Bechamel Sauce

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, until foamy. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour until a thick paste (roux) forms.

Whisk in the milk until smooth. Stirring occasionally, cook 10 to 12 minutes, until simmering, thick, and smooth. Simmer 2 minutes to cook out the flour taste.

Season to taste with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Spinach

Rinse the spinach with cold water, drain.

Place a large dutch oven over medium heat, add spinach. (Spinach will need to be tightly packed into the pan to cook all of it in one batch.) Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring well after 2 minutes.

Place spinach in a colander, and drain well, pressing the spinach with the back of a spoon to remove as much moisture a possible.

Return spinach to pan. Add bechamel sauce until the desired consistency is achieved.

If you brown the butter slightly after it has melted (don't burn it!), it will add a nutty flavor to the sauce.

Baby spinach works best. If you use regular (mature) spinach you will need to cut the stems off. You could also use frozen spinach but the texture is not as nice.

White pepper is traditionally used in bechamel sauce because it won't discolor your white sauce. However, in this recipe it doesn't really matter.

Depending on how much sauce you use for the spinach, you might end up with leftover sauce. Bechamel sauce is great served over steamed vegetables or fish.

Variation: Add 2 tablespoons minced shallots to the butter when starting your sauce. Saute for 2 minutes. You can also replace half of the milk with 1/2 cup softened light cream cheese for a thicker, richer consistency.