About
Creamy Spinach Bake saw your favorite spinach dip and thought "But what if we did this on a grander scale?" It's definitely creamy and herbaceous and loaded with rich garlic flavor, all of which accents the tender, garden-fresh spinach. There are succulent and savory bacon crumbles mixed in, with smoky Gruyère and even a little lemon flavor to keep things zesty! In fact, there are so many dimensions to Creamy Spinach Bake's flavor, you'll wonder why it's just a side dish... it tastes like it should be the main course!
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup cream
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 5 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 1/2 pounds fresh spinach leaves
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup onions, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup Gruyère cheese, grated
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Step 1 -Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 -In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the milk, the cream, the cloves, the bay leaf, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and cook, while stirring, until it comes to a boil.
Step 3 -Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the milk mixture for 10 minutes.
Step 4 -Transfer the saucepan from the heat and strain the milk mixture into a clean saucepan, discarding the cloves and the bay leaf.
Step 5 -Cover the saucepan to keep the milk mixture warm and set it aside.
Step 6 -In a large skillet over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until browned and crisp, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 7 -Reserve 3 tablespoons of the fat in a small bowl and drain and discard the remainder.
Step 8 -In the same skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon drippings.
Step 9 -Add 1/3 of the spinach to the hot bacon drippings and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.
Step 10 -Transfer the wilted spinach to a bowl and season it with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.
Step 11 -Repeat the wilting process in two batches with the remaining bacon fat, the remaining spinach, and the remaining salt.
Step 12 -Squeeze the liquid out of the spinach and finely chop it.
Step 13 -In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter.
Step 14 -Add the onions and the garlic to the melted butter and cook until very softened, about 10 minutes.
Step 15 -Add the flour to the onion-garlic mixture and cook, while stirring, until lightly golden, about 2 minutes.
Step 16 -Add the hot milk mixture to the flour mixture and bring it to a boil.
Step 17 -Add the cheese, the lemon zest, the lemon juice, the pepper, and the bacon to the cream sauce mixture and whisk until smooth.
Step 18 -Pour the cream sauce over the spinach and stir to combine.
Step 19 -Transfer the mixture to an 11-inch round baking dish.
Step 20 -Bake until the top is lightly browned, about 35 minutes.
Step 21 -Serve immediately.
