creamed spinach receipe

[aquatic cow]

I am about to start serving prime rib at my restaurant and i need a good creamed spinach. I know a great restaurant in San Francisco that has a killer spinach, i even know the owner but,he won't give it up, says it would make Herb Kaen turn in his grave. Any body out their with some help?

[AprilB]

This would be for about 4 cups prepared/drained (squeezed dry) spinach.

Saute 1 - 2 strips of fatty bacon until crispy. Drain and crush into mince sized bits.

Remove all but about a TB or so of fat.

Saute about a quarter cup minced white onions (or whatever is mild in your neck of the woods) in the fat until translucent. Remove from fat.

Make a roux using the existing fat and adding more butter as necessary to make the amount you want for that amount of spinach. Obviously my tastebuds aren't yours. I personally like really gooey creamed spinach.

Then add the sauteed bacon and onion...Use a little chicken stock to hydrate the roux and then add cream. Season with Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Add a small amount of fresh ground Nutmeg to taste. Nutmeg is surprisingly strong. <wow... >

You can adjust the ingredients as you wish. Sauteed mushrooms in this are good as well (you can bake this as a casserole and add a little parm on top and serve with a crusty bread)

<good thing it's dinnertime>

April

[greyeaglem]

I don't have the recipe handy, but Lawry's (of seasoned salt fame) steak houses were famous for their creamed spinach. It's similar to the one posted already, but I think it has nutmeg in it. Nutmeg would certainly be good. That recipe appears in several brand name cookbooks that are on the market.

[nowIamone]

The Barefoot Contessa (Food TV) had a recipe, rich and decandent, but a little expensive for a restaurant side. It was found on the website, had it at as a guest in someone's house. But yesterday I was on the www.epicurious.com web site, and remembered your post, so threw in "creamed spinach" in the recipe search. Nice assortment, so you might try that.

[Ma Facon]

Spinach is one of those veggies that you cook for a minute or an hour. Reduce fresh cream by 1/2 add spinach until fully wilted , Serve. Or you can start with the onion/bacon/ etc... and take your time with it. Either way is great.

[ironchefin'06]

I have seen some pretty bad creamed spinach in my days. Some completely flavorless, some sitting in a pool of milky water. I have actually seen some chefs make Bechamel sauce and mix it with frozen spinach. That was enough to make me hurl. It is not difficult to make, but if done improperly it is not worthy of dog food.

Try adding some white wine or cheap champagne to your onions after sauteing. also you could finish with a little bit (and i mean a little bit of Pernod or Anisette). An addition of another cheese like Fontina or Fontinella also adds a different layer of flavor. Use heavy cream instead of milk for richness and crumble some crispy bacon or pancetta lardons on top for a texture contrast. Nutmeg is key and plenty of ground black pepper. Find a basic recipe and add your own twists to it.

Peace,

Chef Mike

[dano1]

Originally Posted by ironchefin'06

I have actually seen some chefs make Bechamel sauce and mix it with frozen spinach. That was enough to make me hurl. It is not difficult to make, but if done improperly it is not worthy of dog food.

hey, sounds like my cream o spinach soup.

[shroomgirl]

I cook down the spinach (in microwave if one is available) squeeze out liquid.
saute shallots in veg oil, add reduced cream.....there's a cryovac box of Italian cream that is a staple in my kitchen. Salt, pepper, nutmeg.
combine. occasionally I omit the nutmeg and add dillweed, Italian parsley.