This is a simple variation of the classic creamed spinach recipe. Obviously, there’s more garlic and more butter in it than usual, but something has to get the kids’ attention. I won’t claim to have created this recipe from scratch, but you’ll see it’s a bit different than usual.
2 tablespoons
butter
2 tablespoons
garlic, minced
2 bunches
fresh spinach
¼ teaspoon
nutmeg, ground
¼ teaspoon
black pepper, ground
2 tablespoons
butter
2 tablespoons
all-purpose flour
1 cup
milk
1 pinch
sea salt
Sautéed Spinach
1
In a large sauce pan, sauté the butter and garlic until the garlic just starts to brown.
2
Reduce heat to just under 100 C and add all of the spinach. Turn the spinach frequently until the leaves are all wilted and dark green. While cooking, add freshly grated nutmeg and some black pepper. Remove the entire contents of the pan into a bowl and reserve.
Medium White Sauce
1
Raise the heat and melt the additional butter. Add flour and cook to a medium roux. Add additional pepper and sea salt to season. Add the milk all at once, and whisk until the medium white sauce thickens.
Final Creaming
1
Add the reserved spinach back into the sauce pan, stir gently to mix and remove from heat. The creamed spinach will keep warm enough for serving for about 3-4 minutes. If needed, keep the sauce pan on a very low heat (minimum) until ready to serve.
Servings: 4
Yield: 4 1 cup servings
Preparation time: 6 minutes
Cooking time: 9 minutes
Ready in: 15 minutes
Cooking Tips
Use only freshly ground nutmeg and black pepper. The nutmeg brings out the flavour of the spinach and really is important. For those who don’t like nutmeg, a pinch of mace would work.
Wash the spinach very well. Fresh spinach tends to be sandy. Remove the stems, unless the spinach is very young. The stems can be very rough. Keep them for vegetable stocks. It is not necessary to over-dry the spinach. Any water left over will help the steaming process and will tend to boil off anyway.
Because the roux is made in a pan that had previous food cooking in it, it might cook slightly faster or a bit drier than in a clean pan. To help the roux along, moisten it with a little of the reserved liquid. The sauce will be greener than a perfect white sauce, but is that really a problem?
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 serving
Percent daily values based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.
This recipe was first made on Halloween. My sons encouraged me to dress up as a scary person, so donning my chef smock, and blond highlights, I was transformed into Chef Ramsay. I’m not sure whether the trick-or-treaters were more scared of the outfit or the creamed spinach I tried to serve instead of candy.