All Things Green
When thinking of “All Things Green” you’d be remiss to not include spinach. It’s easily one of my favourite vegetables.
Creamed spinach is a dish that has origins in many cuisines from around the world. From Sweden to South Africa, spinach is a delicious and versatile leafy green vegetable that is a good source of Vitamin C, Iron, Magnesium, and Potassium. So, why not add some cream and butter to it? The secret ingredient for this recipe is the final touch of fresh-grated nutmeg.
This dish is really fun to make and there’s even a hack for making it completely dairy free using a cashew sauce instead of heavy cream.
Ingredients: (serves 6-8 people)
3 medium shallots, julienne sliced
3 medium cloves of garlic, peeled and either thinly sliced or diced
2 cups of dry white wine
1 cup of heavy cream
3 bags of pre-washed baby spinach
Fresh ground nutmeg (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Pinch of crushed red pepper
Directions:
Heat butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed pot (think Dutch Oven) over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic. As the shallots and garlic begin to become translucent and the aroma fills your house (see: “what smells so good starter pack” meme) add in a pinch of crushed red pepper and salt and pepper.
Add white wine and reduce by half. Add in cream and stir to incorporate with the shallot and garlic mixture. Add in your chopped spinach and stir over low to medium heat until satuéed and cream has reduced. Season to finish (salt and pepper) and add in fresh grated nutmeg on the top.
Pro tip: You always need way more spinach than you think! I recommend fresh spinach for this dish. The major time constraint of this dish is the patience you have to chop the spinach. Could you make it without chopping the spinach? Probably, but I recommend taking the time to give the spinach at least a rough chop. It will make the overall texture of the dish much nicer.
Serving tip: If you decide to plate up the dinner for you/your companions consider placing the creamed spinach at the bottom of the plate, like a sauce. Pile some boiled or roasted potatoes on top of that and then finish with a protein, perhaps a nice white fish or piece of steak. The sauce at the bottom of the plate will look nice and it makes it easier to mix the potatoes in!
Dairy free version: Same as above except omit butter. Instead of heavy cream, use cashew cream!
Cashew Cream Recipe:
Place about 3 cups of whole, raw cashews in a high-powered blender. Add water until cashews are barely covered with water. Add in ½ cup nutritional yeast, 2 cloves of garlic, the juice of 1 whole lemon. Add salt to taste. Finalize the dressing with about ¼ cup of olive oil or adjust extra water for additional texture.
This cashew cream works as a substitute for heavy cream in most dishes and is a wonderful, thick dressing for hearty salads.