Artichoke and Spinach Gratin

Recipe from Hugh Acheson

Adapted by Tara Parker-Pope

Updated December 14, 2020

  • Rinne Allen
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Rating
4(39)
Comments
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This gratin contains less cream that you might expect, and it’s a simple dish, although preparation of the artichokes might take a little extra time. “Everybody thinks there is a lot of complexity to artichokes,” said the chef Hugh Acheson. “Cooking and cleaning an artichoke is not difficult. There is just that time. We should take the inconvenient route away from canned artichokes which taste like canned.” —Tara Parker-Pope

Featured in: Southern Flavors for a Vegetarian Table

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

FOR THE GRATIN

  • 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter

  • 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and minced

  • 1 ½ quarts cleaned fresh spinach

  • 3 large, fresh globe artichokes, trimmed and cooked, then quartered lengthwise

  • 3 soft-boiled eggs, peeled and cubed

  • ½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

  • 1 cup leek crema (recipe follows)

  • ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

  • Pinch of kosher salt

  • Freshly ground pepper

  • ¼ cup grated vegetarian Parmesan

  • ¼ cup freshly toasted breadcrumbs

FOR THE LEEK CREMA

  • 1 teaspoon unsalted butter

  • 1 leek, white only, cleaned and minced

  • Pinch of kosher salt

  • 1 cup heavy cream

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

19 grams carbs; 148 milligrams cholesterol; 334 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 26 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 6 grams fiber; 292 milligrams sodium; 11 grams protein; 4 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. PREPARE THE LEEK CREMA

    1. Step 1

      In a small saucepan, melt the teaspoon of butter over medium heat. Add the leek and 1 tablespoon of water. Cover and cook, steaming the leeks for about 5 minutes, until very tender.

    2. Step 2

      Add the salt, then the cream, and warm through. Remove the saucepan from the heat, puree the mixture in a blender and strain through a fine strainer. Makes 1 ½ cups.

  2. PREPARE THE GRATIN

    1. Step 3

      Heat oven to 375 degrees.

    2. Step 4

      Butter a gratin dish with 1 tablespoon of butter. Set aside.

    3. Step 5

      In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the onions and sweat them down, cooking for 20 minutes until caramelized and full of flavor. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

    4. Step 6

      To the pan, which is off the heat but still warm, add the spinach, artichokes, eggs, thyme, parsley, leek crema and nutmeg. Gently mix together and season with the salt and pepper. Pour this into your buttered gratin dish and top with Parmesan and breadcrumbs.

    5. Step 7

      Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
39 user ratings
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Comments

Betsy Havard

Yes, it is very common in the South to cook already hard boiled eggs in creamy casseroles, or even chicken and dumplings. You can probably add them the last few min to just heat up. But they get covered in the cream sauce & when they cook, they are fine. My Mom makes a casserole very similar to this with asparagus spears and the hard boiled eggs sliced.

SkeeterTheEater

As others have noted, this recipe has some oddities. I was confused the whole time I was making it and certain it would turn out looking and tasting strange. While it did look pretty weird (though better than the NYT photo), it was delicious. Suspend your disbelief and give it a go. Recommended alterations: -Could easily get away with using canned 'chokes -Blitz "crema" with immersion blender, no need so strain (unless you didn't wash your leeks?)

LisaKay Allen

This is the strangest recipe I have ever tried to follow; and why oh why do Southerners get blamed for odd things in cooking? This was a waste of artichokes and too much spinach and I will not try making it again; nor will I ever try to cube a boiled egg again

carol

I was mightily confused by the requirement to cube a soft boiled egg. I thought maybe you need soft boiled eggs because they still cook for the thirty minutes? But they certainly don’t cube. I gave up and hard boiled them.

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Credits

From “A New Turn in the South” by Hugh Acheson

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