Cheesy Baked Spinach

Cheesy Baked Spinach

Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1

Ingredients

Serves 6

3 lbs / 1.4 kg fresh spinach

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder*

1 cup / 250 ml vegetable stock

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (or Dubliner cheese)

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Ground black pepper to taste

*arrowroot powder acts like cornstarch

Directions

Stem and wash well the spinach, but don’t dry them.

Place the spinach in your largest pot over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until just wilted, about 4 to 6 minutes.

Drain in a colander.

Immediately fill the pot with cold water and add the spinach to stop the cooking, then drain again.

With your hands squeeze the spinach to extract as much liquid as possible.

Coarsely chop the spinach and set aside.

Wipe out the pot and melt two tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat.

Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes or so, until all of the moisture from the spinach has boiled off and the spinach begins to stick to the pan.

Lower the heat and add arrowroot powder and stir for 1 minute.

Add vegetable stock in three batches, stirring constantly and scraping up any stuck spinach. Add salt and pepper, stir in ½ of the cheese and turn off the heat.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and butter an 8x8 baking dish.

Pour the spinach into the baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and pour it over on top.

Bake until heated through and slightly browned on the top, about 30 minutes.