Salmon in a Spinach Sea

This lemon- and garlic-scented salmon makes a colorful partner for spinach subtly flavored with blue cheese. It takes only minutes to prepare the marinade and topping for the fish; the spinach need only be blanched, quickly sauteed and combined with blue cheese and a little cream cheese. Although I love using fresh spinach, frozen works very well in this recipe and is a great timesaver.

A light dessert--a bowl of juicy, ripe fall pears or good sorbet served with either homemade or store-bought cookies--would be a fine finish.

SALMON STEAKS WITH CREAMY BLUE CHEESE SPINACH

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

4 (1/2-pound) salmon steaks

3 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted or 3 bunches fresh

Salt, pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

3 ounces blue cheese, broken in chunks

3 ounces light cream cheese, broken in chunks

3/4 cup low-fat milk, plus more if needed

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

2 teaspoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Whisk together lemon juice and olive oil and pour over salmon in nonreactive shallow pan. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate and marinate 45 to 60 minutes, turning once.

Cook spinach 5 minutes in boiling water to cover in large, heavy saucepan. Drain in strainer or colander. When cool enough to handle, place handful of cooked spinach in clean kitchen towel and squeeze it dry to remove excess water. Set aside.

Season fish generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Place fish on rack in broiling pan 5 to 6 inches from heat source of broiler. Broil until salmon steaks flake easily when pierced with knife, about 5 minutes per side. Watch carefully, as cooking times will vary depending on thickness of fish.

Heat butter in large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add spinach and stir constantly until heated through. Add blue cheese and cream cheese and continue to stir and cook until cheeses have melted completely, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 3/4 cup milk and stir well until incorporated. If mixture seems too thick, add a little extra milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Arrange 1/4 of spinach on each dinner plate. Place salmon steak slightly off center over spinach. Sprinkle steak with 1/2 teaspoon lemon peel and 1/2 teaspoon parsley. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

621 calories; 806 mg sodium; 132 mg cholesterol; 35 grams fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 62 grams protein; 1.97 grams fiber.