Ingredients:
5 (6 ounce) bags baby spinach leaves
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup warm milk, plus more for thinning
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch cayenne pepper
4 ounces cream cheese ( at room temperature)
Directions:
Rinse spinach leaves.
Place half of the leaves in a 3 quart saucepan.
Cover; cook over medium-high heat until wilted, about 5 minutes, shaking pan occasionally.
Add remaining spinach leaves to pot as the first batch”shrinks”.
Cook spinach until it is all wilted, about another 5 minutes.
Drain spinach; let cool.
When cool, squeeze spinach to remove excess water, then chop fine.
Return to sauce pan.
In small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
Whisk in flour; cook, stirring, 1 minute.
Whisk in warm milk.
Bring mixture to simmering; cook, whisking constantly, 2 minutes.
Stir in salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne.
Remove from heat; whisk in cream cheese until smooth.
Scrape cheese sauce into saucepan with spinach.
Stir over medium-low heat until heated through, about 2 minutes.
For a more liquid consistency, if desired, thin with another 2 tbs milk.
Servings: 6
Time preparation: 10 min.
Time total: 25 min.