When I was in third grade I had gotten very ill on bad spinach that was served in the school cafeteria.
Because of that I would not eat spinach when I was growing up.
My mother would cook spinach and rice and serve me a grilled sandwich on the side, then she would take my dish of spinach and rice and pick all of the spinach out before I would eat it. (Talk about being spoiled.)
After I was married I began to start eating spinach again and today it is one of my favorite greens, cooked or raw.
Spinach and rice is a traditional Greek dish that is easy to make, needs few ingredients and is delicious and easy to make. It’s a great dish for getting something to the table quick. This is a dish that you can expand on if you want to be creative.
You can use Basmati or Carolina rice, add lemon, thyme or basil, use chicken or vegetable broth, add mushrooms, parmesan cheese or feta cheese, or use fresh tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. I have even added pieces of chicken breast to the dish.
There are as many recipes for this dish as there are Greek families, each one doing something a little different.
The following recipe is the one my mother, and me naturally, generally followed and yields about two healthy servings.
I often will cook a risotto variation with tomatoes, mushrooms and Feta cheese that is not too much harder to do.
Here are two recipes.
Spanakorizo, traditional
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil (it adds flavor and is healthy)
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped
- 2 pounds fresh spinach, rinsed and stemmed or (1) 10 oz. package of frozen spinach thawed and drained
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce, pasata or 1 tbs tomato paste
- 2 to 3 cps cups water
- 1 teaspoon dried dill weed or 2 teaspoon if fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon dried or 2 tsp fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste, usually about 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup uncooked white long grain rice like Uncle Bens.
DIRECTIONS:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet or medium (2 qt.) sauce pan over medium-high heat. If you are using raw spinach you will need a 4 qt. or larger sauce pan.
Sauté onions in the oil until soft and translucent. Add spinach, and cook stirring for a few minutes, then pour in the tomato sauce and 2 cps water. Bring to a boil, and season with parsley, dill, salt and pepper. Stir in rice, reduce heat to low, and simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until rice is tender. Add more water if necessary, it shouldn’t be dry.
Spinach and mushroom risotto with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and Feta cheese
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/3 cp olive oil
- 1/2 small to medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1/2 cp risotto
- 5 oz. of spinach, fresh or frozen thawed and drained
- 1 small can of sliced mushrooms drained.
- 4 cups of water or broth (chicken or vegetable)
- 6 cherry tomatoes quartered
- 4 to 6 ounces of Greek feta cheese cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cp dry white wine
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp dried dill
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried or 2 tsp fresh parsley (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Heat olive oil in a 2 qt sauce pan over medium high heat. Sauté onions until soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add mushrooms and sauté 2 to 3 minutes more. Add spinach, cook until wilted. Add wine and cook until evaporated. Stir in the risotto and cook until rice is white. From here on cook as you would any risotto recipe adding a ladle of water or broth at a time and cooking until it is absorbed before adding another ladle. When the rice is done to your liking, add the tomatoes and cook for an additional five minutes. Add the Feta cheese and stir until combined.
Here is a nice recipe from Diane Kochilas of GreekFoodTV. Her show is also shown on Greek television:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95hUxNBeD3E
Diane Kochilas website: http://dianekochilas.com/greek-food-tv
καλή όρεξη!