Spring races in
This week, how I learned to stop worrying and – literally – smell the roses. A spring-y market haul and a recipe for cream of spinach gratin.
We took the bus from Béziers airport to the village, through the vineyards where fresh green leaves emerge from the gnarled old wood. The verges are bright with poppies and borage. Every time we return from a trip to England, this bus journey feels more like coming home.
We clanked open our heavy garden gate (you’re next on the renovation list, creaky old gate, with your decades of rust accelerated by the daily contributions of generations of village dogs), and there before us was spring. In the two weeks we were gone, the flowerbeds have filled with bright pink rock roses, orange California poppies and purple sage. The lavender has doubled in size and hums with bees. The jasmine is halfway over the pergola and there are buds on the irises and roses. When we left, the tree by the study window was smothered in white blossom. Now, if you look closely, its branches are covered in the tiny, pale green beginnings of apricots.
I also, rashly it now seems, planted some stipa gigantea (giant feather grass) last year which is certainly living up to its gigantea-ness
While we were gone, the warming days combined with some heavy rain brought spring galloping in, bringing with it flowers and fruit, and also an impressive display of weeds, tall, bold. I also, rashly it now seems, planted some stipa gigantea (giant feather grass) last year which is certainly living up to its gigantea-ness and may need some drastic attention to prevent it growing across the garden, up the steps and into the house.
I am struck that previous me, on opening the gate, would have taken in the spring flowers and then almost instantly begun making a To Do list. Weed path, add more oyster shells. Tie in jasmine and wisteria. Mulch roses. Tidy up pots on steps. Feed pelargoniums. Take cuttings from sage. Turn over compost. The pleasure would have been fleeting, as I focused on the weeds and the work.
What living here, in this village, in this beautiful, neglected house, has taught me is literally to smell the roses. There is so much to do – and with old houses, there is always a To Do list, you are never finished – it is essential to sanity that you enjoy the moments of beauty. Working on this house is a long project, there are no quick fixes, just lots of graft, dust, budget-busting unforeseeables. In the past, I would have been face-down in the scheduling. Now, I’m not. It’ll take the time it takes. In the meantime, there are flowers and the soft sea air and the light on the water.
It seems it’s not just the grass that’s growing.
Gratin d’épinards au chèvre
Cream of spinach gratin with goat’s cheese
This spinach gratin makes a great main course on its own – we ate it for dinner just with a green salad and baguette – or it’s an easy side dish to serve with other things. If I’m serving it as a side, I usually make it without the rounds of goat’s cheese on top – you can also prepare it up to a day ahead, and then just cook it when you’re ready to eat. I particularly love it with roast chicken.
Though I use frozen and baby spinach on regular rotation in this house, I like to use leaf spinach for this, with its beautiful, dark green iron-y leaves, in this gratin. It’s worth the marginal amount of extra prep. I use pine nuts because they are so beautiful with the spinach, but I appreciate they are as expensive as gold these days and it is still delicious without them if you’d rather leave them out.
Serves 4-6
40g butter, plus a little more for greasing the dish
1 large onion, about 250g, diced
1 bay leaf
600-700g large-leafed spinach
70g pine nuts, optional
1 shallot, about 60g, diced – you don’t have to use a shallot, but I had one that needed using up
2-4 fat garlic, halved, any green germ removed, and diced
20g plain flour
350ml whole milk
130g Emmental cheese, 100g for the sauce, 30g for top
200g crème fraîche
Some generous gratings of nutmeg
200g log of goat’s cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, warm the butter over a medium-low heat.  Add the diced onion, bay leaf and a good pinch of salt. Sauté the onion very gently, stirring from time to time, until it’s very soft and translucent, but don’t let it take on any colour. This should take about 20 minutes.
While the onion is cooking, prepare the spinach. For larger leaves, fold them in half with the ‘spine’ facing outwards and pull the leaf away from the ‘spine’. Discard the stem. Fill a large bowl with cold water and swish the leaves in the water to remove any dust and grit. It is worth taking some care over this as there’s just nothing very nice at all about gritty spinach. Depending how dirty it is, you may need to do this in a couple of changes of water.
Drain the spinach but leave some water clinging to the leaves – you won’t need to add any more cooking water. Put the damp leaves in a large pan over a medium heat and place a lid on the top. Cook for a couple of minutes – just long enough to wilt the spinach. Drain it in a colander, wrap it in a clean tea towel and squeeze out excess water. Chop roughly and place on one side.
In a small, dry frying pan over a medium heat, toast the pine nuts. Don’t step away from the pan – they cost a fortune and can scorch easily – keep rattling them about, cooking them until they are fragrant and just a little golden. Tip them onto a plate to cool while you get on with the rest.
Heat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Lightly butter a gratin dish – the one I use is approximately 25cm square and 5cm deep.
Once the onion is soft and translucent, add the shallot (if using) and garlic, and cook gently, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle on the flour and stir it into the mixture. Continue to cook for a couple of minutes and gradually pour in the milk, stirring as you go. Bring it to a boil and let it gloop away (it will be quite thick) for about 5 minutes as you stir it. All you’re doing at this point is cooking out any raw flour taste.
Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle over 100g of the emmental cheese, then stir it in until it’s melted,
Stir in the crème fraîche, chopped spinach and toasted pine nuts. Taste and season well with salt, pepper and nutmeg. I like to be quite generous with the pepper and nutmeg at this point, but add some, taste it, then add a little more until you get just the balance you like. Remove the bay leaf.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared gratin dish and smooth the top. Cut the log of goat’s cheese into six slices then arrange them on the top of the spinach. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling. Let it cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Market haul: April 9, 2024
Avocados, asparagus, tomatoes, spinach, thirteen eggs, as is traditional, a slab of Comté and some Emmental cheese, two baguettes, a seeded loaf, pine nuts, pickled garlic, wasabi peas, cherry tomatoes, green olives.
I am making it tonight and will be using my Spode Italian dish oval version!
My daughter made the gratin for us last night, so delicious.