CREAMED SPINACH

I had been planning on cooking this recipe last Saturday night but I got carried away with the pic n mix selection in Sainsbury's and ended up just scoffing sweets for supper. I really need to give up sugar one day as my sweet tooth is out of control....but I am not ready just quite yet, especially when ice cream season is upon us.

Anyway I had to cook this tonight before the spinach went off and despite the rain, we served it with barbecued steak topped with blue cheese (my favourite). It took around 25 minutes in total.

Ingredients for 4-6 people as a side:

500g spinach, washed and chopped
25g butter
1 tbsp plain flour
200ml milk
150ml double cream
A few gratings/pinch of nutmeg 
75g Gruyere, grated
75g Parmesan, grated

Put the spinach in a colander and pour over a kettleful (or two) of boiling water, to wilt, then cool and squeeze out as much excess water as you can.

Melt the butter in a pan. Add the flour and stir to make a roux. Keep stirring and gradually add the milk to make a white sauce. After about 5 minutes, stir in the cream and season. Add the nutmeg and Gruyere and cook until the cheese has melted. Stir in the spinach and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Tip into a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle over the Parmesan and heat under a hot grill for a couple of minutes until golden and bubbling.

I think the final picture speaks for itself....this was incredible. My husband Pascal was most surprised that this is the second dish he has loved which is made with a white sauce. It went perfectly with our steaks but I would say it would go with anything or you could even serve it on its own. Amazing!