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Recipe from: Mickey Zalusky
Spinach Wilted in garlic Oil (see recipe)
1 small jar (6oz.) chopped roasted sweet red peppers, drained
½ Cup crème fraîche
Cook spinach as directed in the Spinach Wilted in garlic Oil recipe. Pour the cooked spinach into a colander or sieve. Gently press the spinach to remove enough liquid so the spinach is still moist but not dripping and return the spinach to the pan. Turn the heat to medium, stir in the chopped roasted red peppers, stir in the crème fraîche and heat just until warmed but not boiling.
The crème fraîche is great because it doesn't break down like sour creme does.
This is great with simple roasted or grilled chicken or grilled salmon.
Note:
garlic
Be careful to not burn the garlic. The goal is to infuse the oil with the garlic flavor, not brown the garlic. You should smell the aroma of the garlic but the garlic should not change color.
I've sauteed garlic in hot oil before adding the spinach and have found that the spinach doesn't have much of a garlic flavor (I've tried with 7 or 8 cloves of garlic!). Starting out with an unheated pan as I mentioned above seems to consistently infuse the oil and spinach with good garlic flavor (similar to what I've tasted in Italian restaurants). You can try both methods and decide for yourself.
Note:
Spinach
For regular spinach leaves, if I have time, I remove the stems and only cook the leafy part of the spinach. If I buy "baby" spinach however, the leaves and stems are so tender that I cook the whole thing.
Also, even though the spinach you buy in bags say "triple washed" I always wash it again. The extra washing leaves just enough moisture on the leaves to help the wilting process in the above recipe.