Balsamic Baked Haddock

By Paul Briand

My health club is proactive about good health -- as it should be.

One of its ideas is a bulletin board of health tips that includes printed out recipes of healthy meals.

I liked what I read in this recipe after finishing a workout -- something about the combination of balsamic vinegar and blue cheese.

This recipe from all allrecipes.com calls for tilapia. But I substituted it for haddock, a more native and locally fished species. I also substituted the salad greens in the original recipe for cooked spinach.

My wife Jane ranked this dish as among the “best of the best”, nominating it for the Eats@Home Hall of Fame.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, halved and sliced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

2 (8 ounce) haddock fillets

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

1 package baby spinach, steamed

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees;

2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion and red pepper in the oil until onion is tender and golden, and peppers are slightly soft, about 10 minutes;

3. Stir balsamic vinegar into the vegetables; season with salt and pepper;

4. Rub haddock fillets with 2 teaspoons olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper;

5. Place fillets in a small baking dish, and top with the balsamic onion mixture. Sprinkle fish evenly with blue cheese;

6. Bake in preheated oven until fish flakes easily. Serve atop spinach.

Click here for recipe sheet.