The Best Spinach Gratin Recipe Ever - Everyday Dishes (2024)

FAQs

Can you make Ina Garten's spinach gratin ahead of time? ›

This spinach gratin, from her fabulous 2001 “Barefoot Contessa Parties!” cookbook (Clarkson Potter), is perfect for the Thanksgiving table. Make it a day ahead, cover, refrigerate and bake while the turkey is resting. Garten told me she keeps Thanksgiving as traditional as possible.

Spinach releases a lot of water as it cooks. So my father's trick is to drain and dry the spinach leaves as well as you can, using a salad spinner if need be, before cooking them.

It will start to wilt down quite quickly, once it has wilted (about 1-2 mins) drain it through a colander and allow all the excess water to run out, pressing it with the back of a spoon or underside of a ladle will help force excess water out of the spinach through the colander.

The simplest way to cook spinach is in a pan with a little butter, a grating of nutmeg and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice with a lid on to let it steam. This will taste great, and it goes with just about anything – pasta, fish or meat.

The good news is that cooking spinach drastically reduces the amount of oxalic acid found in one serving. According to Food Revolution Network, “Steaming spinach has been shown to cut the oxalic acid by 5-53%. Steaming also allows the spinach to retain its folate content, a B-vitamin that helps your body produce DNA.”

However, the absorption of calcium from milk and other rich-in-calcium ingredients won't be impaired by spinach's oxalic acid, which is why pairing spinach with dairy products helps ensure you gain all the nutrients you need. Oxalate may also be produced by body or converted from vitamin C during its metabolism.

What's bad about spinach? If you eat spinach every day in excessive amounts (more than a bowl) there can be adverse health effects. Most commonly these include gas, bloating and cramps due to its high fiber content. Eating too much spinach can also interfere with the body's ability to absorb nutrients.

Every time you reheat spinach or other veggies that are rich in nitrates, they become increasingly toxic. Here's the deal on those spuds.

BAD COMBO #2: Spinach and Dairy Products

If you're on a vegetarian diet or are a menopausal woman or just want to make sure you're absorbing calcium well, you'll want to avoid mixing dairy with oxalate-dense foods like spinach, beets, collards, leeks and parsley.

Ina Garten Is Ditching Mashed Potatoes for This 5-Ingredient, Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Recipe. The best part (well, besides all the cheese)? You can prep it a day in advance.

Can you make Ina Garten's mac and cheese ahead of time? ›

Ina Garten's Mac & Cheese is a rich and creamy. This recipe makes a great base recipe that can be expanded upon by adding a variety of ingredients such as ham & chives, broccoli & chicken, lobster & truffle and many more! This recipe can be made one day in advance and baked to order.

You can absolutely make these cheesy au gratin potatoes up to three days ahead of time! Simply pour the sauce over the potatoes as directed, then cover the pan with foil and instead of baking, place in the fridge until ready to bake.

These scalloped potatoes can be made ahead. You can assemble the dish and refrigerate for about 8 hours before baking, or you can bake it and refrigerate for about 24 hours before serving.