Spinach Green (French Vert d’épinard)

In classical cooking, the French phrase "vert d’épinard" refers to spinach that has had its juice squeezed out of it. It means literally "green of spinach". The resultant spinach fibre was classically used to colour dishes - even icings on cakes, though the concentrated spinach flavour does of course come through. In sauces "green butter" may be called for. In which case you would use the vert d’épinard juice and it to the butter at a ratio of 1 part juice and 2 parts softened butter.

4 cups (3½ oz) fresh spinach leaves, washed (100 g)
½ cup water

You purée the fresh spinach leaves with a bit of water, until the mixture forms almost a mousse. Then you press it through a chinois to force most of the water out.

Then, you scrape out the solids in the chinois, and put them in a pan, and heat it to 158°F (70°C) Sometimes you have to go a bit higher. The goal though is to heat it until the mixture separates into two - water underneath and coagulate spinach fibre on top - without going so high that the vibrant green colour of the spinach starts to change.

You can make vert d’épinard in advance (in fact, it makes your cooking day less stressful if you do), but it needs to be used up within 1-2 days.

Makes 3 Tbsp. (50 g)