Classic Creamed Spinach
By: Sheri Wetherell
Published: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 - 2:12pm

Ingredients




3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup sweet onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black or white pepper (I prefer white as it blends better with the cream sauce, but either are fine)
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (note: for a spicy version add a pinch of cayenne pepper instead)
¾ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely shredded
2 pounds frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, and roughly chopped (also 2 pounds if using fresh spinach, steamed and roughly chopped)

Preparation

1 Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook until softened but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the heavy cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally until the cream thickens enough to coat a wooden spoon, about 10-12 minutes. 2 While the cream is thickening, squeeze as much water out of the thawed spinach as possible and finely chop (note: if it’s cut leaf spinach, you won’t need to chop. If it’s whole leaf, you’ll want to chop it so that the resulting texture is smoother). Once the cream thickens, add the cheese and stir until melted, then add the spinach and stir until well-incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. 3 If there’s any residual water, cook over medium-low until water has evaporated. 4 Serve warm. 5 Optional: top with finely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano and pop it under the broiler to brown slightly (about 1 minute only).

About

Variations: you can swap out the spinach for kale or do a combination of the two. I’ve used Lacinato (aka dino) kale, but it must be finely chopped once cooked.