Late spring and early summer are the time for fresh spinach. There are usually two common varieties on the market: flat leaf and curly.
Flat leaf spinach, which is more tender and milder in flavor, is perfect for cold salads. The curly variety, which is often marketed under the name Bloomsdale, is chewier and bigger in flavor, and needs to be stemmed and also tamed with some heat and a hint of sweetness.
Although I’m not a huge fan of classic French vegetable cookery, I’ve always liked the French practice of cooking spinach in brown butter and finishing it with freshly grated nutmeg. The nutty flavor of brown butter (what the French call beurre noisette — “hazelnut butter”) and the aromatic sweetness round out the flavor of curly spinach, which often tends to have a mouth-drying tannic finish.
I’ve made a few little changes to the French technique for cooking spinach. Rather than using a stick of butter, which would be the normal proportion for half a pound of spinach, I use just enough butter to flavor and coat the spinach and supplemented it with a splash of water to help wilt the spinach and bring out its juices.
Also, I’ve added an assertive amount of garlic to the recipe. A French cook, especially a home cook, might incorporate it a different way: as a whole clove on the end of meat fork used to the stir the spinach, a great housewife’s trick if you like your garlic flavor subtle.
Note: This is a perfect accompaniment to flounder, sole or halibut. And, no, you can’t substitute preground nutmeg for the freshly ground stuff.
Spinach With Brown Butter and Nutmeg
Serves 4 as a side dish.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
8 ounces curly spinach, stemmed and washed
3 tablespoons water
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Fresh nutmeg
Directions
In a large straight-sided saute pan, a Dutch oven or a wok, warm the butter over medium heat until brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, stirring constantly, being careful not to brown it. Add the spinach, tossing well to coat in the butter. Add the water and cook the spinach just until wilted and juicy, about 3 minutes.
Turn off the heat, and season with salt, fresh pepper and a few gratings of fresh nutmeg. Serve immediately.
