Crème d’Épinards, otherwise Florentine

Crème d’Épinards, dite Florentine (Florentine spinach cream soup), teaches one quiet discipline: spinach must lose its own water before Béchamel can carry its flavor. Parboil the leaves fast, cool them, then press until your hands are tired. Leave that water behind and the soup tastes of spinach and cream; carry it into the pan and everything goes thin and dull.

The original formula assumed a saucier with somewhat thin Béchamel already warm, another pair of hands to rub the cooked leaves through a tammy, and brigade quantities ready for service. The surrounding kitchen might have kept a stockpot never off the fire and a salamander overhead, but this entry calls for neither. At home, an immersion blender replaces the arm work and a fine-mesh sieve replaces the tammy; that is scaffolding removed. The quick parboil, the Béchamel foundation, the final sieve, and the buttery spinach julienne remain because they are the dish. The original proportion is held in one two-quart pot. One cook, one stove, one evening.

Finished properly, the Crème d’Épinards pours in a smooth green ribbon, softened but not bleached by cream, with darker julienne on top and butter catching the light. The one step that decides it comes before the sauce: blanch quickly, then press the spinach completely dry.