Spinach

Spinach can be found fresh in markets in the spring months and in early autumn. Nutritionists recommend it fresh, in salads and in juices, as beneficial for the digestive tract, but it is also beneficial when cooked.

Ștefan Baciu, 14.05.2017, 14:41

Spinach can be found fresh in markets in the spring months and in early autumn. Nutritionists recommend it fresh, in salads and in juices, as beneficial for the digestive tract, but it is also beneficial when cooked.

One traditional dish for Easter is roast lamb with spinach, using two kilos of spinach for every kilo of lamb. No matter how you cook them, spinach leaves have to be washed several times, then blanched and drained well. When you make roast lamb, lightly brown the meat in oil. Also, the spinach leaves are not chopped or mashed before cooking.

Many recipes call for mashing the spinach leaves before being used. One very simple preparation is spinach and egg. After washing and blanching the leaves, boil them in a bit of salted water, then mash them adding lemon juice. After creaming the spinach, just lay on top of it a fried egg, sunny side up. As simple as this sounds, we also have spinach and egg combinations that are a bit more intricate. Chop finely one onion and sweat it in oil. Add the spinach, creamed with lemon juice. Drain the excess liquid, then, press the back of a tablespoon into the surface of the spinach to form shallow holes. Break a raw egg in each, then put in the oven at low to medium low heat until the egg coagulates.

There are various types of spinach soups or cream of spinach, but spinach is also very popular in pastry making. We have the spanakopita, the famous Greek spinach pie, where the spinach is baked between two sheets of pastry, but you can also roll the spinach into the dough, which make for a beautiful presentation. Cream spinach and spread it over a sheet of dough, roll it, and coil it into an oven tray. Bake until golden brown, about half an hour, then serve it hot or cold as an entree.