Spinach au gratin

[judydawn]

Name of Recipe:Spinach au gratin (adapted from a recipe published in our daily paper The Advertiser)
Number of People: serves 6 - 8 as a side serve
Ingredients:
480g fresh spinach or silverbeet
140g brown onion, cut into quarters
2 cloves garlic
20g butter

White sauce

40g butter
50g cornflour
500mls milk
1/2 tspn salt
ground pepper to taste
20g parmesan cheese
1 tspn lemon zest (I used a microplane)

topping

60g fresh breadcrumbs (approx 2 slices frozen bread)
30g grated parmesan

Preparation:
Cut the stems from the spinach and slice into 1cm pieces. Set aside. Roughly slice the leaves and set them aside separately.
Grate both lots of cheese (50g in total) 30 sec/speed 7  and set aside in the 2 required amounts.
Without wiping out the bowl add the broken up pieces of frozen bread and process 5 sec/speed 8. Set aside and add 30g of the grated parmesan to it for the topping later.

Place the onion and garlic into the bowl & chop 3 sec/speed 5. Add the hand-chopped spinach stalks to the bowl along with the butter and saute 5 mins/100^o/speed 1.

Add the chopped spinach leaves and cook 5 mins/reverse/100^ospeed 1.
Set aside whilst you make the sauce.

Place the butter cornflour, milk and S & P into the bowl and cook 7 mins/90^o/speed 4.
Add the 20g parmesan and 1 tspn lemon zest to the bowl and mix for 30 sec/speed 1.
Add the spinach mixture back into the sauce and stir to combine 30 sec/reverse/speed 1.

Pour the mixture into a deep casserole dish - I used one 26 x 15 x 6cm.
Sprinkle the combined breadcrumb & parmesan cheese mixture over the top, spray with an olive oil spray and bake in a 180^oC oven until topping has browned.


Tips/Hints:
Can be made well in advance & reheated when needed. Original recipe used 3 slices sourdough bread roughly chopped and then mixed with the grated parmesan, scattered over the spinach mixture and drizzled with olive oil. They then baked it in a 220^oC oven for 15 mins until golden and crisp.

You could chop the stalks with the onion and garlic but I preferred to hand chop it for some texture.

This is a lovely creamy spinach dish and a change from cauli or broccoli au gratin and you never know, the kids might even enjoy it done this way.  I have frozen a serving for 4 as there was heaps left over.

[Thermomixer]

Thanks JD.  Wonder if you could steam the spinach a bit to make it easier to chop?  Do while the onion is sauteeing?

Sounds good.  Crumbed toppings are good with Parmesan 

[JulieO]

Mmm, I like the sound of this, will have to make, thanks Judy. 

[boonderoostudio]

Do you think this could also be done with zucchinis...?  DD2 has just given me lots from her garden! It sound very nice so would like to know if you think that I could try this with the zucchinis.

[achookwoman]

Thanks JD,  lots of silverbeet at the moment,  sounds tasty.

[judydawn]

Do you think this could also be done with zucchinis...?  DD2 has just given me lots from her garden! It sound very nice so would like to know if you think that I could try this with the zucchinis.

  Have never done it with zucchini BS but can't see why not.  I wouldn't overcook the zucchini though and would leave them in large chunks. There are lots of zucchini recipes on www.cooks.com you could check out for ideas.  One of my favourite things I used to do with excess zucchinis was to grate them with equal amounts of carrot, squeeze out any juice and sort of stir fry them in some butter until soft and with some colour.  It takes some time to cook and you must stir all the time plus it cooks down to very little so you have to start with far more than you think but it is worth the effort. I have made it into little timbales by pressing this cooked mixture into a small, greased ramekin or cup then turning out onto the plate.  Reheat easily and taste great as a side to any meal meal.

[Ceejay]

Oooh yummo! 

[achookwoman]

JD,  have just seen a recipe based on silver beet,  cooked and placed in a filo shell,  top and bottom.

[judydawn]

That would be nice Chookie - I love filo pastry anything 

[cathy79]

This was really nice Judy.  I'm loving all your spinach recipes, and even DH is liking them.  As long as the spinach is in something (not just a pile on the plate), he eats it happily.

I added some diced cooked chicken to the leftovers for lunch too.

[judydawn]

Thanks Cathy, gotta get the greens into our men 

[cookie1]

Our silverbeet is just beginning to have decent size leaves on it so now I can start cooking with it. We put it in the front gasrden with some beetroot so I hope no one steals it.
Thanks for all the 'green' recipes Judy.

[judydawn]

Mine looks like it is just about to come to an end Cookie but it has been so prolific I have just had to keep finding recipes to use it up.  Maybe I should call myself the spinach lady - of course I hated the stuff when I was a kid.

[farfallina]

Made this one yesterday JD! It was yummy!
Thank you for the recipe 

I used frozen spinach.

[judydawn]

Glad you liked it farfallina - I was so pleased when I found this recipe as I had never seen spinach served au-gratin before.