Julia Child's Creamed Spinach
So apparently creamed spinach is not supposed to look like “bits of spinach swimming in a cream sauce” - it pretty much just looks like spinach. This isn’t an especially sexy-looking dish but damn it tasted good, and it’s probably the healthiest version of creamed spinach out there. (This looks like a lot of steps - it’s not at all complicated but it does take time.)
3 lbs fresh spinach (if you buy this in bunches instead of the pre-washed and bagged kind you will save a crazy amount of money. Also, I bought about 2-2.5 lbs of spinach intending to cut down the recipe and ended up with the desired amount after blanching - about 3 cups - so you have some wiggle room here.)
1 ½ tbsp flour (you can use an all-purpose gluten free flour here if needed)
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil, adding 1 ½ tsp of salt per quart of water.
Blanch the spinach: Drop in 1-2 large handfuls of spinach into the boiling water. Bring back to a boil as quickly as possible and boil slowly, uncovered, for about 2 minutes. Scoop the spinach out with a slotted spoon and place into a colander. Immediately rinse under cold water for several minutes to stop the cooking and set aside. Repeat until all the spinach has been blanched.
Working with a small amount at a time, squeeze as much water out of the spinach as you can. Chop it or run it through a food mill. You should end up with about 3 cups of spinach; if you end up with more or less, just adjust the amount of cream you use later accordingly. (You can do the recipe up to this point up to a day in advance.)
Heat 2 tbsp butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. When it’s bubbling, stir in the spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the moisture has boiled off - the spinach will begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Lower the heat to medium and sprinkle on the flour. Stir for 2 more minutes to cook the flour.
Remove from heat and stir in 2/3 of the cream by spoonfuls. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook very slowly for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add more liquid by spoonfuls if spinach becomes too dry. Correct seasoning.
Remove spinach from heat, fold in the last tbsp of butter, and pour into a serving dish. Decorate if desired with 1 or 2 sliced hard-boiled eggs.
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