Mom's Gratineed Spinach

Mom’s Gratineed Spinach

Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Ingredients

Serves 6 as a side

3 lbs fresh spinach

3 tablespoons butter, divided

1 tablespoon cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)

1 cup / 250 ml vegetable stock

¾ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (or Swiss cheese or Dubliner cheese), divided

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs (I used GF breadcrumbs)

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C), and place a rack in the middle. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.

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, add cornstarch and give a good stir.

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

In a small bowl mix the remaining cheese with breadcrumbs. Set aside.

Pour the spinach into the baking dish and sprinkle breadcrumbs/cheese mixture on top.

Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and pour it over the top. Bake for 30 minutes until heated through and golden brown.