Fight Over The Spoon Creamed Spinach Recipes

CREAMED SPINACH

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more. Do not brown. Add the heavy cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the cream is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Add the spinach and stir until evenly combined with the cream sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. (If the spinach seems a little watery, cook over medium-low heat until any excess liquid evaporates.) Serve warm.
• Note: Cut leaf spinach is not the same as chopped spinach. If your market doesn't carry cut leaf spinach, look for frozen whole leaf spinach. (Chopped spinach will work but the texture won't be as appealing.) Some markets carry 1-lb bags and some carry 10-oz boxes; if you can only find the 10-oz boxes, you'll need three of them. If you'd like to start with fresh spinach, you'll need about 2 pounds baby spinach leaves. Steam and drain the baby spinach, then roughly chop and measure out 2 packed cups.
• Make-Ahead Instructions: This dish can be made and refrigerated a day ahead of time. Reheat in the microwave, uncovered, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until hot, a few minutes. When reheated, the spinach won't be quite as creamy-looking as it was originally (though the taste will be the same); you can add a bit of cream when reheating to get a creamier consistency, if you'd like.

CREAMED SPINACH

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, boil about a half inch of water. Add 16 ounces of the spinach and cover. Allow to cook only until all the spinach has wilted, about a minute, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain the spinach and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
• In a large pan over medium high heat, melt the butter and cook the shallots until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and cook for another minute.
• Reduce the heat to medium, add the flour, stir, and allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the milk and stir until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan. Add the cooked spinach. Add the remaining 4oz of fresh spinach and stir just until that wilts. Season with white pepper, nutmeg, and salt. Serve immediately.

CLASSIC CREAMED SPINACH

Steps:

• Blanch the spinach. Bring 1 gallon water to a boil in a large pot. Add a pinch of kosher salt. Place the spinach in the boiling water. After 45 seconds (exactly), remove the spinach leaves with a slotted spoon, spider or tongs and drain in a colander. Let cool completely.
• Use your hands to press the spinach against the sides of the colander. When most of the liquid has been released, squeeze handfuls of the spinach to make sure all of the excess water has been removed. Set aside.
• In a wide, high-sided saute pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. With a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the melted butter to create a roux that will look like wet sand. Cook the roux for 3 minutes, stirring continuously to make sure it doesn't burn and it becomes a "blond" color. Add the milk to the roux, whisking vigorously to make sure that the roux completely dissolves into the milk without lumping.
• Turn down the heat to maintain a low simmer. You're making a bechamel sauce, which is the base for the creamed spinach. Next, whisk in the cream and return the mixture to a simmer. Cook the bechamel until thickened and smooth, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Season the sauce with the salt, pepper and cayenne.
• Preheat a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and let heat for about 1 minute. Add the onions and season with a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions soften and become translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook an additional minute or two.
• Add the cooked onion and garlic along with the drained spinach to the bechamel, folding to make sure it's completely coated with sauce. Season with the nutmeg. Cook for 2 minutes, then taste the spinach. Adjust the seasoning with more salt and the nutmeg, and/or more cayenne if desired.

ONE-POT CREAMY PASTA AND GREENS

Steps:

• In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until softened, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Add the 5 cups milk, spinach, lemon peel and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the frozen spinach with your spoon, until the spinach is softened and the milk is just simmering, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Add the pasta and cook, stirring often and vigorously, until the pasta is al dente, 20 to 25 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. If it looks dry at any point, add more milk. The mixture will continue to thicken as it sits, so it's OK if the sauce looks a little soupy.
• Once the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat, discard the lemon peels, and stir in the Parmesan until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with more Parmesan.

CREAM OF SPINACH SOUP

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine water, bouillon, and spinach. Bring to a boil, and cook until spinach is tender.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Season with minced onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in spinach mixture.

FIGHT OVER THE SPOON CREAMED SPINACH

Steps:

• Melt butter in sauce or skillet pan.
• Add onions, garlic, nutmeg and sautee until onions are soft.
• Add heavy cream, stir frequently.
• Add vanilla, bacon salt & pepper.
• Let stand on low heat.
• Add cooked spinach to mixture and stir.
• Let spinach cook on low heat and absorb mixture.
• Serve immediately.