Spinach with Pine Nuts

A Catalan-meets-Italian spinach side dish that hits sweet, savory, nutty, and sharp all at once. Fresh spinach gets blanched, then tossed with garlic, cayenne, raisins, and pine nuts cooked in butter and olive oil. The whole thing goes onto an ovenproof dish, gets showered with grated Parmesan and drizzled with melted butter, then flashes under the broiler until the cheese turns golden and bubbly.

Blanching the spinach first and draining it well is what keeps this dish from turning into a watery puddle. Two pounds of raw spinach cooks down dramatically, and squeezing out the excess water before adding it to the garlic-butter mixture means the flavors concentrate instead of diluting.

The raisins plump slightly in the warm butter and add pockets of sweetness that play off the salty Parmesan and the gentle burn of cayenne.

Kitchen Tips

• Wash the spinach in several changes of water. Fresh spinach hides grit in every fold, and nothing ruins this dish like sandy leaves.
• Cook the garlic over moderate heat. Burned garlic turns bitter and will overpower the delicate spinach.
• Broil just until the Parmesan melts and spots brown. This takes under a minute, so watch it constantly.
• Serve immediately from the broiler dish while the cheese is still bubbling.

Variations

• Swap raisins for golden raisins or dried currants for a slightly different sweetness.
• Use toasted almonds instead of pine nuts for a more affordable, crunchier option.
• Skip the broiler step and serve as a warm sauteed side without the Parmesan crust.