Now after I posted my last entry I had very good intentions of posting lots more. Then my camera batteries (sniff) died. I was about to take a photo of something, something I can’t remember now. I was also going to photograph a dish I made called Buddha’s Delight, a “make your own take out” out of an old Cooking Light. It wasn’t happening. I was very sad.
But here we are! Today’s delectable dish is from another old Cooking Light. I tore this page out years ago and we’ve been making it, with some little modifications, ever since. It’s a gratin packed with potatoes, spinach, and ham. And cheese. So you can’t really go wrong.
The original recipe claims there’s eight servings, but I scoff at them. Eight servings for people with no appetite, maybe. I’ve gotten six out of it, and it’s great with a little salad. Maybe some crusty bread.
You’ll need:
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c shallots, diced, sliced, whatever. I’ve used onions, too, but cut them back to 1/3 c or so.
2 minced garlic cloves
1 c chopped ham. I’ve used deli on most occasions, or a ham steak. This time it’s leftover Christmas ham from the freezer. You’ll want between 4-5 ounces.
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed in some dishtowels to get the extra water out.
ground pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1.5 c 1% milk (skim might be too thin for this)
1/3 c all-purpose flour
3 yukon gold potatoes, sliced really thin. I use a mandolin for this. Watch your fingers.
3 ounces grated cheese. Today I’m using reduced-fat cheddar.
First, get everything ready. Potatoes sliced, ham diced, spinach squeezed, veg sliced. In a small skillet over medium-high, add 2 t olive oil and shallot and garlic. Saute a couple minutes until softened. Turn heat off, add spinach, ham, pepper, nutmeg. Stir, stir.
Combine milk, flour, and more pepper with a whisk.
In an 8″ or so baking dish, layer half the potatoes. Add spinach mixture. Add rest of potatoes. Pour milk over. Cover with aluminum foil and pop into a 375 degree oven for 1 hour, 15 minutes. In meantime, grate your cheese. Remove foil, add cheese, bake another 15 minutes. Pop on broiler and broil a few minutes until cheese is browned. Delectable!
There was supposed to be all this salt in the dish, but I find that with the ham there’s generally enough. 1/6 of the gratin as made clocks in at just over 200 calories, so you have plenty of room for everything else!
This looks tasty!
Thanks, Amy! It’s an old standby for us.