hearty cheesy veggies

Dinner tonight I used up more veg that my Mom had in the fridge but obviously had no plans for.  Also some expensive cheese that wasn't being eaten fast enough.
There was still spinach that seemed to be freezing nicely in the back of the fridge and a goodly amount of small new potatoes, so I went to work.  All I had to replenish was our onion supply.  It is my belief that no kitchen in winter should be without onions.  Actually no kitchen, ANY season should be without onions, but especially in Winter.  Onions are a hearty root vegetable that lasts well through the winter months and provides much needed nutrition during cold weather.  This recipe would still taste great with double the amount of onions. They taste so, so good.
So here you have it:

Spinach and Potatoes au Gratin

one bunch of spinach, or one 10oz package of frozen spinach

2 pounds of potatoes chopped

1/2 a LARGE onion chopped

two cloves of garlic crushed and chopped

3 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of flour

2.5 cups of milk

1 cup of dry white wine

1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

2.5 cups grated emmentaler cheese

pre-heat the oven at 200C/400F

saute the onions in the butter at medium high heat, after they have wilted and are transparent add the garlic, continue to cook until the onions have started to caramelize a bit

add the flour, make a roux

add the milk

simmer the milk until thickened slightly, add the nutmeg and some salt and pepper

(while the sauce is cooking prepare the potatoes and spinach, toss them in a 9x13 pan that has been pre-buttered)
once the milk is starting to thicken you can add the white wine to thin it out a bit
allow to simmer and thicken a bit again

add 1/2 cup of cheese to the sauce

taste the sauce make sure it is to you liking, season to taste - cloves are also a good addition, but a tiny pinch should be enough

pour the sauce over the potatoes and spinach, toss to make sure everything is mixed and touching some sauce.

top with the remaining cheese

place aluminum foil over the pan and bake for 40min

after 40min take the foil off and turn the broiler on for 5-10 min.

The cheese will get nice and browned on the top. 

Serve with a slice or two of Dark Rye bread(it's great for mopping up the extra gratin sauce)