Fresh Spinach

[Mare]

OK, so I like the traditionally yucky foods...... scrambled tofu didn't get too much interest, so lets try Fresh Spinach.......

 

The spinach is coming in and you are tired of eating it in salads. How to cook it so that you can eat it if you don't really like cooked greens?

 

Here is how I cook it, and I DO like cooked greens. But others in my family who don't enjoy cooked greens eat this.

 

Fresh Spinach

 

For 2 servings you will need:

4 cups fresh tender spinach, stems trimmed

A medium skillet and lid

Some olive oil - about 1 tbsp

Some garlic, minced, how ever much you like, I use about 2 cloves

Salt to taste

Green onions chopped, I use 2

fresh lemon juice - about a third of a fresh lemon

Water - 2 tablespoons

 

 

Heat the skillet over medium/high heat, add the oil, about a table spoon. When the oil is hot add the garlic and let it cook about 1 minute, don't let it burn. Add the spinach. It may pile up over the top of the skillet but that's OK. It will wilt down to almost nothing.

 

Stir the spinach around in the oil for about 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water. Add the green onions. cover the skillet and reduce heat to med/low.

 

Allow to cook for 2 minutes. Uncover the skillet and add about a tablespoon of lemon juice and salt to taste.

If the spinach has too much water, allow it to cook a little without the lid, and after the water has evaporated, plate it up.

 

 

 

 

[Homesteader]

Fresh spinach tastes nothing like the stuff in cans. I just love it. (BTW I printed off your tofu recipe! It's hard to find tofu recipes)

[Guest Guest]

I love spinach and make the recipe that you shared all the time...the lemon gives it an awesome zing! Sometimes I grate a little nutmeg and mix that into it and top with parmasian cheese...

 

There's also creamed spinach which is very good...you can layer fresh spinich in lasagna...alot of times I make a cream sauce with sundried tomatoes that I pour over chicken that I add spinach to. There's the infamous spinach dip, spinach pizza and Spanakopita appetizer...on and on and on.

 

Here's a link that will give you the total breakdown of all the nutrition in spinach compared with other leaf lettuces:

 

Nutrient Content of Spinach

[Mare]

Yummy! I think I need some spinach today!

[redhenfarm]

I've eaten raw spinach in salads but want to try this recipe. I have also found things you've eaten in a can that aren't so great are incredibly different when fresh or prepared from fresh ingredients. Was just wondering what the nutrients were when Darlene provided the link.

Gardnmom, I haven't heard of that dip before (just heard of spinach in sour cream of whatever for dip)-it sounds almost like a meal with the chicken.

I like to use spinach this way:

pound out chicken breasts

place chopped fresh spinach & a little cream cheese in center

Fold this up and skewer with toothpick

Roll in egg and then bread crumbs and bake.

[Judy Moist]

When I make sandwiches or hamburgers, instead of lettuce I use fresh baby spinach,, it is delicious and a lot more healthier for you... dh even likes it better than lettuce...

[Guest Guest]

gardnmom,

 

I've been searching for 45 minutes for that recipe you described lol...the closest thing I've been able to find is the following recipe from the Hard Rock Cafe at Disney. It doesn't appear to have sundried tomatoes in it, but I'm sure you could add or subtract at your whim. It also makes alot so you could reduce it to a more appropriate serving!

 

Hickory Smoked Chicken & Spinach Dip from the Hard Rock Cafe

 

Yield: 4 quarts.

 

6 ounces (3/4 cup) butter

1/2 cup olive oil

12 ounces (3/4 pound) finely chopped yellow onion

2.5 ounces (1/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon) chopped garlic in oil

6 ounces flour

1 quart chicken consommé

11/2 quarts heavy cream

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

11/2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

3 tablespoons chicken base

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Tabasco

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

8 ounces grated Romano cheese

11/2 cups sour cream

3.5 pounds drained diced artichoke hearts

3 pounds frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 pounds oven-poached diced chicken

Shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese for garnish

Salsa to taste

Corn tortilla chips

Sour cream for garnish

 

1. Melt butter in saucepan. Add olive oil; stir. Add onions, garlic. When onions become soft and translucent, sprinkle in flour a little at a time, stirring constantly. Slowly add chicken consommé, followed by heavy cream, lemon juice, liquid smoke, chicken base, Tabasco, sugar, white pepper, grated Romano cheese and sour cream. Chill mixture.

 

2. When mixture is chilled, add chopped artichokes, spinach and chicken.

 

3. Spoon 10 ounces of mixture into a ramekin or microwave-safe crock. Top with 2 tablespoons of a combination of shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar. Repeat with remaining mixture. Microwave mixture 21/2 minutes to heat through and melt cheeses.

 

4. Place one ramekin in center of serving plate. Surround with chips. Serve with a small bowl of salsa and a dollop of sour cream on the dip. Repeat with remaining mixture.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

 

[Guest Guest]

This is my daughters favorite dish. Every Wednesday we have a girls day out and eat in an Indian resturant.. what does she order? Beeg Saag! every time. While I order the

lamb palak. Also a spinich dish. Here is the recipe for the Saag:

 

 

 

Beef in Fragrant Spinach Sauce (Saag Gosht)

 

Patak's Method

 

Once again, when making a saag dish, we usually go with a prepared mix from Patak's. However, we've recently been unable to find it in local stores (including the Indian grocer about 30 miles away), so we'll probably be using the following recipe.

 

(Yes, I know the link is labelled "Chicken Saag" yet this is a beef recipe; it shouldn't be hard to use chicken instead as long as you remember that chicken cooks faster than beef. But since I haven't yet adjusted this recipe, I'll just give it as it comes from the cookbook and let the reader enjoy the process of discovery...)

 

Saag Gosht (the hard way)

 

For 8 persons.

 

Ingredients

 

3 cups cooked spinach

6 tablespoons light vegetable oil

3 pounds lean boneless beef round, or lamb, cut into 1.5 inch cubes

3 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions

1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger root

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon tumeric

1 medium-sized ripe tomato, finely chopped, or 1/4 cup chopped canned tomatoes

3 green chiles, seeded and minced, or 1 teaspoon red pepper

3 tablespoons plain yogurt or sour cream

1 cinnamon stick, 3 inches long, broken into small pieces

6 black (or 12 green) cardamom pods

9 whole cloves

3 bay leaves, crushed

1 tablespoon Kosher salt

4 teaspoons garam masala, or ground roasted cumin seeds**

2-4 tablespoons light vegetable oil (additional, if needed)

 

Preparation

 

Finely puree the cooked spinach, using a food processor or electric blender, or mince it with a knife on a chopping board. Set aside. See Note below....

 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan over high heat until very hot. Pat the meat dry on paper towels (or it will not brown) and add to the pan. Brown the meat, turning and tossing the pieces, until nicely seared on all sides. This is best done in batches so that the frying pan is not overcrowded. As each batch is browned, transfer to a heavy-bottomed casserole.

 

Add the remaining 4 tablespoons oil to the frying pan and add chopped onions. Reduce heat to medium-high, and fry them until they turn light caramel brown (about 25 minutes). (Do this carefully and patiently to avoid burning any of the onions. If in doubt,reduce the heat and take longer.) Add garlic and ginger and fry for an additional 2 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, and tumeric, and stir rapidly for 15 seconds. Add tomatoes and chiles, and continue frying until the tomato is cooked and the entire mixture is turned into a thick, pulpy paste (about 3 minutes). Add yogurt or sour cream, and immediately turn off the heat. When slightly cool, puree in an electric blender or food processor, and add to the meat in the casserole.

 

Place a double layer of cheesecloth, about 6 inches square, on the work surface. Put cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and bay leaves in the center, bring up the four corners of the cheesecloth to wrap the spices, and tie them to form a bag. Crush the bag slightly with a wooden mallet or any heavy tool to break up the spices. Add the spice bag to the casserole.

 

Add 4 cups of boiling water along with the salt, and stir to distribute the meat into the sauce. Place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the casserole, and cover tightly with the lid. Bring the contents to a boil on top of the stove.

 

Place the casserole in the middle level of the oven for 2 1/2 hours. Alternatively, it may be cooked on top of the stove over low heat for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is fork tender.

 

Remove the casserole from the oven (or turn off the stove) and take off the lid. Remove the spice bag, squeeze hard to extract as much juice as possible, and discard the bag. Add the cooked spinach and garam masala and blend well, being careful not to break the fragile meat pieces. Cover the pot, return it to the oven or stove, and cook for 5 minutes more. Turn off the oven, and let the pot remain undisturbed for an additional 10 minutes. Check for salt, and if the sauce lacks adequare glaze, stir in a few tablespoons of oil.

 

Notes

 

This dish, just like any other braised dish, tastes better with keeping. It is particularly good if made a few hours in advance, and allowed to rest at room temperature before being reheated and served. This dish keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 2 days and also freezes well. Defrost throughly before reheating. To reheat, gently simmer over low heat until warmed through. Before serving, taste for salt, and if necessary, fold in a little garam masala.

 

Cooked Spinach

 

To make 3 cups of cooked spinach, you need 3 pounds of fresh spinach and 2 tablespoons of Kosher salt.

 

Snip the stems from the tender leaves of the spinach; for more mature leaves, fold the leaves vertically along the stem, and with one hand, pull away the stem, including that portion attached to the leaf's underside. Discard all wilting, rotting, or yellow leaves.

 

Wash the spinach thoroughly by swishing it around in several changes of cold water until all sand is washed away.

 

Bring about 8 quarts of water (with the salt) to a boil in a deep pot. Drop the spinach leaves in the rapidly boiling water. When the water comes to a boil again, reduce the heat to medium and let the spinach boil, uncovered for 5 minutes.

 

Note: you can substitute 3 10-ounce packages of frozen leaf spinach for the above; defrost thoroughly, separate the leaves, cut off and discard the stems, then cook for only 3 minutes in boiling water as above.

 

Pour the entire contents of the pot immediately into a colander or a sieve held firmly over the kitchen sink. Let cold water run through for a minute to refresh the spinach -- this will preserve its bright green color and also prevent any further cooking. Do notovercook!

 

Squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible by pressing it with the back of a spoon, or use your hand.

 

Place the spinach on a chopping board, and chop it as coarse or as fine as called for in a recipe.

 

The chopped spinach may be kept covered for several hours, or refrigerated for up to one day, or frozen. (Defrost thoroughly before using it in any recipe.)

 

**

Garam Masala

 

2 tablespoons green cardamoms

2 long sticks cinnamon

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

3 tablespoons coriander seeds

1/2 nutmeg

1 tablespoon cloves

 

Remove the cardamom seeds from the pods. Combine all the spices and roast in a medium oven or dry pan until darkened in color, about 8 minutes. Let them cool, then grind and store in an airtight container.

 

 

Attribution

 

Classic Indian Cooking, by Julie Sahni (ISBN 0-668-03721-6).