Spinach Florentine Recipe

Ingredients:
Spinach - 8 cups, chopped
Onion - 1, minced
Cream - 1 cup
Cheese - 1 to 2 cups, grated
Butter - 1 tblsp
Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Eggs - 4 (optional)

For White Sauce:
Butter - 4 tblsp
Flour - 4 tblsp
Milk - 3 cups
Pepper Powder - 1 to 1 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg - a large pinch
Little Salt

Method:
1. Boil and cool spinach, pass through a liquidiser and set aside the puree.
2. Melt 1 tblsp butter, add minced onion and stir fry on low heat till light pink in colour.
3. Add spinach puree, salt and pepper powder, mix thoroughly and remove from fire.
4. To prepare white sauce, melt butter on low heat, add flour, stiry fry till it turns pink in colour.
5. Gradually add milk, see that no lumps are formed.
6. Simmer on low heat continously stirring till custard consistency.
7. Add seasonsings, mix and remove from fire.
8. Add white sauce to spinach puree.
9. Beat cream light, add to this along with 3/4 of the cheese.
10. Mix all together thoroughly and pour into a greased dish. Shake dish to even out surface.
11. Sprinkle 1 1/4 cup of cheese on top of the spinach layer.
12. Set the dish in a pan containing water, leave this in the oven to bake at 190C.
13. Serve hot with toast.

Note:
If you want to use eggs, after step 10.
a) Separate yellows from whites of eggs, beat yellow thick and creamy, adding pepper powder and salt. Beat white stiff, pour into yellow and mix both together.
b) Pour eggs onto the spinach layer and add only 1/4 cup cheese and continue step 12.

In step 5, to prevent lumps remove the pan from the fire and add milk. When all milk has been added, put it back on flame.