Okay, there are two ways I make creamed spinach.
The first: I sauté spinach, then pour in cream. It's what I make when I have to have creamed spinach in my mouth fast.
Then there's this way, the right way, the long-suffering, you-have-to-be-patient way. And really, it doesn't take that long. I’m just a drama queen. It takes 30 minutes tops.
This creamed spinach begins with a simple white sauce, which begins with a roux, which is a cooked mixture of butter and flour, which is the basis of a cream sauce, which, when bumped up a notch by finely diced onions and garlic, is one of the best things you'll ever learn to make. Which, which, which. I'm done. Here's how you make it.
What goes with creamed spinach?
Creamed spinach and steak are my favorite! But it's also really delicious with pork chops or roasted chicken. Oh, and it makes a great holiday side dish for aThanksgiving turkey andChristmas ham. But if I'm making steak, I'm probably making creamed spinach, too. Because it's my favorite!
Can you overcook spinach?
Yes, you can. You want to cook the spinach just until it's completely wilted. It'll go slowly at first, but the process will speed up and before you know it, all those huge handfuls of spinach you put into the pot will have shrunken into hardly anything. If you cook the spinach too long, it'll turn mushy and mushy is not what you want. It's hard to describe, but if you grab one of the wilted leaves from the pot and taste it, it should still have the tiniest bit of crunch to it. That's the sweet spot!
When cooking spinach do you remove the stems?
You use baby spinach here, so there's no need to do any stem removing. The stems are plenty tender enough. Regular, mature spinach leaves have a tougher stem, so in that instance, you may want to remove the stems.
How long does creamed spinach last in the fridge?
It'll stay good for about three days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also make this dish ahead of time and reheat it over low heat in a saucepan on the stove. (Low heat is important so the cream sauce doesn't separate!)
What can you do with leftover cream spinach?
You can spoon it overbaked potatoes or stir some into your favorite pasta recipe. Heck, you can even transfer it to a casserole dish, sprinkle some cheese over the top, bake it for a few minutes until the cheese melts and call it spinach dip! It'd be perfect for feeding house guests during the days after Christmas.
Begin with 24 ounces of baby spinach. I love the stuff in the bags—it’s all washed and ready—and I use four 6-ounce bags. That's… uh …24 ounces.
You’ll need one smallish yellow onion.
Cut it in half, then halve one of the halves. I’m dizzy now.
First make vertical slices very close together…
Then rotate it and cut the other way to dice it.
You’ll need garlic, too.
Very finely mince about three cloves if you can HANDLE the garlic.
On that note, I watched A Few Good Men over the weekend, and it only made my propensity for throwing around that line worse.
I can’t HANDLE A Few Good Men!
I can’t.
Did you know Demi Moore gave birth exactly one month before filming began on that movie? It’s true. I think.
“Because they stand on a wall. And they say ‘Nothin’s gonna hurt you tonight. Not on my watch’.”
Sorry.
You’ll need two pots: one for the cream sauce, one for the spinach.
Throw 1 stick of butter into one of the pans over medium to medium-low heat, depending on how hot your stove is. My stove is hot, and these cast iron enameled pans get VERY hot. So I’m on medium-low here.
Melt the butter, then sprinkle in 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour.
Immediately begin whisking.
Cook this mixture, stirring frequently, for about five minutes.
Slowly, the roux will start to turn golden brown.
At this point, throw in the onions and garlic.
Stir together to combine and cook for another minute.
Then slowly pour in 2 cups of milk, whisking constantly.
Now just cook the sauce for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. It’ll gradually begin to thicken.
Meantime, you need to sauté the spinach. If you have a kid, make him or her whisk the sauce while you do the spinach. That’s why we gave birth to these numskulls, isn’t it?
Throw a few tablespoons of butter into a separate pot and let it melt.
Throw in as much of the spinach as you can. It might not all fit, but believe me, what’s in the pot will quickly begin to wilt and shrink. I added the total amount of spinach over three different additions. As soon as the level of spinach shrank a bit, I’d dump in more.
Man, do I love spinach. It’s just so…so…
If I said “green” would you hate me?
Slowly cook the spinach. It’ll move slowly at first, but once it starts to wilt it really picks up speed. Stir gently as it cooks, flipping it to get it to cook evenly.
You want to stop cooking the spinach when it’s completely wilted but NOT mushy and overcooked. Grab a leaf from the pan. It should be cooked and wilted, but still have a tiny bit of crunch to it. Hard to explain. You’ll understand when you experience it.
Back to the white sauce, it’s very, very thick right now, and almost resembles white gravy.
Add salt and plenty of finely ground black pepper. You can also add a couple of pinches of ground nutmeg, which I love.
Guess who took this shot? My nine-year-old daughter. I think it might have been an accident…but what an in-focus accident it was!
Now just spoon the spinach into the cream sauce.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yum. Big time.
Stir it gently, slowly incorporating the spinach and cream sauce, taking bites along the way because you absolutely can’t wait. Like, no one could PAY you to wait.
You always want to taste it before the very end anyway, adding more seasonings as needed. A little cayenne never hurt anyone, either.
Oh, baby.
Come to mama.
Now, let me point out that you can add more sautéed spinach to the mix if you like things a little less creamy. But I’ll just tell you that as cream-laden as this looks, the balance really is perfect. Keep in mind that spinach does have quite a bit of flavor and texture, so the cream really does balance it out. Experiment, though, and find your perfect ratio.
Serve this with a steak. Serve it with grilled shrimp. Serve it by itself and pretend you’re Popeye.
Just serve it. Please? You won’t be sorry.
