Yes, this is THE best creamed spinach and leeks! Perfect with any meat or seafood, it's easy to make and hard to stop eating!
Spinach and Leek Recipe
This spinach and leek recipe is so versatile!
Inspired by Kita from Girl Carnivore, when she was visiting, she made this side dish. We all raved about it.
And, you absolutely know that something this delicious must be shared.
Creamed Leeks Recipe
Now Kita's recipe is creamed leeks, but she adjusted it to add the spinach. This really made it even a more fabulous side dish.
Served with just about anything, we had it with a cast iron skillet pan seared ribeye steak. Talk about five-star eating.
Creamed Spinach
Now you could certainly use this recipe also for just creamed spinach, but why would you do that? I suppose if you don't care for leeks.
But since leeks are part of the onion family, they look like scallions on steroids. Yes, they're much larger.
Sauteed Leeks and Spinach
One thing that's absolutely necessary when using leeks is to clean them exceptionally well.
As they grow, dirt collects in, around, between and everywhere in the layers, so be sure to strip back a few of the outter layers and rinse and clean thoroughly.
Leeks and Spinach
OK, here's a big questions when you're sourcing your leeks and spinach. Should you buy organic?
According to this post, "The good news is that leeks do not appear on the Environmental Working Group's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce. The bad news is that a lot of pesticides are approved for use on leeks." And, this article goes on to list the fruits and vegetables that should be purchased organic and that includes spinach.
So, if your budget allows, try to source both as organic.
Cheesy Leeks and Spinach
Now the cheesiness in this recipe is going to come from grated parmesan. Since it's also on the salty side, continue to taste your dish for the additional of more salt.
Another point about my version of Kita's recipe is that I added more heavy cream. As you'll see from the pictures, it's almost a 'soupy' mixture. But it wasn't a soup. And, another thing, the leftovers with all this insanely delicious cream/cheese thickened. You'll note that in the picture with the eggs, which we had the next morning for breakfast.
If you don't want this quasi soupy consistency, then reduce the amount of cream by about one-half to three-fourths of a cup.
Pasta with Leeks and Spinach
If you add some small pasta (about one cup) to the mixture, do so after you add the entire amount of cream. Blend, cover and let the noodles slowly get tender and cook.
Types of pasta noodles that I'd add would be: cavatappi, fusilli, farfalle, gemelli, or ditalini.
