I’m always looking for new ways to use vegetables, so when I saw an easy-to-make recipe for Spinach with Gravy in a hundred-year-old cookbook, I decided to give it a try.
The recipe turned out well. The gravy enhanced the flavor of the spinach, and was quite tasty. I served it as a stand-alone side dish – though I think that Spinach with Gravy would also be delightful on toast.
Here is the original recipe:
The directions in the old recipe for the gravy are a little confusing. The recipe calls for meat gravy, which I would assume already contained some flour or other thickener, yet it also indicates that 1 teaspoon flour should be stirred into 2 tablespoons of melted butter – and then the gravy should be added. This suggests that the recipe author thought that the gravy needed to be thicker than the typical gravy – though 1 teaspoon of flour isn’t much, so why bother?
I used the second option (which is described in the text beneath the ingredient list), and used bouillion cubes when I made the gravy. It worked fine.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Spinach with Gravy
2 quarts (1 8-ounce bag) spinach
Gravy – Option 1
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon flour
1 1/2 meat gravy
Gravy – Option 2
2 bouillion cubes (I used beef bouillion cubes.)
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
Wash spinach and cut into small pieces. Put in a pan, and using medium heat cook until tender (3-5 minutes). The water clinging to the spinach may provide sufficient liquid for cooking the spinach; if not, add a small amount of water.
In the meantime, make gravy.
Gravy: Option 1: In the meantime, in another pan, using medium heat, melt butter; then stir in the flour. Gradually, add gravy while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the gravy is hot and bubbly. Remove from heat, and add the cooked spinach. Stir to combine.
Gravy Option 2: Dissolve the bouillion cubes in the boiling water to make a broth. In a pan, using medium heat, melt butter; then stir in the flour. Gradually, add the broth while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the gravy is hot and bubbly. Remove from heat, and add the cooked spinach. Stir to combine.
A Hundred Years Ago 
Maybe at Thanksgiving. I love spinach and appreciate its taste without calories.
I definitely can see this on toast!
I’m not a fussy eater, but I draw the line at cooked spinach as a stand-alone dish. Fresh is fine, or incorporated in pasta sauce where it is disguised is fine. But I appreciate that it is a nutritious food.
I have never heard of spinach with gravy, let alone eaten it. I love fresh cooked spinach. I wonder if this was a way to extend the amount, or perhaps, make something more filling?
Just the recipe I need this week,as I have some spinach to use up. Wonder how this would be over scrambled eggs…
Now this is an idea I could get into–love spinach omelettes.
I have always used a roux when thickening liquids but mostly in soups. This sounds like an interesting dish though I don’t know if I’d prefer beef or chicken gravy…
My mother always mixed it with mushroom soup. It was her “signature” dish. Then again her favorite cookbook was Peg Bracken’s “I Hate to Cook.”
I come from a family that thinks gravy enhances anything. This recipe sounds good to me.
This looks like the perfect comfort food for a crisp, autumn day. Thanks!
Hmm. Interesting. When I thought this might be a white gravy of some kind I was all in. But meat gravy. I don’t think so and definitely not on toast. Actually the posters idea about mushroom soup sounds better to me. Oh well I see that I am in the minority!
Think I’ll try this with a veggie or legume-based “gravy” since I don’t eat meat. Love spinach, though, and a new recipe is always welcomed!
I’ve never heard of spinach with gravy, I must say though, on toast is the way to go!xxx
It is so interesting to see how spinach is used 100 years ago, thanks for the wonderful share.