Another Idea for Our Bumper Crop of Spinach

The new variety of spinach we tried this year is Galilee Spinach.  It is from Israel and has been, by far, our best variety of spinach we've ever grown.  I am going to try to save some seeds from the plants for next year's crop.  The plants grow fast, have a pointy leaf, and are heat tolerant.  We have a nice little patch of them growing and have eaten them raw in salads, cooked down with butter, and tonight, we'll try another way.

I picked 20 ounces of spinach and brought it in and washed it in the vegetable sink.

Tonight we'll be making Creamed Spinach.  The recipe is from DELISH.  Salt your water in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Then drop your spinach in the boiling water and allow to cook for 30 Seconds.  Not long, I know.  Dump it in a colander.

Soak in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.  Then squeeze out all the water that you possibly can from the spinach.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter and 1/2 of a medium onion, finely chopped (I should have chopped it even finer) and cook for 5 minutes.  Add 2 cloves garlic, minced, and cook for a minute more.  Add 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and 4 ounces cream cheese and simmer until melted.  Add salt, black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne. 

Add the spinach to the Dutch oven along with 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Mix it all together and it is ready to eat.

First off, the photo of the final dish is not that appealing.  But I'll say this - It was delicious and incredible.  Two learning lessons.  You must use the ingredients called for in order for this dish to be at its best.  We used half and half instead of heavy cream. and used colby jack instead of grated parmesan.  We also did not mince the onion as much as we should have.

Despite those alterations, the creamed spinach was very, very good.  We'll definitely add this to our vegetable repertoire.