I found this recipe for creamed spinach in a Spanish magazine months ago and left the torn page in our apartment in Sevilla. On our last weekend trip, I found it and remembered to bring it with me. The original recipe calls for onions, instead of leek, but I personally love how leeks taste and also, as I served the creamed spinach with mofongo and pollo encebollado (onion chicken), I thought leeks were a better accompaniment than additional onions.
Creamed Spinach with Bacon
Recipe Type: Easy
Cuisine: Paleo
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 500g large spinach leaves, steamed and drained
- 1 leek, thinly sliced
- 2 pork back rashers, cut into cubes, or bacon bits
- For the Paleo béchamel sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter, olive oil or coconut oil (I prefer butter, as it adds to the flavour and richness of this sauce)
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
- Manchego or Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Clean the spinach leaves and steam until wilted. Drain. Cut into smaller pieces and ensure to get out all of the liquid or as much as possible.
- While the spinach is steaming, in a small saucepan, cook the pork back rashers until almost crispy.
- Add the leeks and cook until tender. (Add some olive oil or coconut oil, should it be necessary. I find that with the back rashers, sometimes some oil is necessary, whereas with bacon, it is not.)
- Add the cooked spinach to the leek and back rashers and mix well. Pour into an oven proof dish and set aside.
- In the same saucepan (just wipe it off with a paper towel), add the butter (or oil of choice) and heat over medium heat.
- Once the butter is melted and warm, add the arrowroot and mix well. Fry for about 1 minute.
- Reduce the heat to low and gently add the coconut milk, while stirring constantly.
- Cook until the sauce has thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Add the nutmeg and seasoning to taste. Mix well.
- Pour over the spinach mixture in the oven proof dish.
- Set the oven to broil.
- Sprinkle with some grated cheese over top and broil until golden, about 2 minutes.
So I made this recipe, along with the mofongo and chicken with onions (well, I used strips of grassfed beef) and I must say this is one of the best, and easiest, meals I’ve ever made. That bechamel sauce for the creamed spinach is to die for. I’m probably gonna use it as alfredo sauce on zucchini noodles.
Hi Janelle! So glad you enjoyed both recipes! I love the bechamel sauce for the spinach and for other dishes in general. It sounds delicious as an Alfredo sauce too. Please send me pictures if you can, or post them to the facebook page. 😉