RECIPE: Creamed Spinach

There is spinach in the farm store! 

I have been making this recipe - the original one WITH the bacon - for years!  I've adapted it to avoid unhealthy ingredients (like granulated chicken base, which is full of MSG!).

Original Recipe: Berghoff's Creamed Spinach

GF Creamed Spinach

serves 6

• 4 tablespoons bacon fat (from 6 slices bacon - reserve cooked bacon for another use)
• 2 large leeks, white and light green parts, minced
• 3 T. flour (I use sweet rice flour)
• 2 c. whole milk, warmed*
  
• 2 T. veal demiglace (or, 1 cup chicken broth reduced to 2 T.)
• 1.5 t. salt
• 1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
• 10 ounces chopped cooked spinach (fresh or frozen) squeezed of as much liquid as possible (measure after squeez1ng out the liquid)
  

Warm the milk.  *I used 2 cups in the photo above.  If you use less, like 1 cup, you'll have a much denser and greener dish.  I made with only 1 cup for our apprentices and I think it tasted better with less sauce.  

Melt the bacon fat over medium heat and saute the leek until tender, 5 minutes.

Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the milk all at once, then whisk vigorously to prevent lumps.  If you get lumps, you'll need to use an immersion blender to smooth out the sauce.  Doing this will also puree the onions, but that's better than having lumps in your sauce!

Return the pan to medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.  If it doesn't thicken, raise the heat slightly.

Add the demiglace, salt and nutmeg.

Add the spinach and cook until it absorbs some of the sauce, about 5 minutes.  Don't cook it too long or it will lose its bright green color!  Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve immediately.

In the photo above I served it with spicy chicken tenders.  For our apprentices, I served it with Cajun Meatloaf.