Spinach Gratin
All au gratin dishes are gratins, but not all gratins are necessarily au gratin.
“Gratin” is a cooking technique that involves topping a dish with a browned crust, often using cheese or breadcrumbs, while "au gratin" specifically refers to dishes that include cheese in the topping. Essentially, all au gratin dishes are gratins, but not all gratins are au gratin.
This is strictly a convenience side dish that has a lot of flair while remaining very easy to make. You could, of course, go to the trouble of sautéing fresh spinach rather than using my method, which will give you a slightly different flavor profile because the leafy greens are wilted in olive oil or butter. But for the convenience factor, this method makes an alternative to sautéing fresh spinach that is equally as good.
For those of you with an aversion to frozen spinach, don’t think about the kind your mom made you eat as a kid—that glacial brick in a cardboard and wax paper wrapping that tasted like a tennis shoe with freezer-burn. Green Giant has a product line called “Simply Steam” wherein spinach has been flash-frozen in a sealed container that you microwave as-is, right out of the box. Simple and perfect for this dish.
Culinary snobs will scoff at my idea of using a cheese cracker as a topping for this dish, which as I think about it, would probably technically qualify this recipe as au gratin. Nevertheless, mixed with some melted butter, it was simply another step-saver and also a clever way to get leafy greens in my grandchildrens’ dinner. Because, what kid doesn’t like Cheez-Its?
Spinach Gratin
All au gratin dishes are gratins, but not all gratins are necessarily au gratin.
Ingredients
- 24 oz steamed or sautéed spinach (like, Green Giant Simply Steam Spinach)
- 1 medium shallot, finely minced
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 4 oz whipped cream cheese (like, Kraft Philadelphia Whipped)
- 1 cup Havarti cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (like, Kraft grated)
- 6 tbsp butter, divided
- 1/4 tsp seasoned salt (like, Lawry's)
- 8-10 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 cup cheddar cracker crumbs (like, Cheez-It)
- non-stick butter flavored cooking spray (like, Pam)
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, melt 1/2 the butter and sauté the shallots until soft and beginning to caramelize, about 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and sauté a minute more.
- Add the heavy cream, cream cheese, seasoned salt and pepper and allow the cheese to melt. Blend thoroughly.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
- In the meantime, prepare the spinach. If using three 8-oz packages of Green Giant Simply Steam, place one at a time on a paper plate and zap in the microwave for four minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and allow to cool. Using paper towels, squeeze as much moisture from the spinach as possible.
- Toss the shallot cream cheese mixture in the mixing bowl with the spinach.
- Add the Havarti and Parmesan cheese and then mix well to blend all ingredients thoroughly.
- Transfer the spinach mixture to a small casserole dish treated with the non-stick butter flavored spray. Level the top of the mixture with a spatula.
- Using a meat mallet or a similar tool, turn the Cheez-It to crumbs and this is best done leaving them in their packages. For this reason, I use three of the 1.5 oz packages of Cheez-It for this recipe.
- Melt the remaining 3 oz of butter and blend with the Cheez-It crumbs, then spread evenly over the top of the casserole.
- Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes until the mixture is bubbly and the topping is beginning to brown.
