One-Pot Creamed Spinach with Mushrooms

'Cause if there's anything I hate, it's a 3-pot side dish, although I will admit to having posted a few. I really try not to, though. This still requires a fair bit of attention, and so is best served with things like steamed rice or barley, baked potatoes, baked chicken or fish, or other simply cooked dishes which do not require much in the way of last minute attention.

6 to 8 servings

8 cups loosely packed spinach
225 grams (1/2 pound) button mushrooms
2 to 3 green onions OR shallots
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup 10% cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Wash the spinach, discarding any bad leaves and tough stems. Chop it roughly and drain it well. Clean, trim, and quarter the mushrooms. Wash, trim, and finely chop the green onions, or peel and chop the shallots. Peel and mince the garlic.

Heat the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Cook the mushrooms until lightly browned and reduced in volume, stirring regularly. Add the green onions or shallots and the garlic, and cook until wilted. Sprinkle the flour over mushrooms, and mix in well until no white flour can be seen. Cook for another minute or two, stirring, then add the chicken stock.

Bring the mixture to a simmer, then add add the spinach by handfuls, stirring after each addition and adding more as the spinach wilts down until it is all in. Simmer until the spinach is done to your liking, then add the cream. Bring the mixture back up just to the simmer. Keep stirring all the while to keep it from getting lumpy. The sauce should be just thick enough to coat the spinach and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper - the amount of salt suggested assumes the chicken stock is unsalted.

Posted in: Ontario Food