Patri, author of Sabores&Momentos , brings us an ideal recipe to enjoy spinach: how to make creamed spinach with a point of gratin . It is ideal to enjoy at the table and also has no difficulty. You will love the recipe, you will see!

With the end of the summer and the return to the routine, the little ones resume classes and we the routine as far as their diet is concerned. No more fancy holiday meals, hahaha! So at home I am already busy putting together the daily menus to have everything tied up and that the ingredients for the dishes of each day do not confuse me….. We return to the load with the vegetables daily!

creamed spinach recipe

Book “The Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child , Le Creuset mini-cocottes and Textured plate from Tokyo Design

Spinach prepared any way is a great vegetable! The smaller, more tender leafy variety can be made directly in a pan over low heat with some butter and salt in its own juices. Although the usual thing is to blanch them first in plenty of salted water, and then drain well and put over a low heat with oil or butter so that they are sautéed with all their flavor. Spinach combines with almost everything, fish, chicken, ham, chops, eggs…. They can be used to fill dumplings, cannelloni, vegetable pies and even soufflés.

Today I bring you a classic that I love: the delicious creamed spinach that both children and adults like at home. I serve them sometimes as a first course and other times as a garnish for meat or fish, depending on the menu. Its flavor is intense and that point of extreme creaminess makes it an irresistible basic. Usually, since we are a large family at home, I present them in a rectangular dish (like the ones by Emile Henry or the famous one by Le Creuset ) suitable for the oven where I give them the final gratin... but today I was on a whim and I used my mini-cocottes to present them in individual rations and they fall in love!! Straight from the oven to the table, just the way I like it.

For this recipe, I am also guided by the wise advice of Julia Child , who in her book "The Art of French Cuisine" has a whole section on this type of recipe. Although the original recipe is made with light cream or heavy cream, I personally always prepare it with milk so as not to make it so heavy. I hope you like them!

Ingredients (for 4-6 people)

  • 1.2kg of fresh spinach
  • salt to boil the spinach
  • 60g unsalted butter (you can use olive oil instead to make the recipe lighter)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons sifted flour
  • 1 small garlic clove (optional)
  • handful of pine nuts
  • 250 ml of milk
  • salt and pepper
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 150 g gruyere or emmental cheese, grated
  • 60g grated Parmesan cheese

creamed spinach recipe

Frying pan with Le Creuset wooden handle and Le Creuset mini-cocottes

Preparation

  1. We start by washing the fresh spinach leaves well to remove any remaining sand. Prepare a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Add the spinach and let it boil again for about 2 minutes over high heat.
  2. After that time, we poured it over a drainer in the sink and immediately opened the tap with very cold water and let it run to refresh the spinach. In this way we will maintain the color and texture. Next we are squeezing the spinach and draining all excess moisture. And with a knife on a cutting board we proceed to chop them (if the board is with a juice collector like Kuhn Rikon's it will be cleaner, since the spinach will still release water).
  3. Melt the butter in a saucepan or frying pan , lightly brown the minced garlic clove, add the pine nuts, spinach and salt and sauté over high heat so that the moisture evaporates for a minute or two. Then sprinkle the flour and stir so that it is integrated. Lower the heat and let it cook for another couple of minutes.
  4. Remove from heat and spoon in two thirds of the milk and a pinch of nutmeg. Stir, cover and cook over very low heat for 13-15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the spinach from sticking to the bottom. We continue adding the milk as we see that they dry up. We will leave them juicy and after time we pour them into the Le Creuset mini-cocottes .
  5. Sprinkle with the cheeses and reserve if it is not going to be served immediately. About 30 minutes before serving them to the table, we put them in the oven directly in the mini-cocottes, preheated to 190º so that the spinach reaches the ideal temperature and the top layer is lightly browned.

And at the table…I hope you like it!!

Comments

Claudia said:

Hola David, gracias por escribir. Pues depende un poco de lo que tu prefieras: hay quien les gusta con el queso derretido pero no muy gratinado, otros bien crujiente… Te recomiendo que te esperes a que coja un poco de dorado, y a partir de aquí retirarlo a tu gusto (ojo que desde que empieza a verse dorado en pocos minutos más cambia mucho) :) Saludos!

David said:

Con respecto a la receta de espinacas a la crema, en el último paso, cuánto tiempo metemos las minicocotte en el horno, 30 minutos o hasta que se dore?
Aprovecho para sugerir utilizar aceite de oliva y no mantequilla, ya que esta última tiene un perfil lipídico peor que el aceite de oliva, es de origen animal y es más costumbre de cocinas del norte de Europa dinde no poseen aceite de oliva

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