Tag Archives: spinach

Baked Oysters and Spinach

Posted on by

Oysters are baked on a bed of spinach, onions, dill, and bread crumbs for a quick and delicious dish.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1-1/2 pounds fresh spinach, rinsed well and left wet
  • 1/4 cup butter, use less
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • Large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 cup heavy cream or half n half
  • 1 cup fine dried bread crumbs
  • 1 quart shucked fresh oysters
  • 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dried

Preparation:

Place the spinach in a large saucepan, cover, and steam over moderate heat for about 5 minutes or until tender. Drain the spinach, refresh under cold water, squeeze dry, and chop finely. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large skillet, heat half the butter, add the onion, and saute over moderate heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the spinach, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and cream. Stir well and cook over moderate heat for about 2 minutes, stirring in a few bread crumbs if necessary to thicken the mixture. Add the oysters and dill and stir well. Spoon the mixture into a well-buttered baking dish, sprinkle the top with bread crumbs, dot with the remaining butter, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Yield: 6 servings

Pasta, Pesto, and Peas — Ina

Posted on by
  • 3/4 pound fusilli pasta
  • 3/4 pound bow tie pasta
  • 1/4 cup good olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups pesto (packaged or see recipe below)
  • 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 1/4 cups good mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
  • 1/3 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pignoli, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Pesto:

  • 1/4 cup walnuts
  • 1/4 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
  • 5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups good olive oil
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Place the walnuts, pignoli, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Notes: Air is the enemy of pesto. For freezing, pack it in containers with a film of oil or plastic wrap directly on top with the air pressed out.

To clean basil, remove the leaves, swirl them in a bowl of water, and then spin them very dry in a salad spinner. Store them in a closed plastic bag with a slightly damp paper towel. As long as the leaves are dry they will stay green for several days.

Yield: 4 cups

Saag

Posted on by

(Indian spiced spinach) Saag, or palak, dishes are spiced purees of spinach or other greens common in northern India. They often contain additional ingredients such as potatos, fresh cheese, chicken or chickpeas to make a more substantial dish.

  • Oil or ghee — 2 tablespoons
  • Onion, chopped — 1
  • Garlic, minced — 3 to 6 cloves
  • Gingerroot, minced — 1 tablespoon
  • Coriander, ground — 2 teaspoons
  • Turmeric — 1/2 teaspoon
  • Cayenne pepper (optional) — 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon
  • Spinach, chopped — 1 pound fresh or package of chopped frozen spinach thawed
  • Water — 1 cup
  • Salt — 1/2-1 teaspoons
  • Yogurt (optional) — 1 cup
  • Cream (optional) — 1/4 cup

 

  1. Heat the oil or ghee in a large pot or saucepan over medium flame. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes.
  2. Stir in the spinach, water and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat, allow to cool a bit. Don’t bother to use a blender or food processor to puree in batches.
  4. Add a little water if necessary and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes.
  5. OPtional — Stir in yogurt and return to brief simmer and immediately remove from heat. Stir in the optional cream, adjust seasoning and serve.

Variations

  • Saag, or Palak, Paneer (Spinach with fresh cheese): add 1/2 pound of paneer, cut into cubes, after pureeing the spinach. You may substitute tofu for the paneer if you can’t find paneer. Tofu is not an Indian ingredient, but it has a similar texture and flavor. Press tofu, cut in triangles and  brown in oil.
  • Jhinga Saag (Spinach with shrimp): add 1/2 pound peeled and deveined shrimp after pureeing the spinach. Simmer until the shrimp is just cooked through, 3-4 minutes.
  • Chana Saag (Spinach with chickpeas): add 1/2 pound cooked chickpeas after pureeing the spinach.
  • Saag Murgh (Spinach with chicken): add 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes, after pureeing the spinach. Simmer just until the chicken is cooked through.
  • Saag Aloo (Spinach with potatoes): add 1/2 pound cooked, cubed potatoes after pureeing the spinach.
  • You may use frozen or fresh spinach. Try substituting mustard or other greens.
  • A squeeze of lemon added at the end will brighten the flavor of this dish.

From whatsforeats.com

Creamy Lemon Pasta With Spinach And Peas

Posted on by

1 cup frozen peas
¾ cup cream
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes — I used less maybe 1/4 tsp.
2 garlic cloves — peeled and smashed
4 cup baby spinach — stems removed
1 ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 teaspoon lemon juice
1 lbs dried pasta — such as farfalle or casarecce, cooked
Freshly grated Parmesan

Simmer peas, cream, red pepper flakes, and garlic in a skillet over low heat for 5 minutes, covered. Add spinach and cook until wilted, uncovered, stirring as necessary. Remove from heat and add lemon zest and juice, season with salt to taste. Toss with cooked pasta. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan

Easy and very tasty!!

Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup – Dave Lieberman

Posted on by

Chickpeas seem to call out for Moroccan spices, so that’s what they get here. I make this soup really chunky and hearty.

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
  • 1 large onion, medium diced
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic, pressed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can chopped, I used my tomatoes
  • 3 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
  • 1 quart vegetable broth
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 (5-ounce) package pre-washed baby spinach

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until the onions begin to turn translucent; lower heat if browning starts to occur. Add spices and saute a minute or so. Add tomatoes, broth, and sugar. Season with a couple pinches of salt and 10 grinds fresh pepper. Stir well. Chickpeas should be just covered with liquid. If level is shy, add some water so the chickpeas are just covered.

Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to low and gently simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove soup from heat. Use a potato masher to mash up some of the chickpeas right in the pot. Stir in the spinach and let heat through until wilted, just a couple minutes.

Season again, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Serve soup, drizzled lightly with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.

Warm Chorizo Spinach Salad – Ensalada de Espinacas y Chorizo – Rick Bayless

Posted on by
Warm Chorizo Spinach Salad – Ensalada de Espinacas y Chorizo –  Rick Bayless
Good sprinkled with Mexican queso fresco, goat cheese or blue cheese.
8 ounces (1 packed cup) fresh Mexican choirzo sausage, casing removed
1 medium red onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick
3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
2 tablespoons light-flavored vinegar (rice vinegar is very good here)
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt
An 8-to-9 ounce package (about 8 cups) salad spinach, long stems removed
1/2 small jícama, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1.   Cook the chorizo and onion.   In a very large skillet, cook the chorizo over medium heat for 4 or 5 minutes until it has rendered a good amount of its fat. Add the onion and continue cooking until the onion has started to soften but is still crunchy, about 5 minutes.
2.   Create the dressing, finish the salad.  To the skillet (still over medium heat), add the oil, vinegar, sugar and 2 tablespoons water.  Mix well, taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.  Pour the warm mixture over the spinach, add the jícama, mix well and serve.  Serves 4.
Notes– I used 12 oz of sausage, less spinach and made half of the dressing.  Dad really liked it, suggesting we serve it to guests.  Not sure the queso fresco added much next time will try and different cheese.  Even good with Trader Joe’s soy chorizo.

DSCF0957

Good sprinkled with Mexican queso fresco, goat cheese or blue cheese.

8 ounces (1 packed cup) fresh Mexican choirzo sausage, casing removed

1 medium red onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick

3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

2 tablespoons light-flavored vinegar (rice vinegar is very good here)

2 teaspoons sugar

Salt

An 8-to-9 ounce package (about 8 cups) salad spinach, long stems removed

1/2 small jicama, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1.   Cook the chorizo and onion.   In a very large skillet, cook the chorizo over medium heat for 4 or 5 minutes until it has rendered a good amount of its fat. Add the onion and continue cooking until the onion has started to soften but is still crunchy, about 5 minutes.

2.  Create the dressing, finish the salad.  To the skillet (still over medium heat), add the oil, vinegar, sugar and 2 tablespoons water.  Mix well, taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.  Pour the warm mixture over the spinach, add the jicama, mix well and serve.  Serves 4.

Notes– I used 12 oz of sausage, less spinach and made half of the dressing.  Dad really liked it, suggesting we serve it to guests.  Not sure the queso fresco added much next time will try and different cheese.  Even good with Trader Joe’s soy chorizo.

Chana Masala

Posted on by

Adapted from a Madhur Jaffrey recipe.

IMG_2267

The recipe calls for a tablespoon of amchoor powder, which I did not have. I looked it up and learned that it was dried unripe mango powder, a clearly a sour flavor, so I upped the lemon juice i used instead.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 fresh, hot green chili pepper, minced
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (I used a quarter of this because my cayenne is extremely hot)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon amchoor powder (see note)
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups tomatoes, chopped small or 1 15-ounce can of whole tomatoes with their juices, chopped small
2/3 cup water
4 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 lemon (juiced) (see note; I used a whole lemon to swap for the amchoor powder)
Added +/- 1/2 lb. spinach—yum yum

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, cumin seeds, amchoor (if using it), paprika and garam masala. Cook onion mixture with spiced for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and any accumulated juices, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt and lemon juice.

Eat up or put a lid on it and reheat it when needed. Curries such as this reheat very well, later or or in the days that follow, should it last that long.

Hot Spinach Balls – MAZ

Posted on by

Even though this recipe makes a large batch, don’t worry about leftovers. These tidbits are so tasty there won’t be any.

2 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
2 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix
1 cup chopped onion
4 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1 clove garlic, minced

In a large bowl, combine spinach, herb-seasoned stuffing mix, onion, eggs, Parmesan cheese, butter, thyme, and garlic. Shape into 1-inch balls; place on shallow baking pans. Cover and chill in the refrigerator about 2 hours or until firm.

Bake in a 300°F oven about 30 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Let stand on the baking pans for 1 minute. Serve warm.

Prep: 30 min.
Chilling: 2 hr.
Baking: 30 min.
Standing: 1 min.

Makes about 5 dozen.