I had planned to make some skillet-roasted green beans to go with dinner the other day. But that was before I'd realized that we were all out of beans. And corn. And bell peppers. And lettuce. And carrots. And cucumber. And cabbage. Basically, we were not particularly well-endowed in the vegetable department. So, after casting about for a bit, I settled on this creamed spinach. Not the healthiest of vegetable sides, but at least it'd give us something green. And it was incredibly tasty! So, it has that going for it.

Creamed Spinach

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country December/January 2021

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 450g spinach (fresh baby or frozen chopped)
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• ~1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Soften half the butter (1 1/2 Tbsp.) and use a fork to mash the flour into it. Set aside.
2. Melt the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat.
3. Add the oinon and garlic and cook until softened (~4 minutes).
4. Add the spinach and salt and stir to coat. Cook until wilted (or thawed, as the case may be).
5. Add the cream and bring to a simmer.
6. Stir in the burre manié (that's the butter-flour paste made in step 1).
7. Cook until thickened (2-3 minutes).
8. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan, pepper, and nutmeg.