There are three parts to this dish. First is the spinach and onion base, second is the poached eggs, and third is the cheese sauce. For me, two of these parts were semi-intimidating. The last time I poached eggs was years ago, so I wasn’t sure how I’d do today and cheese sauces are notorious for being lumpy, so that made me nervous. Fortunately, I was quite successful with putting this dish together. I actually think I did a marvelous job. Everything came out great.
The Recipe
What makes eggs Florentine, Florentine? It all has to do with a protein and sauce being placed on a bed of spinach. You may have heard of eggs Benedict. The difference between eggs Benedict and eggs Florentine is that the Florentine version contains spinach. Both may contain bacon, but Florentine always uses spinach as the bed. The reason this dish uses the Florentine name is because its roots are linked to Florence, Italy.
If you’ve never prepared a dish like this before, I’d recommend mentally breaking things down into the three parts I mentioned above. Start off with the onions and the spinach and then move on to the sauce. While the sauce is cooking, poach the eggs. It’ll take one preparation to get used to, but it’ll be easy and straightforward after that.
Otherwise, this is a fantastic dish that I’m surprised I’ve waited so long to make. I loved the addition of heavy cream to the spinach and the cheese sauce is divine. And of course, poached eggs are silky smooth, so they’re always good. This was a fun one to eat. I felt fancy doing so, so I’ll definitely make it again.
I’d like to thank Mary Berry for this recipe. I pulled it from her Complete Cookbook and it worked very well. When I prepare this dish again in the future, I would experiment with the choice of cheese. I used sharp cheddar and I think provolone or swiss would work well too.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
8 Ounces Spinach Leaves (Fresh or Frozen)
1 Onion, Chopped
2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
4 Eggs
4 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese, Grated
For the Cheese Sauce
2 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Flour
1 Cup Milk
1 Cup Cheddar Cheese, Grated
Cayenne Pepper
Nutmeg
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Cook the Spinach & Onion
Add the olive oil and onion to a medium sized saucepan or frying pan over medium heat. Cook for about five minutes or until soft. Then add in the fresh spinach or thawed frozen spinach. Cook for another five minutes. Remove any water from the bottom of the pan. Then, season with salt and pepper and add the heavy cream and remove from the heat. Keep the pan warm though.
Prepare the Cheese Sauce
Add the butter to a medium sized saucepan. When melted, add in the flour and stir it into the butter for about a minute. Then, slowly add the milk to the pan and keep stirring for three to four minutes, until the sauce has thickened. At this point, the sauce should be bubbling. If it isn’t, increase the heat until it is. Next, add the cheese and a few pinches of cayenne and nutmeg. Stir until the cheese is completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Be sure to keep the sauce warm.
Poach the Eggs
You can watch a video or two that describes how to properly poach eggs, but I’ll tell you here how I did it successfully. Fill a frying pan (or another type of low pan) with water, almost to the top. Bring this water to a boil and then back off the heat to medium. Break each egg gently and release the contents of the egg very slowly and closely to the surface of the water. Do this for each of the four eggs in this recipe. Allow the eggs to cook in the water for about five minutes or until the whites are firm, yet the yolks are still loose. When this happens, remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon.
Plate the Dishes
Divide the spinach between four oven-safe plates or bowls.
Next, add the eggs to the center of the spinach and then divide the cheese sauce between plates.
Finally, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on the cheese sauce.
Broil the Dishes & Serve
Turn your oven’s broiler on high. When the oven is warm, add the plates to it on the top rack and broil until the Parmesan cheese is melted and bubbling. You’re looking for the cheese to turn golden brown. This should only take a few minutes, so keep your eye on the things closely. You don’t want anything to burn.
Once finished, remove the dishes from the oven and sprinkle a few pinches of cayenne pepper and nutmeg to the top of the sauce. Then serve and enjoy!
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