunset magazine event that featured a few chefs giving demonstrations. One that we saw was Ellie Krieger from the Food Network. What I really liked about her is that she is not only a chef, but also a nutritionist. A lot of cookbooks from chefs include great recipes but they’re not exactly the healthiest meals.
Ellie Krieger made a shrimp scampi dish and a smoothie that day at the Sunset show and I left wanting to try some of her recipes. She uses a lot of herbs and spices to make up for flavors lost with less fat and uses oil sparingly. I also really like that in her cookbook, each recipe has a list of what the dish is an excellent source of – such as calcium, iron, vitamin c, etc. I think that because if you are lacking something in your diet, you can find one of her recipes that is a good source of that nutrient.
Her “So Easy” cookbook is divided into breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert recipes and for each section she gives ideas that are quick or are great to make if you have more time to prepare.
I try to make a fish dinner a few times a month because of the heart and health benefits of it and recently I tried her Salmon Florentine and Quinoa Pilaf with Pine Nuts. 
Having never eaten or cooked quinoa, I was excited to try it. Quinoa is similar to rice and couscous where it absorbs all the cooking liquid and puffs up. It’s an ancient grain-like food and is really simple to prepare.
This dish turned out pretty good - I liked the subtle spiciness of the red pepper flakes with the ricotta and spinach mixture on the salmon. I also really liked the pine nuts with the quinoa - I have some leftover that I think would be really good topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. The best thing about this dinner was that it felt really healthy - lots of spinach, quinoa and salmon - and I was left full.
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| Salmon Florentine and Quinoa Pilaf with Pine Nuts |
Salmon Florentine and Quinoa Pilaf with Pine Nuts
Salmon Florentine
2 10-ounce packages of frozen spinach, thawed
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup minced shallots
2 teaspoons minced garlic
5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup part-skim ricotta cheese
4 6-ounce skinless salmon fillets
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using your hands, squeeze all excess liquid from the spinach.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 15 minutes. Add the ricotta and stir to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste if needed.
Place the salmon fillets in a glass baking dish. Using your hands, pack approximately ½ cup of the spinach mixture on top of each salmon fillet, forming the mixture to the shape of the fillet. Bake for 15 minutes, until the salmon is cooked through.
While the salmon is cooking, prepare pilaf.
Quinoa Pilaf with Pine Nuts
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup quinoa
¼ cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ large onion, chopped
1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Place the broth and quinoa in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a large, dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove the nuts from the pan and set aside. Heat the oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are softened, about 6 minutes.
When the quinoa is done, fluff with a fork and stir in pine nuts, onions and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and serve with Salmon Florentine.
(Recipe from Ellie Krieger's "So Easy" cookbook)
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