The Tiny Addition That Makes My Family's Creamed Spinach So Much Better

Julia Childs' favorite soup was a cold French classic, and she never spoke a truer word when she said "no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing." I'm not a great cook, and after many years messing around in the kitchen I'm definitely still learning — but I'm now so adept at one particular Gallic recipe, I'm confident enough to play around with it. Don't tell the French, but I add cauliflower to my oven-cooked creamed spinach and it's freakin' delicious.

Traditional épinards à la crème calls for over 4 pounds of freshly blanched spinach to be cooked in a skillet, along with butter, garlic, crème fraiche, and toasted pine nuts. I swap the pan for the oven and instead of wrangling a forest of spinach, I reach for the fresh frozen kind which I buy in handy 2-pound bags. A full bag goes into a tray, and even if it's piled high, I slot in as many frozen cauliflower florets as I can squeeze in. The veggie Tetris is worth it, because the wilting spinach will make room for the bulkier cauliflower.

Frozen spinach gobbles up salt, so it needs generous seasoning, and just enough garlicky béchamel sauce (made by whisking a little butter and flour, a crushed garlic clove, and a good slosh of milk) to cover most of the veggies. After an hour at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the whole thing gets a big stir, before being popped back in the oven until the edges and any exposed cauliflower have browned a little and the sauce is bubbling. I've cooked creamed spinach this way hundreds of times but only once did my kids say it was as good as what they ate at school. Praise indeed!

There's nothing wrong with the original recipe but to feed my tribe, it had to be cheaper and easier, and frozen veggies tick both the affordable and convenient boxes. As well as being able to cook it all year round, I can throw my creamed spinach in the oven and help with any homework instead of stressing over a skillet, plus I always make more than I need because leftover creamed spinach is divine.

It's an easy dish to play around with flavor-wise too. I've subbed in broccoli from the freezer instead of cauliflower — which one of my sons actually prefers — and occasionally tossed in a little chili for some underlying oomph, and boxed breadcrumbs to enhance the texture. I've pan-fried bacon and thick lardons, and thrown them in too, but I prefer it as a 100% veggie side. The creamy spinach and sweet cauliflower are yummy in their own right, but they're also mild enough to pair with just about anything.

It's been served with a thick pork chop, a hunk of steak, and a fillet of salmon, and always been a hit, especially when I remember to include the hard-boiled eggs the school version has. Best of all, I know it's a dish that has plenty of nutrition, with vitamins galore in the spinach, as well as fiber from the cauliflower. If I want to sneakily boost everyone's calcium, the béchamel can be quickly gussied up into a cheese sauce just by grating in some hard cheddar or Parmesan, or grabbing a handful of this sandwich filler. I hope if they tasted my creamed spinach, the French would say it was "très bon."