Recipe from Hugh Acheson
Adapted by Tara Parker-Pope
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- 4(37)
- Notes
- Read community notes
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
or to save this recipe.
Print Options
Advertisem*nt
Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 3tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
- 1medium yellow onion, peeled and minced
- 1½quarts cleaned fresh spinach
- 3large, fresh globe artichokes, trimmed and cooked, then quartered lengthwise
- 3soft-boiled eggs, peeled and cubed
- ½teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1cup leek crema (recipe follows)
- ¼teaspoon grated nutmeg
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- ¼cup grated vegetarian Parmesan
- ¼cup freshly toasted breadcrumbs
- 1teaspoon unsalted butter
- 1leek, white only, cleaned and minced
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1cup heavy cream
For the Gratin
For the Leek Crema
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
336 calories; 26 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 308 milligrams sodium
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.
Powered by
Preparation
Prepare the Leek Crema
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.
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 1½ cups.
Prepare the Gratin
Step
3
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Step
4
Butter a gratin dish with 1 tablespoon of butter. Set aside.
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.
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.
Step
7
Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm.
Ratings
4
out of 5
37
user ratings
Your rating
or to rate this recipe.
Have you cooked this?
or to mark this recipe as cooked.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
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.
Catherine Faris
This was a strange recipe, with quite a few disparate, even finicky, steps. First, the hard-boiled eggs. Why are they included? And the artichokes? A lot of effort to prep them, removed their chokes, etc. only to have them become lost in the final result. And the spinach? It’s not blanched before baking, which results in a voluminous mixture that is too big for the pan before baking. And why is the leek and cream mixture called “crema?” This is not a Spanish or Italian recipe. Won’t make again.
Betsy Havard
It is very common for Southerners to put boiled eggs in creamy casseroles, chicken and dumplings, potato salad, cornbread dressing. You can't have a gathering without deviled eggs/boiled eggs in some form. The article says the recipe came from a Southern cookbook, so it could be a mixture of cultures. It looks like a fancy warm spinach, artichoke dip to me. With a Southern twist. (Boiled eggs) And we don't say "crema" either. That is fancy for cream of onion soup. ((Smile))
Betsy Havard
I wanted to add that I would have flash steamed my Spinach too. Or pounded it down a bit (like you prepare cabbage for Sauerkraut).
Polly
Question: Am I reading this correctly -- do you add the hard-boiled eggs before you bake, so the already-cooked eggs then get baked for 30 minutes?
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.
Private notes are only visible to you.
