Recipe: Spinach Nissard Style

Name: Spinach Nissard Style
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 7.75 lb (3.5 kg) fresh spinach; 2 cloves garlic, degerminated, crushed and chopped; 6 large eggs; Olive oil; Salt and freshly ground pepper

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.8/5 (5 reviews)

Prep 30 min

Cook 20 min

Total 50 min

Servings 6 serv.

An old recipe I've revisited a bit to make it a perfect summer evening dish, a glass of rosé in hand. The main pitfall is cooking the spinach too long. Two minutes in the pan is enough, otherwise it becomes a tasteless mush. Here we just let it wilt with the garlic, then mix it with beaten eggs. The oven at 240 °C finishes the job in 10 minutes. Serve warm with a mesclun salad, it's the ideal summer meal.

Ingredients for 6 servings

Adjust for

servings

7.75 lb (3.5 kg) fresh spinach
2 cloves garlic, degerminated, crushed and chopped
6 large eggs
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Step-by-step directions

1 Strip the spinach leaves, removing the large central stem, then wash them in 3 successive water changes and chop coarsely.

2 In a Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil. When the garlic has browned slightly, add your spinach, salt, pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Set aside.

3 Preheat the oven to 465°F (240 °C) (gas mark 8).

4 In a large bowl, crack the eggs, salt, pepper and beat them like an omelette.

5 Add the spinach and pour everything into a fairly high earthenware or porcelain dish. Cook in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes, then on serving, drizzle a little olive oil on top and bring to the table.

6 This dish can be eaten hot or warm, served with a small mesclun salad. Then all you'll be missing is the song of the cicadas!

A chef's advice

In Nice, we often make it with richer eggs: just one yolk for five well-beaten whites, it lightens the dish. Another local variation, some add a handful of toasted pine nuts just before the oven. Not essential, but it makes a difference. Worth trying if you like contrasting textures.