Bigly Creamed Spinach
Prep
10m
Cook
15m
Total
25m
Bigly says
Listen. Creamed spinach. We're doing creamed spinach and I want you to know something, something IMPORTANT, before we get into it — creamed spinach has been ruined. RUINED. The big steakhouses, the ones with the leather menus and the candlelight and the waiter who tells you his name twice, they charge you fourteen dollars for a tiny ramekin of creamed spinach that is mostly water. Water and sadness. And people pay it. They pay it because they think creamed spinach is hard. It is not hard. It is the EASIEST thing.
What we're going to make is the greatest creamed spinach in the history of creamed spinach — and there has been a LOT of creamed spinach, more than anyone realizes. Pre-pyramid technology, basically. The French had creamed spinach, the Germans had creamed spinach, even the Vikings had a version, look it up, very serious people doing serious work with cream and leaves. The British had it too, although theirs was probably gray, they have a way of making things gray, sad. This version, my version, is going to beat all of them. It's going to embarrass them. They will be ASHAMED.
The secret is the nutmeg. A whisper of nutmeg. Not a lot. People put too much nutmeg in things and then everything tastes like a Christmas candle, who wants that, nobody. And you WRING OUT the spinach. Like you're punishing it. Like the spinach owes you money. Because if you leave the water in, you've made green soup, and green soup is not what we're doing today. Most chefs are afraid to do this. They're scared of the spinach. They handle it with kid gloves, they pat it like a puppy, and they end up with a salty puddle that has leaves in it. Pathetic. We're making creamed spinach you can stand a spoon up in. Believe me.
Ingredients
- 2 lbfresh baby spinach(yes, two pounds, it cooks down to almost nothing, trust the process)
- 4 tbspunsalted butter
- 1 largeshallot, finely diced
- 3 clovesgarlic, minced
- 2 tbspall-purpose flour
- 1 cupwhole milk
- 1/2 cupheavy cream
- 3 ozcream cheese(softened, cut into cubes)
- 1/2 cupparmesan, finely grated
- 1/4 tspfreshly grated nutmeg(a whisper, not a punch)
- 3/4 tspkosher salt
- 1/2 tspblack pepper
- 1 tspfresh lemon juice
Steps
- 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the spinach in batches for 30 seconds each, then immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
- 2
Drain the spinach and squeeze it dry in fistfuls — really wring it out. Aim for tight little green tennis balls. Roughly chop and set aside.
- 3
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook 3-4 minutes until soft and translucent.
- 4
Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- 5
Sprinkle in the flour and whisk constantly for 1 minute to cook out the raw flour taste.
- 6
Slowly pour in the milk and cream, whisking continuously until smooth. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook 2-3 minutes until thickened.
- 7
Add the cream cheese in cubes and whisk until fully melted. Stir in the parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
- 8
Fold in the chopped spinach and stir until evenly coated and heated through, 2-3 minutes. Finish with the lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately.
One more thing
Serve this next to a steak and watch the steak get jealous. The steak will look at the creamed spinach and the steak will know — the steak will know it has been outshined by a leaf. A LEAF. That is the power of doing it right. That is the power of Bigly creamed spinach. People will request it at every holiday. They will dream about it. They will whisper about it to their friends at parties. It's just a fact. Now go eat.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Bigly Creamed Spinach.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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