Julia Child's Spinach Gratin

I love spinach, and when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it.  I adapted my recipe from Julia Child's Baked Spinach Gratin with Cheese.  I made this to accompany my Roast Beef. 

{See pic below}

Serves 3
- 1.5 pounds fresh spinach
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup beef stock
- 1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
- 2 tablespoons panko


I decided to use baby spinach.  Place spinach in a large pot over high heat.  Cook, covered, with just the water clinging to leaves, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 2 to 4 minutes.  Transfer to a colander, immediately fill pot with cold water, transfer it back to the pot of cold water and drain. Squeeze a small amount of the spinach at a time in your hands to extract as much water as possible. Chop the spinach coarsely.

Melt 1 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat and stir in the spinach. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until all of the moisture from the spinach has boiled off — you’ll know you’re done when the spinach begins to stick to the pan.

Lower the heat and sprinkle with flour and stir for 2 minutes to cook the flour. Add 2/3 of your stock a tiny bit at a time, scraping up any stuck spinach as you do. Once the liquid is added, simmer for another minute or two, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. If needed, add all or part of remaining liquid. Season with salt and pepper.  Stir 1/4 cup of cheese into the spinach. 

I decided to use ramekins and split the spinach equally amongst the 3.  Be sure to spray the ramekins first (or butter them).  Mix the remaining cheese with panko and sprinkle on spinach.  Add a little butter on top of each ramekin to golden the panko. Bake until heated through and slightly brown on the top, about 30 minutes.

Verdict:
Amazing.  It was so good and can't wait to make it again!