Continuing my one man mission to convince that this underrated leaf is superior to its inland loving cousin I have created this recipe.
But first… Bear with me!
Sea Spinach is better than normal Spinach! The flavour is superb, you get to eat and chew it rather than it disappears in one watery gulp, and it is better for you! Sea Beet or Wild Spinach is entirely seasonal (you can only get it when it is there) and its wildness means that no chemicals or nasty’s have ever been near it! If you live near the coast, this extremely common vegetable leaf should in your kitchens all of the time!
.... Apologies, back to the Sea Spinach Recipe.
Goats Cheese and Sea Spinach Soufflé
Ingredients:
250ml Full Fat milk (semi-skimmed minimum!)
Small onion
3 or 4 cloves
400g Sea Spinach
55g butter plus a little extra to cook the spinach
3 tbsp plain flour
125g Organic British Goats' cheese
4 eggs separated into whites and yokes
A good grating of Fresh Nutmeg
Maldon Salt
Black Pepper
From the garden:
A bay leaf
You'll also need 6 ovenproof Ramekins. First of all let’s get the oven preheating – 200 degrees will do it.
Take your onion, peel it and cut it in half. Place the onion, milk, cloves and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the boil, simmering for 5-10 minutes to infuse – then set aside (give it another 10 minutes to really allow those flavours to infuse if you can).
Visit our shop to see our selection of Wild Food Cookbooks.
Meanwhile, wash the Sea Spinach and chop the larger leaves. The Smaller leaves can be simply chopped in half. Place in a frying pan with a little butter and a splash of water until the leaves have cooked down but are still tender. If there is no water left in the pan simply allow to cool, if there is strain the leaves. When the Sea Spinach is cool enough to handle give it a squeeze and make sure that any remaining moisture is also expelled. Now chop the Sea Spinach leaves making sure that the stalks are finely chopped.
In a separate pan melt the butter and add the flour, stir and cook for a minute and then remove from the heat. Switch to a whisk and then add the warm infused milk (make sure that you have passed the milk through a sieve to remove the cloves, onion and bay leaf!). Continue to whisk and return to the heat, whisking until smooth – the sauce will also thicken up as the flour cooks. Take the pan off of the heat and then add the goats' cheese (if you have a hard goats cheese cut it into cubes if you have a soft goats cheese use your fingers to crumble the cheese into the sauce). Now add your chopped spinach, season it well with Salt and Pepper and grate in your nutmeg. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
Now, take your Soufflé ramekins and butter generously.
Once a few minutes have passed add your egg yolks to your mixture. In a bowl beat your egg whites (to stiff peak) and then gently fold them into the sauce mixture as well. Pour the mixture into your ramekins (about ¾ full) and place on a hot baking tray in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes (until browned on top!). As with all Soufflé’s serve immediately. A dressed seasonal Wild Salad accompanies this dish perfectly!!
A perfect starter or a great lunch with a fresh crusty loaf!!
You may also like my Fishermans Pie with Sea Spinach recipe.