This is the most amazing comfort food and a very appealing way to present spinach to anyone who is ‘greens-shy’. Serve it as a snack with good bread or toast, or as a side dish with a piece of simply cooked white fish or chicken.
Serves 3–4
250g spinach, tough stalks removed
2–3 medium-large leeks, trimmed, washed and sliced
For the béchamel
200ml whole milk
A chunk of onion
1 bay leaf
25g butter
A dash of olive oil
25g plain flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Wash the spinach and put it into a saucepan with just the water that clings to the leaves. Cover the pan and place over a medium heat for a few minutes, just until the spinach wilts. Drain in a colander. When the spinach is cool enough to handle, squeeze out all the water with your hands, then chop it coarsely.
For the béchamel, put the milk in a small pan with the onion and bay leaf and bring to just below simmering, then take off the heat and set aside to infuse. Meanwhile, heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat.
Add the leeks to the butter and oil, turn the heat down fairly low and cover the pan. Sweat gently for about 6–8 minutes until the leeks are tender and wilted. Stir in the flour, working it well into the buttery leeks. Cook, stirring often, for a couple of minutes. Strain in about a third of the hot, infused milk (reheat first, if it’s cooled) and stir vigorously to incorporate smoothly. Repeat with the remaining milk.
When you have a smooth, leeky béchamel sauce, return the pan to a low heat and let it cook gently for 3–4 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the spinach and heat through, then taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve straight away.
PLUS ONE A good grating of Cheddar, Parmesan or any other well-flavoured hard cheese makes this dish even more rich and comforting. Either grate the cheese on top and flash the dish under the grill, or just stir it into the hot sauce before serving.
PLUS TWO For a hugely gratifying brunch or supper, poach an egg or two (for my method, see here), place on buttered toast and smother with the leeks and spinach in béchamel.