Popeye creamed!

Let’s see…hot charcoal on the grill, check! Marinated big ass pork chops, check! Summer, check!

Now the sides. potatoes of course come to mind. Maybe some caramelized tomato halves. I wanted something that would go well with the tangy taste of grilled pork chops. This recipe is simple, straightforward and just downright yummy. Vegetarians may love this. It is basic, and most home cooks have their own variation or twist just to make it look like it was imprisoned in a cookbook gathering dust in the dark corner of the kitchen.



Creamed Spinach

300 g spinach leaves, washed and drained
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 strips of smoked bacon, roughly chopped
30 ml olive oil

30 g unsalted butter

100 ml heavy cream
salt+pepper
Some fresh grated parmesan

Bring a pot of water boil. Add the spinach leaves to blanch and wait for the bubbles to rise up again. Transfer spinach to ice bath to shock and retain the green rich color. Drain in a strainer and squeeze out as much water as possible. Set aside.
In a sauce pan, heat oil and butter over medium high heat.
Add the bacon and render for about 2-3 minutes until tender. Do not burn
Add the garlic and onions and saute for 2 minutes until tender and you can smell the heavenly aroma
Add the spinach and stir to coat all the leaves evenly
Add the cream and stir. Lower heat and let simmer for 3-5 minutes until spinach is tender

Season to taste. Transfer to a hot dish and sprinkle some fresh grated parmesan. (It is important you use fresh parmesan. The sawdust available at supermarkets is just plain wrong)

And guess what. There were leftover pork chops. This dish was cleaned out. Cleaned out.

As a variation, you could use bechamel sauce on this and bake in the oven at 375F for 10 minutes.

Let me know how this works for you. How would you do it differently?