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Spinach with white sauce and egg, also called creamed spinach, is a family recipe that I grew up with. It's a dish my mother made, and she, an unpretentious cook, always called it "spinach with white sauce." Today, it could be called spinach and bechamel sauce (a white sauce of cream, butter, and flour).

After drizzling the cream sauce over the lightly cooked spinach and laying sliced hard cooked egg on the top, I usually garnish the slices of egg with bright red paprika. Creamed spinach also can be garnished with pomegranate seeds to give it a nice holiday color.

Dark green spinach garnished with ruby red ingredients or even red spices makes a festive dish for holiday menus. The dark-green vegetable is delicious raw, steamed, and creamed, and used in assorted recipes. It can be a part of soups, salads, and quiches and goes well with pasta, eggs, fish, and cheese.

Spinach makes a great vegetable for the holidays because it can be served raw, but if it is cooked it takes just a minute or two to steam or saute.

Spinach Salad with Balsamic Maple Dressing is made with spinach and sliced fennel and, for a touch of red, sliced red onion and crumbled crisp-cooked bacon.

A spinach and citrus salad can be made with ruby red grapefruit. Or a spinach salad can be garnished with sliced strawberries.

Spinach is a big part of Aunt Mid's Produce Co.'s business and it's a product you'll see sold locally.

According to Philip Riggio, CEO of Aunt Mid's Produce Co. in Detroit, most of the baby leaf spinach comes from California. There are few small growers locally. The curly leaf variety is grown on the eastern shore of Virginia and in New Jersey until Dec. 15 and then the crop moves to Texas and Arizona until Easter.

Creamed Spinach with Sliced Egg.
( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )

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The curly leaf spinach often is used in quiche or in frying or boiling. "The bigger leaf has more body," said Mr. Riggio. "Most people cook with it. They like the baby leaf eaten raw."

Americans now eat two pounds of fresh spinach per year, according to information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Ocean Mist Farms in California.

The convenience of bagged spinach has been a factor in the growth of spinach's popularity and the popularity of salad bars. Most bagged spinach is in 10-ounce bags, which the label says is two servings, but it can be enough for three to four servings. Avoid bags that have darkened, yellow, or wilted leaves.

In 2004, America was No. 2 in the world in spinach production, with China far ahead in first place, according to Ocean Mist. California is the major spinach growing state.

It is a vegetable that's available all year long. From March to November it grows in Castroville in the middle of the state and from December to March it grows in Coachella Valley in southern California.

Serving spinach

When preparing spinach, cook it in a tightly covered pan with just the water that clings to the leaves after rinsing. Cook over medium heat just until soft, about three minutes, or steam over boiling water until just tender, about two minutes. You can also stir-fry or saute spinach, either whole or chopped leaves.

Wilted spinach salad is an old favorite. Rinse and drain a 10-ounce bag of spinach and put in a wooden or heatproof salad bowl. In a large skillet, cook a few strips of bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and crumble. Drain off all but two tablespoons of bacon drippings. Cook shallots or about half a cup of chopped onion in the drippings until tender. Splash in two to three tablespoons of cider vinegar, a tablespoon or two of sugar, and heat to boiling. Then pour over the spinach and toss to mix and slightly wilt the leaves. Add bacon crumbles and toss. Serve immediately.

Note that spinach reduces in volume when cooked. A pound of raw spinach reduces to about 2 cups when cooked or two to three servings.

To clean spinach, fill a clean sink with cold water and put the leaves in the water, swishing each to remove any sand or dirt. Bagged spinach has already been washed but it does need a quick rinse.

Spinach possiblities

Spinach can be added to pasta and rice.

Baked Rigatoni wth Spinach, Ricotta and Fontina from Food & Wine Quick from Scratch Italian Cookbook (Food & Wine Books, $24.95) is a quick take on spinach and ricotta cannolini made with frozen spinach.

Holiday Spinach and Artichoke Tart is a great party dish. When recipe tester Angela Benko made this tart, she used both a tart pan and a pie pan. "Both worked fine," she said. "There was no issue getting the thin wedges out of the pan."

Spinach can also be used in fillings for stuffed pasta such as tortellini, ravioli, manicotti, cannelloni, or large shells.

"Florentine" refers to dishes (usually of eggs or fish) that are presented on a bed of spinach and topped with mornay sauce (a bechamel sauce made with parmesan and swiss cheese). A "Florentine " dish is sometimes sprinkled with cheese and browned lightly in the oven, according to the Food Lover's Companion.

Salmon Florentine is Elle Krieger's take on pairing flavorful spinach with an entree in So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week (Wiley, $29.95). It's a two-tiered entree with a buttery salmon base and flavorful spinach topping garnished with ricotta cheese. Serve with couscous or quinoa pilaf for a festive holiday dinner party.

Kathie Smith is The Blade's food editor.

Contact her at:
food@theblade.com
or 419-724-6155.

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