Baked Spinach & Corn

I have seen and heard so much about baked spinach and corn but somehow I have never tried making it. I always end up making pasta with white sauce and forget about this wonderful combination.

So when my favorite chef on TV, Venkatesh Bhat showed his recipe I knew I had to make it.

So I made this recipe in two parts – one is the Bechamel Sauce and the other is this one.

So here goes –

Serves 2 and a cheese loving toddler

WHAT WE NEED

Boiled corn              1 cup

Water

Pinch of sugar

Olive oil                      1 tbsp

Spinach                      1 bunch

Garlic                          2 pods

Bechamel sauce       2 cups

Mixed dried herbs   2-3 tsp

Cherry tomatoes      6-8

Cheese                         Lots

WHAT TO DO

• Boil water sufficient to immerse the spinach.
• Once it is boiled, add the pinch of sugar
• Once the sugar has melted, add the spinach such that it is completely immersed in the water.
• Let it remain for 2-3 minutes. Then drain the water and pass the spinach under cold running water.
• Squeeze the spinach and finely chop it and set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a panama add finely chopped garlic to it
• After the garlic attains a mild brown color, add the spinach and sauté for around 5 minutes
• Remove the spinach and garlic from the pan.

• Preheat the oven to 250C
• In the same pan, pour the Bechamel sauce.
• Once it’s warm, add the corn, spinach and garlic and mix well to combine
• Add the requisite amount of salt and stir well.
• After 4-5 minutes, transfer the  mixture to an oven safe dish
• Sprinkle the mixed herbs and pepper ppwder.
• Add the cherry tomatoes either whole or halved
• Grate cheddar and mozzarella cheese and sprinkle generously on top
• Bake for 7-8 minutes or until the cheese melts and attains a golden brown color. I baked for 5 minutes and then set the oven to broil for around 4 minutes.
• Take it from the oven, drool, click some photos and enjoy with some bread!

NOTES

1. You can also add fresh herbs, parsley, basil and pitted olives along with the cherry tomatoes.
2. You can use as much or as less cheese as you want. You can use either cheddar or mozzarella or a mix of both. I used only cheddar.
3. I used an 8*8 square dish.

This is my entry for the Cooking from Cookbook Challenge hosted by Srivalli.

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