Strengths of spinach stand out as adult

Slimy and swampy, with an aftertaste like the smell of the inside of a funky old tin cup – that’s my childhood recollection of sautéed spinach.

Good thing palates change.

These days, leafy greens such as chard, kale and spinach are much more appealing – and they remain, as Mom always reminded, good for you.

Herbaceous and slightly bitter, with a hint of earthiness, spinach has come to somehow taste healthful and – if color could be ascribed flavor – dark green.

The versatile vegetable can be steamed, sautéed, puréed, tossed with pasta, kneaded into gnocchi dough, cooked in soups and eaten raw in salads. It’s also particularly good paired with eggs for breakfast dishes such as omelets, scrambles and, of course, Eggs Florentine – which happens to be one of my favorite brunch items at Italia Tratoria in Spokane’s Browne’s Addition.

At home, an easy-to-make egg bake that looks dramatic on the table is a new favorite for brunch with a big group. Eggs might star in the dish, but spinach wins best supporting role, creating nests to hug and hold the yolks and whites while adding nutritional value.

Rich in potassium and vitamins A and K, spinach is low in calories. It also can’t help but conjure up two quite legendary characters: a cartoon, Popeye the Sailor Man, and a queen, Catherine de Medici.

Popeye glugged spinach straight from the can and practically seranaded the stuff. Who can forget a catchy chorus like “I’m strong to the finish ’cause I eats me spinach?” This didn’t make me like the leafy green any more during my early days.

Catherine, who became queen of France in 1533 at 14, hailed from a famous banking family in Florence and supposedly liked spinach so much that she wanted it at every meal. (She liked artichokes, too.) It’s reportedly because of Catherine that dishes with spinach in them became known as Florentine.

While Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen didn’t decide to call her egg bake Florentine Baked Eggs, she did add it to her “brunch arsenal.” It’s easily adaptable for six or 12 or 24 people.

It’s also super-simple and, perhaps best of all, can be partially prepared the night before.

I prepped the spinach and mushrooms on a recent late Saturday though friends weren’t expected until noon or 1 p.m. the next day. Molding the mixture into a series of small cups in a baking dish saved time in the morning, when all I had to do was crack eggs into them and put it all into the oven.

Mushrooms – buttery, creamy, nutty – and nutmeg – sweet, spicy, warm – add depth of flavor to the greens. Onion, garlic, salt and pepper round out the dish, which Perelman adapted from the June 2004 issue of Gourmet magazine, tripling the quantity of eggs from four to 12. I halved her recipe: one egg for each of the six people at my Sunday brunch. It was plenty with the other food provided.

In her April 16, 2014, blog post, Perelman noted a dozen eggs could serve six “with massive portions” or 12 “with regular-sized ones.” How far the dish stretches depends on how much other food you’re offering, she said.

To make the recipe a little lighter, I used half-and-half instead of heavy cream.

Take care not to over-bake the eggs, unless you like your yolks thick and hard. If you have any left over, the yolks will firm up when you reheat them anyway. This is “still incredible,” according to Perelman, who has served her leftover egg bake for dinner.

I wasn’t able to test that theory. My baking dish was scraped clean.

Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms

From Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Gourmet, June 2004

2 pounds (32 ounces) ounces fresh baby spinach or regular spinach leaves

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

3 small garlic cloves, minced

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon table salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

12 large eggs

6 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

If you’ve just washed your spinach, no need to dry it before wilting it in the pan. If it’s already dry, bring ½ inch water to a boil in a very large ovenproof heavy skillet, then add half of spinach and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and wilt in same manner, then cook, covered, over moderately high heat until spinach is tender, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Gently squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop. (You will have about 2 cups fairly tightly packed cooked spinach.)

Wipe skillet dry, then melt butter over medium-low heat. Cook onion and garlic until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high, then cook, stirring, until mushrooms have softened, exuded liquid and that liquid has cooked off, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg (if using), and chopped spinach and bring back to a simmer. Remove skillet from heat.

If baking eggs in this skillet, make 12 large indentations in mixture, each large enough to fit an egg. Otherwise, you can transfer this mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and do the same there. (Deb Perelman likes to use 2 teaspoons to make the wells; she presses the backs of them together to “pinch” up the spinach mixture to form taller walls so that the eggs will not merge together.)

Do ahead: You can then set this aside for a few hours or up to one day in the fridge, covered.

Bake: When you’re ready to bake the dish, or about 30 minutes before serving, put oven rack in upper third of oven and heat oven to 450 degrees. Crack an egg into each well. Bake until whites are firm and yolks are still runny. You can check this by inserting a toothpick into various parts of the eggs and seeing whether they’re runny or set, which takes anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. The range is long due to different ovens and baking vessels. It’s better to have to check more often than to let them overcook.

Note: It’s nearly impossible to get all 12 eggs to cook evenly. The ones in the center will be more runny; at the edges, they’ll be more firm. But don’t fret. Most people have an egg preference (more runny vs. more firm) and each egg manages to find the right home. Just ask people their preference as you serve them. Remove dish from oven, sprinkle with additional salt and pepper, plus grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Serves: 6 to 12.