Upside-down eggs Florentine, early twentieth century.

The Essendon Gazette of 8 October 1903 suggested washing ‘two pailfuls’ of spinach, then boiling it in a very large saucepan with about half a pint of water ‘sufficient to keep the spinach from burning’ and two tablespoonfuls of salt, pressing it down frequently with a wooden spoon for evenness of cooking for ten minutes. Then: 

“Drain it into a colander, squeeze it quite dry, and chop it fine. Put the spinach in a stew pan, with (an ounce of) butter, and a seasoning of pepper; stir over the fire until quite hot, then put it in a hot dish ... Grated nutmeg, pounded mace, or lemon juice may also be added to enrich the flavour ... poached eggs are frequently served with spinach ... (these) should be placed in the top of it, and should be garnished with sippets of toasted bread.”