Thanksgiving 2013: Spinach Spoon Bread Recipe

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and this year it's extra special for 2 reasons:

1. It's also Hanukkah! It's on rare occasion that Thanksgiving and Hanukkah coincide- in fact, it won't happen again for another 79,000+ years (so I'm told)- so, make the most of it and wish your family and friends a Happy Thanksgivukkah! 

2. This is the year I'm starting a new Thanksgiving tradition. I decided that every year I'm going to contribute to Thanksgiving dinner a new dish I've never made before. Whether it's an appetizer, main dish or dessert- I think it'll be a fun way to challenge my culinary skills and explore new recipes. 

I chose to kick-start the tradition with Spinach Spoon Bread- a dish that effortlessly compliments a traditional Thanksgiving meal and is easy to execute. Spoon bread is a Southern dish that is a cross between corn bread and a savory pudding. Sound delicious? See the step-by-step recipe below. 

Spinach Spoon Bread
Source: Food & Wine Magazine
Active: 15 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Servings: 12

Ingredients

·      3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (plus more for greasing the pan)

·      10 ounces baby spinach

·      3 cups buttermilk

·      3 large eggs, separated

·      1 cup medium-grind yellow cornmeal      

·      1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·      1 tablespoon sugar

·      1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·      Scant 1 teaspoon kosher salt

·      Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

·      Pinch of freshly ground white pepper (black pepper substitute, ok) 

Steps

Drained spinach, whisked batter & whipped egg whites. 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a saucepan of boiling water, cook the spinach just until wilted (about 30 seconds). Drain and cool under running water, then squeeze out as much water as possible. Finely chop the spinach. Note: I opted to use a frozen bag of already chopped spinach to save a little time. Once I boiled the spinach, all I had to do was drain, cool and squeeze. 

2. In a large bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the egg yolks, cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, white (or black) pepper and the 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Fold in the chopped spinach.

3. In a clean bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold the whites into the batter and scrape it into the prepared baking dish. Note: Whipping the egg whites adds a souffle-like texture to the dish. 

4. Bake the spoon bread in the center of the over for about 45 minutes, until golden. Let cool slightly, then serve. Note: To check whether your dish is 100% baked, take a toothpick and puncture the bread at random- be sure that when you pull out the toothpick, there is no batter residue. 

Left: Batter ready for oven. Right: Baked bread. 

5. Enjoy! 

My fist Spinach Spoon Bread