Cheesy spinach cups (Plus: January Kosher Connection linkup!)
By Tali Simon | January 21, 2013
You know when a dip or spread is so good that you only eat a cracker or chip as a vehicle to get more of the stuff? And the whole time, you’re thinking, I really want to eat this by the spoonful. The cracker is totally beside the point.
That’s what I was thinking about when I developed this recipe.
I wanted something creamy, softer than a spinach quiche or kugel, but not as wet as your classic spinach dip. I also didn’t want too many flavors competing with the main players — spinach and a very dairy topping — but was afraid that without at least one other vegetable, this would become Gobs of Spinach Delight.
Naturally, I added mushrooms. Quartered mushrooms sauteed with garlic in butter and thyme.
And then I took the spinach (steamed) and the buttery mushrooms, and I mixed them with some mozzarella and heavy cream. And then, to make sure the cheesy thing really happened, I topped them off with a yogurt-cream-mozzarella concoction a la the vegetable crocks in Quick & Kosher.
And then I neglected to cover the baking dish with parchment paper or foil or anything else on earth that would have done a fine job of catching the drips. Learn from me, guys. Learn from me.
These came out just as I’d hoped on the first try. The spinach base was soft and eminently edible by the spoonful, accented beautifully with those mushrooms and kicked around by the minced garlic. The cheese topping was (as it was last time) nothing short of excellent — more complex than a regular ol’ sprinkling of mozzarella, but as easy as if it were only that.
I guess you could make a large batch and bake it in a casserole dish, but served as individual portions in these 5-ounce ramekins, they make a wonderful appetizer. (Bonus: They reheat really well on the plata, so serving them on Shabbos totally works. Just pierce your foil cover to allow steam to escape instead of dripping back down and ruining those gorgeous toppings.)
A word of advice…make several more than you need. That feeling of wanting straight spoonfuls doesn’t go away so quickly.
One year ago: Fluffy maple biscuits
Inspired by Quick & Kosher
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the spinach base:
- oil, to grease (5-oz.) ramekins
- 12 oz. frozen chopped spinach*
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 carton fresh mushrooms, quartered (or halved, if small)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- pinch dried thyme
- ¼ cup heavy cream**
- ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
* The bags of Bodek frozen spinach in my local grocery contain little spinach cubes/balls. Each equals one ounce of spinach.
** Heavy cream is defined as having a fat content between 36 and 40 percent. I used 15% Rich’s cooking cream.
For the cheese topping:
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup plain (not vanilla!) yogurt
Directions
1. Grease four 5-oz. ramekins with oil and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 F/200 C.
2. Steam spinach for 15 minutes and squeeze to drain extra liquid. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small nonstick skillet and saute mushrooms, garlic, and thyme over low heat for 2-3 minutes, just until the mushrooms start to lightly brown.
3. Transfer mushrooms to a mixing bowl, leaving any liquid in the pan, and combine with spinach, cream, and mozzarella. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared ramekins.
4. To make the topping, combine mozzarella, cream, and yogurt in a small bowl. Divide evenly between the filled ramekins and bake on a tray lined with foil or parchment paper for 30 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown. Serve hot. Spinach cups reheat well.
15 Comments
Ester on January 21, 2013 at 8:17 am.
In the link-up, I’m guessing those mini-bacon thingies are NOT kosher…
Yosef - This American Bite on January 21, 2013 at 10:17 pm.
Those mini bacon things use Facon, not bacon, and they look delicious. Kosher and yummy.
Tali Simon on January 22, 2013 at 12:04 am.
Thanks for taking that one, Yosef.
Abigail on January 21, 2013 at 5:31 pm.
I really really really want to like this. The pictures make me want to eat it now!! What can I sub in instead of mushrooms??
Tali Simon on January 21, 2013 at 6:47 pm.
I was thinking of you and your hatred of mushrooms when I worked on this recipe! Maybe cubes of roasted sweet potato? Roasted cherry tomatoes?
nossi on January 21, 2013 at 7:42 pm.
Looks great
I just made spinach dip with just spinach and cheese if you want to leave out the mushrooms, or you can try artichokes?
Yosef - This American Bite on January 21, 2013 at 10:18 pm.
Adorable awesomeness. I love anything in a ramekin, but these look so yummy — and where did you get the place mat? That looks nice too.
Tali Simon on January 22, 2013 at 12:05 am.
The shuk…of course.
stephanie/the kosher foodies on January 22, 2013 at 12:37 am.
thanks for giving me an excuse to go and buy myself a set of mini ramekins already!
Whitney (Jewhungry.wordpress.com) on January 22, 2013 at 1:17 am.
These look amazing. Might be the perfect addition for an Oscar party I’ll be hosting. I’ll take anything with cheese please
jessica (the kosher foodies) on January 22, 2013 at 3:04 am.
these look great – a good twist on the normal spinach dishes i usually make
Ronnie Fein on January 22, 2013 at 3:34 am.
This is dinner as far as I am concerned. We have vegetarian dinners often and this recipe really appeals.
Dvora @ Dvora's Cookie Creations on January 22, 2013 at 12:16 pm.
Your recipes always look so good – but you are killing those of us for whom dairy is not a friend! Oh well, we’ll be having your quinoa corn patties for lunch today.
Alessandra (DinnerinVenice) on January 23, 2013 at 1:27 pm.
This looks so delicious, anything to get more spinach into my family’s diet!
Alison@Alibabka on January 25, 2013 at 7:19 pm.
These look so good! I want to make them this week