Recipes for Health - Creamed Spinach

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot or onion (optional)

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups low-fat (1 percent) milk, plus additional for thinning out the creamed spinach if desired

Salt to taste

Freshly ground white or black pepper

2 pounds spinach, stemmed and washed thoroughly, or 1 pound baby spinach, rinsed

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1.Make the béchamel. Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy medium saucepan. Add the shallot or onion, and cook, stirring, until softened, about three minutes. Stir in flour, and cook, stirring, for about three minutes until smooth and bubbling but not browned. It should have the texture of wet sand. Whisk in the milk all at once, and bring to a simmer, whisking all the while, until the mixture begins to thicken. Turn the heat to very low, and simmer, stirring often with a whisk and scraping the bottom and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, for 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened and lost its raw flour taste. Season with salt and pepper. Strain while hot into a heatproof bowl or a Pyrex measuring cup, then return to the saucepan.

2.Bring large pot of generously salted water to a boil and add the spinach. Blanch for 30 seconds, and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain and squeeze dry, taking the spinach up by the handful. Chop fine, and stir into the béchamel. Add the nutmeg. Thin out with 2 tablespoons milk if desired, or more to taste. Bring to a simmer over low heat, and simmer very gently for five minutes, stirring often. Serve.

Yield:Serves four to six.

Advance preparation:You can make a béchamel and blanch the spinach up to a day ahead; keep separately in the refrigerator. Combine, thin out if desired with a little milk, and heat gently in a heavy saucepan before serving.

Nutritional information per serving (based on four servings):176calories; 8 grams fat; 2 gramssaturated fat; 8 milligramscholesterol; 21 gramscarbohydrates; 5 gramsdietary fiber; 245 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during cooking); 8 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman can be reached atmartha-rose-shulman.com.

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