Sautéed Spinach

Sautéed Spinach

Back before I moved to Lisle, a group of my neighbors would get together every once in a while to go out for steak dinner. There was a little steakhouse nearby and they serve a pretty good steak. I believe it is still in operation. We would all walk there because it was only a few blocks away (and we knew there was a possibility that we might over-indulge). Often we'd show up with ten or twelve people and they'd have to scramble to seat us. We did call ahead, which helped.

As I recall, the staff was very understanding with our loud, boisterous group, even if the nearby tables were not. In fact, we often got preferential treatment, and the complaints of other diners never went anywhere. The wine was flowing freely and the bar tab always outweighed the bill for the food. Why did they give such favorable treatment? The answer is simple. We always tipped a minimum of 25%. That covers a lot of sins.

I like my steak charred rare, but I only order it that way at places where I know they do it right. This place did. One of the other things I liked about the dinners there was their optional side of sautéed spinach. I never ordered a steak without it. It was kind of garlicky and salty and I loved it. With a little practice I think I figured out their recipe. If this isn’t exact, it is pretty close.

2 lb. fresh spinach, washed very well and drained

1/4 cup extra good olive oil

3 large cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

Dash of red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Nutmeg for grating

Preparation

Heat a very large cast iron skillet until it is real hot. Add the olive oil and swirl the skillet and then add the garlic and the red pepper flakes. Stir for about 30 seconds and then add the spinach, handfuls at a time. You will have to let the first few handfuls wilt down a little to make room for the rest of the spinach. Once it is all in the skillet, add the salt.

Keep stirring until all the spinach is wilted and hot, and most of the water has boiled off. Add the parmesan cheese as well as a couple of gratings of nutmeg. Stir well to mix and serve.

Serving

Serve sautéed spinach next to a big steak that has been charred rare. Now add a big pile of garlic mashed potatoes, fresh grilled garlic bread and a good cabernet sauvignon. 

I love to order this at a steak house, but now I make it at home a lot too. When you make this at home, no one will complain if you are too loud and you don't have to leave a tip!