Scale

¼ to ½ lb lean veal (I used veal from a package of veal neck bones), diced into bite-sized pieces
1 small onion, minced
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
3 cloves
¼ tsp white pepper
¼ tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1 small sprig thyme
1 Tbsp butter
2 cups milk
1 tsp kosher salt
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
5, six-ounce bags of baby spinach, picked over, and any longer stems removed (NOTE: This sounds like a lot, but one package of baby spinach comes down to just ⅔ cup after you blanch, squeeze and chop it. And after making and straining the béchamel, you will end up with 1 and ⅔ cups of sauce–that’s a perfect ⅓ cup of béchamel for each ⅔ cup of spinach–hence, five servings)
splash of cream
⅓ to ½ cup (depending on how cheesy you like it) finely grated parmesan cheese and more fresh-grated nutmeg

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Preheat oven to 350.
In a sauté pan over medium heat on your stove top, sauté onion and veal in butter until onion is soft, and veal browned.
Place onion and veal in ovenable pan with salt, pepper, thyme, nutmeg and milk. Roast uncovered in oven at 350 for 40 minutes. A skin will form on the top, but don’t worry about that–you’re straining all of this.
Pour all through strainer. Reserve solids and milk separately.
Make roux: melt 3 Tbsp butter; whisk in 3 Tbsp flour. Slowly add reserved milk, whisking constantly to make a smooth sauce. Pass through strainer to make extra smooth, if you like. Set aside.
Boil 3 quarts water. Pour boiling water over spinach (15 seconds) to blanch. Remove spinach and squeeze out water. Finely chop spinach.
Preheat oven to 425. Back at your stove top, add béchamel to sauté pan; stir in finely grated parmesan. Stir in blanched, chopped spinach. Add a splash of cream. Cook, stirring over low heat 3 to five minutes. Add a bit more fresh-grated nutmeg to taste and adjust seasoning (salt/pepper). Spoon into an ovenable crock. Grate small amount of parmesan on top. Place in oven at 425 for 10 minutes until hot and bubbling. Serve.
Notes:
Save the veal and onion you used to make the béchamel! Tossed with orzo or Israeli couscous, the milk-braised veal and onion makes a tender dish.