Épinards à la Viroflay

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Shallow 2-quart oval gratin dish
• •10-inch skillet
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Wide flexible spatula
• •Clean lint-free kitchen towels

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the gratin

   Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the broiler and butter a shallow 2-quart gratin dish. Warm the Mornay over low heat until it flows slowly from a spoon and coats what it touches. Never let it boil. If it has tightened during reheating, whisk in the milk a teaspoon at a time; if it looks grainy or greasy, take it off the heat first, add a teaspoon of cold milk, and whisk firmly until it comes together.

2. 2

   Dry the leaves

   Lay the spinach leaves prepared according to Blanchings (No. 273) smooth side down on clean kitchen towels. Open every fold and blot both sides until the towels remain nearly dry. Sort out the sixteen broadest leaves for wrapping and keep four as patches. Do not squeeze them together in a bundle; that bruises the leaves and makes small tears larger.

   The leaves should bend easily but still feel like leaves. Their broad shape is part of the dish, not decoration.
3. 3

   Fry the croûtons

   Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the bread cubes and toss until every face is buttered, pale gold, and crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes. These are croûtons, tiny butter-fried bread cubes, and their toasted corners must remain distinct inside the soft subrics. Drain them on paper and cool completely before they meet the egg-bound spinach mixture.

4. 4

   Finish the subrics

   Prepare the Subrics d’Épinards (No. 2137) according to their own formula. Once its seasoned spinach mixture is complete and off the heat, fold in the cooled croûtons, then portion and fry eight small subrics by that method, keeping each about 2½ inches across so it can be wrapped neatly. If the first one spreads instead of holding, stop and chill the remaining mixture for 10 minutes before continuing. Do not bury the problem under flour; the subrics should remain tender.

   Let the finished subrics settle for 5 minutes before wrapping. They should be firm enough to lift without losing their soft centres.
5. 5

   Wrap the parcels

   For each parcel, overlap two spinach leaves top-to-tail, smooth sides against the towel and veined sides facing you. Set one subric in the centre, fold the side lobes over it, then bring up the stem ends and tips to enclose it snugly without pulling. Place the parcel seam-side down in the buttered dish. If a leaf splits, overlap a spare beneath it and continue. Ça se rattrape. Arrange all eight parcels in a single close layer.

6. 6

   Cover and glaze

   Heat the broiler fully. Spoon the warm Mornay over the parcels, covering every leaf so exposed edges do not dry. Scatter the Gruyère evenly over the sauce and trickle the melted butter across the cheese. Broil for 3 to 6 minutes, watching without leaving the stove, until the sauce bubbles around the rim and the cheese blisters deep gold. Rotate the dish if one side colours faster. If the cheese darkens before the sauce bubbles, move the dish down one rack and give it another 2 minutes.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Rest the gratin for 3 minutes, just long enough for the sauce to settle around the parcels. Serve two per guest with a generous spoonful of Mornay and the browned cheese from the edge of the dish. Bring the gratin dish straight to the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy mature bunch spinach with palm-sized leaves. Bagged baby spinach cannot wrap a subric, and no amount of determination will make it larger. This dish genuinely needs broad leaves.
• •Use fine-textured white bread for the croûtons and cut it very small. Large cubes tear the subrics apart; coarse whole-grain bread overwhelms their soft spinach and cream.
• •Mornay must be loose enough to cover the parcels but thick enough to cling. A paste sits like a cap, while a thin sauce collects beneath the leaves. Warm it gently and adjust with milk before pouring.
• •Serve Épinards à la Viroflay beside roast chicken or veal, where the gratin can act as both vegetable and sauce. A dry white wine with good acidity keeps pace with the butter, cream, and cheese.

Advance Preparation

• •The spinach leaves prepared according to Blanchings (No. 273) can be cooled, dried, and refrigerated between clean towels for up to 6 hours.
• •The croûtons can be fried earlier in the day. Keep them uncovered at room temperature until completely cool, then store them in a dry container.
• •The Subrics d’Épinards (No. 2137) can be finished up to 4 hours ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. Let them stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before wrapping.
• •Mornay can be made one day ahead with parchment pressed directly onto its surface. Reheat it over low heat and loosen it with a little milk if needed.
• •The parcels may be wrapped and arranged in the buttered dish up to 2 hours ahead. Add the Mornay, cheese, and melted butter only when the broiler is fully heated, then glaze and serve at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)