Creamed Spinach
I fell in love with creamed spinach when I first tasted the at Peter Luger’s. Although I got tired of the creamed spinach taste quickly the first time, the second time, I enjoyed every spoonful I scooped from the dish.
Unfortunately, like most food at a steakhouse, creamed spinach is not very healthy. So I searched for a creamed spinach recipe that didn’t use so much cream or butter. Apparently, I wasn’t the only health food enthusiast who wanted a healthy version of a vegetarian dish, so I quickly came across a recipe at Eating Well.
Although the recipe doesn’t live up to the creamed spinach served at Peter Luger’s, it held its own in my opinion. The spinach was wilted and replicated the texture of that found in Peter Luger’s creamed spinach dish. Plus, the creamed spinach resembled a delectable old swamp, which pretty much sums up the appearance of creamed spinach in general.Cooking creamed spinach is broken down into two major parts: wilting the spinach and making the sauce.
To wilt the spinach, simply cook spinach in oil for a few minutes until the spinach has reduced in volume by about seventy percent.
In the meantime, create the sauce by melting some butter, adding flour to the butter, and finishing the sauce off with an assortment of seasonings.
Note that when I cooked creamed spinach, I left out parmesan cheese and nutmeg (both of which were in the original recipe). The dish tasted fine without them, but I think the amount of flour used to thicken the sauce is a bit too much. Also, I used gorgonzola cheese instead of parmesan cheese.
Adapted from Eating Well
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup minced shallot, or sliced red onion
- 10 ounces fresh spinach, tough stems removed
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup low-fat milk
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
Directions
- Cook onions in oil for about 30 seconds, then add spinach. Cook for another 2 minutes until the spinach is wilted.
- Melt butter in a saucepan using medium-high heat.
- Add flour to melted butter; then add milk, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 1 minute.
- Combine the wilted spinach and onions with the sauce. Sprinkle on some parmesan cheese.