Recipe: Make chef Matt Carter's creamed spinach this holiday season

The holidays allow amateur cooks to strut their culinary stuff for family and friends. At many homes, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and decadent pies take the spotlight. But do you ever wonder what ends up on professionals’ festive tables? And, whether it’s any different from yours?

We asked Phoenix chefs to share their holiday food traditions – past and present – along with recipes to try at home. Here's how to make chef Matt Carter's decadent creamed spinach.

Holiday cooking with chef Matt Carter

For Matt Carter, the chef behind The Mission, Fat Ox and Zinc Bistro, childhood holiday meals included the staples of turkey, ham and ambrosia.

“It was pretty standard, very traditional,” says Carter, who spent his youth in Phoenix, Flagstaff and Scottsdale.

Then professionally, Carter spent 20 years working on holidays, making sure his restaurant guests were well-fed. For his staff, he'd serve Prime rib or guinea hen on Thanksgiving and Chinese takeout on Christmas.

In recent years, Carter has been celebrating the holidays at his father and stepmother’s house, where the competition isn’t reserved for the NFL games on TV.

“It’s very competitive. Everyone wants to outdo everyone from last year,” says Carter, who recalls a bacon-wrapped quail on the menu one year.

This holiday season, Carter is doing a spread that features porchetta – an elegantly presented stuffed pork roast.

“The spices, from fennel to nutmeg to allspice, remind me of the season and are fantastic for the holidays,” Carter says. “I serve it with a pear or quince mostarda, which is in season and goes well.”

He’s also doing creamed spinach garnished with crispy shallots and an herbaceous salsa verde.

Matt Carter’s Creamed Spinach

10 ounces frozen spinach, chopped, drained
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, shaved paper thin
¼-cup micro planed or finely grated parmesan
⅓-cup each mozzarella, *béchamel with extra nutmeg, heavy cream, sour cream and ricotta cheese
Pinch of controne chile
Salt and pepper

*Béchamel is a white sauce that is made of butter, flour and milk. Using equal parts butter and flour, melt the butter and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Then add milk and seasonings. Many cookbooks and online sources will have detailed recipes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute garlic and shallot on medium heat until slightly caramelized.

Add cream and spinach, and reduce by half.

Stir in mozzarella, béchamel and sour cream.

Season with salt, pepper and controne chile to taste.

Pour into a casserole or cast iron dish. Dot the top with spoonfuls of ricotta. Cover with parmesan.

Bake until bubbly, broiling if needed to caramelize the parmesan on top.