Creamed spinach with egg, a childhood recipe
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Total: 35 min Diners: 4
If I go back to my childhood, without a doubt one of the dishes that I would select from those that my mother repeated with some assiduity were spinach with béchamel. She almost always made it with frozen spinach, the kind they sell in blocks and then she would gratinate it with a little Emmental and Parmesan cheese. There were other days that the spinach appeared «a la catalana», sautéed simply with a little garlic and also raisins and pine nuts, for when you had to do something in a lighter version.
From my mother’s memories, spinach with béchamel has evolved along my way of cooking. Now I only conceive them from fresh spinach, chopped and simply sautéed until they lose as much of their water as possible. It’s funny because one years ago I only tolerated frozen spinach because fresh spinach had a metallic aftertaste for me that now I no longer find unwelcome.
Although this way it is completely perfect, as a main dish or as a first course, to the creamed spinach we could also add some diced ham, or some dried fruit, or season the bechamel somehow to give it a more powerful flavor punch. Although, in fact, one of the qualities of this recipe so typical in the kitchens of Spain is that subtle flavor and creamy texture, thanks to the good bechamel sauce.
How to make creamed spinach
Clara Villalón creamed spinach
How to make creamed spinach
Clara Villalón creamed spinach
Ingredients
. Fresh spinach in bunches, 1 kg Olive oil, 2 tablespoons Salt, c/s Free-range eggs, 4 pcs Butter, 70 g Flour, 70 g Whole milk, 300 ml Cooking cream, 400 ml Ground black pepper, c/s Melting cheese, 120 g Parmesan cheese, 50 g
Step 1
Wash the spinach very well under running water because they can have quite a lot of soil as they are fresh. Then cut the part of the stems that has no leaves and discard it, that remains uninteresting in the final preparation. Chop also the leaves.
Step 2
Heat a frying pan over high heat and sauté the spinach with a few drops of oil and a little salt. Keep moving them constantly so that they do not burn. We will be able to cover them so that their own steam helps us to make the process faster. The spinach are very thin, they are left in very little thing. If we do not fit all in the pan at once we will do it in several batches.
Step 3
Melt the butter in the same pan, so we take advantage of it and do not over fry, and when it is melted – over low heat, because it burns – add the flour. Stir the flour well, always over low heat, so that it cooks and loses its raw flavor but does not brown. Two or three minutes approximately.
Step 4
Then add the milk and cream and increase the heat to bring them to the boil quickly. Do not stop stirring at any time with the whisk so that no lumps form. When it comes to the boil, the béchamel sauce will begin to take body. We will have to lower the fire at that moment and continue stirring for about five minutes over very low heat, until the béchamel has the desired texture. Add salt and black pepper.
Step 5
Add the spinach to the béchamel sauce and mix everything well so that all the spinach is well coated. Here it is important that there is a good amount of spinach. If you want everything to be greener you will have to chop the spinach as small as possible. Put everything in a tray suitable for the oven.
Step 6
Heat the grill function of the oven. Crack the eggs on top of the creamed spinach, trying to make some indentations, it is not necessary to incorporate all the egg white. Grate the cheeses on top, also on top of the eggs because the cheese will protect the yolk and prevent it from curdling easily. Gratinate for a couple of minutes until all the cheese is melted and serve immediately.
