No. 585 — Spinach Purée Sauce
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 585 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Pick over three to six Russian pounds of spinach, clean and boil it in salted water with baking soda. Drain, squeeze thoroughly, chop finely and rub through a sieve into an earthenware saucepan, as explained in the general note.
Immediately put a piece of butter on the spinach and sprinkle with fine sugar.
Make béchamel from two heaped teaspoons of flour, ½ spoonful of melted butter and ½ glass of thick cream. Add to the spinach, mix, salt or sweeten to taste and heat until very hot while stirring, without letting it boil.
As an independent dish, serve spinach with dry toast, or croutons of bread soaked in milk and fried, with poached or chopped eggs, omelet and similar accompaniments.
As a garnish, serve with cutlets, fried liver, ham, fried brains, corned beef and other dishes. The first use requires roughly twice as much spinach as the second.
To provide
3–6 Russian pounds of unpicked spinach ½–2 spoonfuls of butter 3–6 lumps of sugar | ½–1 glass of thick cream 2–4 teaspoons of flour and salt |