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Ingredients
- 1kg baby spinach
- Two tablespoons unsalted butter
- Two tablespoons grated onion
- Two teaspoons minced garlic
- Two tablespoons all-purpose flour
- One cup milk
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
SPINACH PREPARATION
- Bring four litres of salted water to a boil. Add spinach in handfuls until all the spinach is added. Cook for 15 seconds.
- Drain the spinach in a colander in the sink and immediately run the spinach under cold water to stop it cooking. Shake as much of the water off the spinach as you can by shaking the colander.
- Dry the spinach by pressing it against the sides of the colander in large handfuls. Squeeze to remove as much excess moisture as possible. Set aside to drain further.
SAUCE PREPARATION
- Melt butter in a medium-size frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, then cook for one minute. Sprinkle flour over the onion mix then cook, stirring often, for three minutes. Stir in the half-and-half. Stirring slowly and continuously, cook the mix for about five minutes until the sauce boils and thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for about two minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Stir in the cheese, nutmeg, mustard, cayenne, salt and pepper, then add the spinach and mix it in well. Keep warm over very low heat until served.
