Cheesy Spinach Bake

Amarante

Fri, Feb 02 2024, 10:10 am

Decadent but very delicious and good as a side for a simple grilled fish

Or you could possibly serve as the main.

Cheesy Spinach Bake

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

This baked spinach gratin is similar to creamed spinach but has even more going on. It’s rich but uses half-and-half, so it’s not too heavy, and it’s crunchy with crisp toasted bread crumbs. It tastes verdant from so much spinach, sweet with onion and garlic, and sharp and gooey from two aged cheeses. To prepare this dish in advance, refrigerate the spinach mixture and the bread crumb topping separately for up to 24 hours before assembling and baking. If cooking chilled ingredients straight from the fridge, you may need to increase the cook time by 5 to 10 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion or 2 shallots, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper
½ cup panko or fresh coarse bread crumbs - or the canned fried onions
1 cup/3 ounces finely grated Parmesan
5 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups (1 pint) half-and-half
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
½ cup/1½ ounces grated Gruyère or extra-sharp Cheddar

PREPARATION

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large, ovenproof skillet, melt the butter over medium. Spoon out 1 tablespoon of the butter into a medium bowl. To the skillet, add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, 7 to 10 minutes.

While the onions are sautéing, stir the bread crumbs into the bowl of butter until coated, season with salt and pepper, then stir in half the Parmesan.

Add the spinach to the skillet and stir until warm and dry, perhaps even sticking to the skillet, 2 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat. Stir in the half-and-half, remaining Parmesan and the nutmeg (if using), then taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. (If you’d like to bake this dish in a 2 ½-quart or larger casserole dish rather than directly in the skillet, transfer the spinach now.)

Top evenly with the Gruyère, then the panko mixture. Bake until golden on top and bubbling around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes.