Creamed Spinach
This dish, an old-fashioned French classic, is elegant on its own or as a base for cooked chicken, meat, fish, or poached eggs and English muffins. It can easily be made ahead and reheated, and it freezes and reheats well. Using frozen chopped spinach saves the time needed to wash and stem all that spinach, but fresh, uncooked spinach may be used
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 20-24 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the milk to simmering in a small pot over low heat.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar to taste and the flour and cook until pale blond, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the hot milk all at once and stir until smooth and thick and the mixture comes to the boil. Continue to cook about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the nutmeg, garlic, and spinach and cook 3 to 5 minutes over low heat until the spinach is hot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The creamed spinach can be made ahead several days and reheated.
- Variation: Fresh Creamed Spinach Stem and clean 2 pounds fresh spinach. Chop roughly. Add the chopped spinach to the boiling sauce with the nutmeg and garlic.