Welcome back to our semi-weekly column, Market Fresh, in which we take a look at one ingredient that's showing up in the city's Greenmarkets right now and tell you what to do with it. Last time, we discussed the merits and virtues of asparagus, and today, we're looking at another green monster, spinach.

But not just any kind of spinach! Specifically, we're talking about the hyper-sweet overwintered spinach that's in markets now, and for a few more weeks, until it gets too hot. What's overwintered? Funny you should ask: overwintered spinach literally means the greens were planted in the fall and grew covered over the winter, where they develop a super-sweet, almost nutty taste. Plus, it's good for you. And in limited supply: overwintered spinach is only available for the first few weeks of spring, before it's replaced with the following year's harvest.

We talked to Shanna Pacifico of East Village standby Back Forty , which has long championed shopping and cooking seasonally, about her plans for the greens this year. "I love using overwintered spinach because of the intense earthy and sweet flavors it develops underground during winter," she says. "Overwintered greens are the first things to pop up out of the ground after winter and they're in abundance now, and taste delicious too!  I think the spinach and the goat cheese go nicely together, and I think that’s partially because the goats are grazing on the same overwintered grass and that contributes some of the same qualities."

Pacifico gave us her recipe for an overwintered spinach and goat cheese gratin, which sounds fancy but is actually quite simple, we swear:

Back Forty's Shanna Pacifico's Overwintered Spinach and Goat Cheese Gratin

2 cups fresh overwintered spinach
2 cups heavy cream
1 bay leaf
5 sprigs of thyme
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ cup fresh goat cheese (preferably Ardith Mae Farm, available at the Union Square Greenmarket on Fridays and Saxelby Cheesemongers all the time)
¼ cup bread crumbs 

  • Drop spinach into a large pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, then remove and place in in an ice bath for five minutes. Drain the spinach in a colander, squeeze out all the excess water then coarsely chop and set aside.  

  • Place two cups of heavy cream in a small pot with bay leaf, thyme, crushed garlic, and cook over a low flame until cream is reduced to a ½ cup.  Remove the bay leaf, thyme and crushed garlic, season the cream with salt and a pinch of nutmeg, and set aside to cool. 

  • Preheat the oven to 400 F. Mix the spinach and cream reduction in a bowl and  season lightly with salt and pepper. Place the mixture in an oven-proof gratin dish and top with dollops of goat cheese, garnish further with bread crumbs, then bake until the gratin starts to bubble and the bread crumbs turn golden brown.