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Spinach Gratin

There are many ways to make spinach gratin: you can use heavy cream as a medium (essentially making creamed spinach, then baking it with cheese) or stir spinach into a white sauce. This is the most substantial, essentially a custard, and my favorite.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

Salt and black pepper to taste
2 pounds fresh spinach, large stems removed
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup bread crumbs, preferably fresh (page 580)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 450°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Add the spinach and onion and cook for just about a minute, until the spinach wilts. Drain thoroughly and cool a bit. Chop the spinach and put it and the onion in a bowl along with the garlic, eggs, milk, and about half the Parmesan. Mix well, then add salt and pepper.

    Step 2

    Use a little of the butter to grease a gratin dish or similar baking dish that will hold the spinach mixture at a depth of about 1 inch. Pour the spinach mixture into the dish, then top with the remaining Parmesan, the bread crumbs, and, finally, dots of the remaining butter. Bake until the mixture is hot and set and the top brown, about 20 minutes (if the top threatens to scorch before the mixture is set, lower the heat a bit). Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
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