The Best Baked Spinach Rice

The Best Baked Spinach Rice

Adapted from NYTCooking

Ingredients

Serves 6

1 lb / 453 gr fresh spinach, thick stems removed

1 ½ cups long-grain white rice (I used Jasmine)

1 teaspoon fine grain salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter (or coconut oil), plus more to butter the baking dish

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

½ cup slivered almonds

1 cup ricotta

1 cup grated Swiss cheese (or Gruyere)

Pinch of ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon chopped sage

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spinach and cook for 30 seconds, until wilted. Fish it out with a slotted spoon, transfer to a colander, and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.

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

Transfer to a cutting board and coarsely chop. Set aside.

Add rice to pot and cook for 10 minutes, keeping it slightly underdone. Drain and let cool.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and place a rack in the middle.

Butter a 2-quart baking dish and dust with 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add almonds and toast for about 2 minutes, until golden. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and set aside.

Transfer rice to a large bowl, add almonds, remaining Parmesan, ricotta, half of the Swiss cheese, nutmeg, lemon zest, thyme, and sage. Season with salt and pepper and give a good stir.

Add spinach and gently toss to mix everything.

Sprinkle with remaining half of the Swiss cheese, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, turn the oven to broil, and set the dish under the broiler until the topping is golden and crisp, 2 to 4 minutes (depending how powerful your broiler is.)

Serve!