Yesterday I planned dinner around using up a bag and a half of surplus spinach. They were taking up way too much room in my fridge. The basic idea/recipe was from Jacques Pepin's Essential book, but I tweaked it. He added garlic, and I love garlic but if it burns it's nasty and I considered this construction to have the potential for getting garlic in the wrong place. And too I added lemon juice for brightness and two thin cheese layers vis a vis pre-sliced Muenster. Idea was to insert just a bit of glue, which worked, and it was a bonus in the occasional bite with a bit of cheese. One could double on it for more of that, but I was looking for lower fat so went with a minimum. And too, he recommends Yukon golds, but I went with the less dense, starchier russets.
Note: the twice-cooked spinach acquires the long-cooked flavor of
Paired, for contrast, with a cherry tomato salad on the side seasoned with oil, vinegar, salt and dried French basil*, it made a great vegetarian plate. Here are pix of the gateaux and a served wedge.
Ingredients:
12 ounces spinach
3 medium sized russet potatoes
juice of half a lemon
butter and olive oil
2 slices Muenster cheese
Wilt spinach, towel dry prodigiously.
Slice potatoes 1/8th inch thick, and add to pan with enough butter and olive oil to soften just a bit without sticking to the bottom, about 7-8 minutes, stirring carefully but frequently. Spritz with lemon juice.
In a 9 inch nonstick skillet--an omelette pan especially good--line the bottom attractively with potatoes. That will be your show side. Place two layers of potatoes, then strew a slice of cheese, top with spinach, then cheese and two final layers of potatoes.
Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes or until top layer is golden. Remove from oven and put on the stovetop to crisp up the bottom layer, about 2-3 minutes. Use an offset spatula around the edges to ensure the bottom layer is cling-free, then hold a plate or flat surface to the pan and catch the flip.
Serves 2 (we ate the whole thing).
*Very different from regular basil, I buy it from Penzey's. Actually bought it by accident once, meaning to buy the California version which comes from the kind of basil you find fresh in stores. The French basil is spicy and a little perfumey, it doesn't really taste like classic basil at all, but what it does taste like is something I can't live without. I never buy the other any more--well fresh I do, but not dried.