SPINACH CAKE

veg-spinachpie-2sm

Day 4 – Passover continues.  The kids are counting the hours until sundown on Tuesday night.  They are already planning their meal and are obsessing on all the things they cannot eat.  I am most proud of my 5 year old, who asks, every time before he puts something in his mouth, “does this have bread in it”?

 

We have been very creative in our eating this week.  Tons of quinoa, baked sweet potato fries, grilled chicken, a bit of fish, and lots of veggies.  Wait…shouldn’t we be eating this way ALL the time?  Could this be a new trend in our household?

I created a Passover Round-Up over at BigmouthLA and in doing the research, I discovered lots of wonderful blogs with Passover friendly recipes.  One in particular was this Spinach Cake at Sweet Amandine.  Jess’ photos reminded me of a childhood favorite.  And it was really her photos rather than the ingredients that inspired me to make this dish.

I grew up going to The Magic Pan with my mom, grandma, and friends.  I can still taste the distinct flavors of the spinach crepes and this spinach cake is a close replica of the tastes from my childhood. The Magic Pan is long gone, but the memories are ever so present.

Although this is baked in a baking dish, one bite brings back wonderful memories from my childhood. I made a few minor changes to the recipe.  I added a bit of Gruyere to the base of the recipe and next time I will omit the cooking liquids from the final mixture.  I found that the bottom of the cake became a bit too watery, not really affecting the overall taste, just the consistency. I will make this dish over and over again!

Spinach Cake
Adapted from Sweet Amandine
yield: 1 10″ baking dish (plus 2 1/2 cup ramekins)

ingredients:
2 pounds of spinach, stemmed, washed, and more or less dried
2 medium leeks-cleaned and chopped
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Freshly ground salt and black pepper
¼ tsp.nutmeg
2 c. whole milk
6 large eggs
A generous pinch of cayenne
2 Tbsp. grated Gruyere
2 Tbsp.  freshly grated Parmesan

instructions:
• Over a medium heat, melt the butter in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot.  I used my largest Le Creuset as it had to hold all the spinach as well.
• add the leeks, a few grinds of salt and pepper, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until they are tender but still green, about five minutes.
• sprinkle the a pinch of nutmeg over top, add a layer of spinach, and season with a few grinds of salt. repeat until all the spinach is added.
• turn up the heat slightly, cover the pot, and let the spinach steam over the leeks. you do not want wilted spinach.  this should take about 2-3 minutes. let cool.
• chop spinach/leek mixture and set aside.
• preheat oven to 400*,  butter a 10″ pie plate (I had left over spinach mixture and made individual servings).
• in a blender, puree the spinach mixture, eggs, and milk.  add the cayenne.  taste for seasoning.  if you feel it needs more salt and pepper, add it now.  using a wooden spoon, mix in the grated Gruyere.  pour into prepared pans(the original recipe suggests adding the cooking liquid, but I would leave it out next time).
• top with grated parmesan cheese.
• place baking dishes on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• bake, uncovered for 45 minutes.  the top will get nice and brown.  the cake will puff up in the oven and once removed, will collapse a bit.
• serve at room temperature, or chilled.

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