Creamed Spinach
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen and Serious Eats.
Baby spinach wilted with shallot and garlic, simmered in cream and thickened with a butter-flour paste, finished with nutmeg.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Make the paste. Mash the softened butter and flour together with a fork until completely smooth. This paste thickens the cream without lumps, because the butter keeps the flour particles apart as they disperse.
- 2
Wilt the spinach. Melt the remaining 30 g butter in the pot over medium heat and soften the shallot and garlic for 1-2 min until translucent. Add the spinach a handful at a time with the salt, turning with tongs, and cook about 4 min until just wilted.
- 3
Thicken the cream. Pour in the cream and bring it to a simmer. Stir in the butter-flour paste and cook for about 3 min, until the sauce thickens and coats the leaves rather than running off them.
- 4
Season and serve. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the pepper and nutmeg, then taste for salt. Spoon into a warm shallow dish and serve while hot.
Storage
Refrigerate covered up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a pan, stirring and adding a splash of milk if thick, until piping hot (74 °C). Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Low sugars: 1.5 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 142 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- large casserole pot (Dutch oven)
- tongs
- small bowl
- fork
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 252 kcal |
| Protein | 4.7 g |
| Carbohydrate | 8.5 g |
| of which sugars | 2.2 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 23.5 g |
| of which saturates | 14.7 g |
| Fibre | 2.9 g |
| Salt | 0.98 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.9 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
