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Miscellaneous See other Miscellaneous Articles Title: Spinach Is a Dish Best Served Cooked If spinach has the reputation of being the homework of vegetables, it was not helped by its ’70s “revival” in the form of raw spinach salads. Spinach has many charms — truly singular flavor, the ability to be transformed by cooking in myriad ways, its famous health benefits — but salad is probably the least convincing. Here, spinach undergoes four completely distinct treatments: superfast wilting in a pan; not-much- slower steaming in a pot; braised and almost a full meal; and superslow, a technique I really love, and one that results in astonishingly fine creamed spinach and the like. (These are generally so high-fat that they effectively neutralize spinach’s supposed health benefits, an interesting paradox.) A few pointers: fresh spinach is a given, but really fresh spinach — dirty spinach, in bundles rather than bags — is preferable, especially if it comes in bunches, still attached to the little pink “crowns” that attach leaves to root. (Eat those; they’re good.) Two pounds is not too much for four people; less than a pound is not enough. (These recipes were tested with one and a half pounds.) Do not forget salt. In these groups, the wilted and the braised are more likely to make satisfying main dishes; the other two, steamed and superslow, produce dishes that feel like sides, although they’re hardy enough, especially those in the last group. The differences among them are quite stark. I have left out other options: you can flash-fry spinach, tossing it into a hot wok or pan with a bit of oil and some chilies and garlic; it’s done in seconds. You can also plunge it into boiling water, cool it, squeeze it dry and top with lemon and olive oil or soy sauce and sesame oil. In short, this isn’t the end of the options. Only when you reach that end should you start messing around with the salads. WILTED With Skirt Steak Sear 8 ounces skirt steak in a large skillet over high heat, turning once. Remove, let pan cool a bit, then add 2 tablespoons butter and chopped spinach; stir until it wilts, 30 seconds or so. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 2 chopped tomatoes and 1/2 chopped red onion and cook another minute. Toss and top with the sliced steak; 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese makes a nice garnish. With Bacon Render 4 thick bacon slices in olive oil until nearly crisp, then remove. Toss spinach with a sprig of tarragon in the rendered fat to wilt; add 1/2 pound chopped mushrooms instead of tomatoes and onion; skip the cheese and top with bacon. With Chicken Substitute chicken breast for steak; cook in olive oil, browning well. Wipe pan clean. Melt 3 tablespoons butter and add spinach to wilt. Add tomatoes and a handful of chopped scallions; skip the rest. Top with sliced chicken and fresh lemon juice. STEAMED With Parmesan Put washed-and-still-wet spinach in a covered pot over medium-high heat. Put 2 to 4 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir occasionally until foam subsides and butter turns nut brown. When spinach is tender, after 3 to 5 minutes, drain, drizzle with butter and add 1/2 cup each toasted bread crumbs and shaved Parmesan; toss to combine. With or Without Anchovies Toast 2 cloves garlic in the butter, then add 1/2 cup raisins and 2 tablespoons pine nuts. (Anchovy lovers: now’s your chance.) Toss the spinach with this mixture instead of the bread crumbs and cheese. With Cashews Use 2 tablespoons sesame oil instead of butter, and stir in 1 chopped green chili. Add 3/4 cup cashews; cook until the cashews brown lightly. Toss with spinach, then add ¼ cup chopped scallions and 2 tablespoons lime juice. Garnish: Lime wedges. BRAISED With Eggs Put 4 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When it melts, add spinach, one handful at a time, stirring, and sauté until it wilts, about 5 minutes. Form 4 nests in the spinach and crack an egg in each. Cover and cook until egg whites are set, about 4 minutes. Garnish: Shaved Parmesan. With Mussels Chop 1 white onion and sauté it in the melted butter; add 3 tablespoons white wine. Cook spinach in this as above, and substitute 1 pound mussels for the eggs; cook until they open. Garnish: Fresh parsley. With Soy and Ginger Skip the butter. Put 2 tablespoons sesame oil in a large saucepan, along with 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Add spinach and braise until completely wilted and soft, about 10 minutes. SUPERSLOW-COOKED With Cream Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a deep skillet over medium-low heat; add a quarter of the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach has absorbed the butter; then add another tablespoon butter and more spinach and stir; repeat until the spinach is all used. Add 1 cup cream and cook until the cream is thick, at least 15 minutes. Optional: Grated nutmeg to taste. With Indian Spices Skip butter; use neutral oil. Sauté 2 onions and 1 clove minced garlic with 1 teaspoon each cumin, coriander and cardamom. Add 1 cup coconut milk, a few tablespoons at a time, alternating with handfuls of spinach. Cook, stirring occasionally, until coconut milk is thick, 1 hour. Add 1/2 cup chickpeas and heat through. With Rice and Carrots Put 1/2 pound carrots and 6 cups water in a pan on high heat. Bring to a boil, then add 1/2 cup rice. When it returns to a boil, add spinach and simmer. Cook, stirring, until carrots are tender, 1/2 hour. Add 3 cloves minced garlic and 2 tablespoons butter. A version of this article appeared in print on April 8, 2012, on page MM50 of the Sunday Magazine with the headline: The Wild Bunch. 88 Comments Dale Sandore Mission Viejo Ca. Flag I soak raw spinach in the sink & swish it around letting the grit sink to the bottom. I then stem it with sissors & put spinach in a large strainer. I fill my tea pot with PURE water, bring water to a boil & pour it over the spinach to wilt it This keeps the color better. Then I add it to a warm pan with Olive Oil, slivered dry or chopped fresh Garlic, chopped or slivered red & or yellow bell Peppers. Cover, raise temp. DO NOT OVERCOOK (1-2 min) otherwise Spinach will darken. salt & pepper to taste. Serve hot. I learned this from my Italian grandmother Calvera Nogales, Sonora, Estados Unidos Mexicanos At least once a week: Pour a kettle of boiling water over a colander of cleaned spinach. Let rest/cool for a few minutes and press out liquid. Toss in a hot skillet with a lap of oil. Season with lemon zest, S&P, or add to any number of other dishes improved by spinach. ...... I reserve the squeezed wilted spinach juice- by itself it tastes a bit like chicken stock. Add a jigger of vodka for a Popeye. Garnish with a drop of olive oil. Actually, haven't tried the juice as a basis of a cocktail. Linda Chicago, IL chopped boiled egg mixed in with cooked spinach completely mellows out the iron taste and is quite good. Jon Wagner Berkeley, CA Butter figures heavily in several of these recipes! For a tasty low-fat alternative use 1/4 cup vegetable, chicken or beef broth. A little chopped garlic and a touch of chili powder--or smoked paprika--seals the deal. msco new york, ny Spinach, Swiss chard and beet greens are high in oxalic acid, which depletes calcium from bones and teeth, and may lead to osteoporosis. If cooked with something rich like tofu, seeds, nuts, beans, butter, animal products or oil, the effect of the oxalic acid will be more balanced. Ruralist Upstate NY The oxalic acid will bind the calcium in the spinach, but not deplete it from bones. In fact, the National Osteoporosis Foundation points out the importance of Vitamin K from spinach and other green vegetables in preventing osteoporosis. 2 bounce33 West Coast Several posters have mentioned how much water it takes to wash fresh spinach. It doesn't take much if you fill a dish tub or sink with a gallon or so of water and let the spinach soak. Swirl the leaves around a bit to loosen things up. The grit sifts out and drifts to the bottom of the tub. Spin dry the leaves. John New York, NY I totally disagree with the opening assumption of this article: that raw spinach is the least appetizing way to eat the plant. To my taste, wilting any leafy vegetable (be it cabbage, spinach, dandelions, whatever) is distasteful. I'm reminded of what happens to leafy vegetables when forgotten in the back of the fridge's vegetable drawer for a month. Yuck! Give me something crisp and almost crunchy any day. Literary Mom Marin County, CA My kids only like spinach raw...with a little soy sauce. I add some cucumber, maybe a handful of sliced almonds, and call it a salad. Sometimes I sweeten the deal with dried cranberries and mandarin oranges. If I add bacon and a side of buttered bread, it becomes a meal. The grown up version of this has blue cheese, avocado, red onion, and is dressed in olive oil, red wine vinegar (or white balsamic), the sweetener of your choice (a little juice from the can of mandarins will do), and salt and pepper. Throw in chicken strips cooked on high-ish heat in a cast iron pan if you want to make it even more hearty. PJ New York, NY how are you supposed to absorb spinach's most important nutrients without fats? spinach contains lots of vitamin A, but it can only be absorbed with fats. google "fat soluble vitamins" for more information. IG elsewhere You can absorb them just fine; the fat-soluble refers to their later storage, in your body fat. dzimis New York, NY I suggest you use Mr. Bittman's recipe for spinach and Parmesan but substitute feta cheese and add a chopped hard boiled egg and fresh dill. It's like spanakopita without the phyllo. Saba Montgomery, NY ref water use in cleaning greens -- fill the kitchen sink up to about six inches with water and dump in the greens. you will never have grit in the greens. sunshiny0 Phoenix If you want to absorb more of the iron so famous in spinach (and any other good nonheme--plant) sources, you must eat it along with some acidic food like OJ, tomato. Actually, this is probably why the custom started of putting vinegar of some sort on spinach, like red wine vinegar or pepper vinegar. It improves the taste, too, of heated canned spinach and is usually in a spinach salad dressing. Rainier Wolfcastle San Jose, CA "really fresh spinach -- dirty spinach" PLEASE stop equating "dirty" with "healthy" when it comes to produce. I'm so sick of buying organic potatoes and greens and celery and carrots with huge gouts of caked-on dirt because someone has apparently decided that washing a vegetable makes it less authentic or healthful or fresh. I grew up on a farm. I can assure you that the amount of dirt on a vegetable has exactly zero bearing on how fresh it may or may not be. Brigitte LeBlanc Mill Valley, CA I heard Jeffrey Steingarten say that some of the nutrients in spinach cannot be absorbed when it's raw. Any truth to that? HeardFC Austin, TX Cooked spinach is generally more nutritious, according to this article in the Globe and Mail: www.theglobeandmail.com/l...health-expert/ask-a-die... Rea Tarr Malone, NY I eat spinach every day. Assume raw is more healthful than cooked -- and know it's easier on my utilities bill. I chop it and mix it into tuna, salmon, chicken, hardcooked eggs, etc., for salads and sandwiches. Add equal parts of home-made mayo and salsa. Sara L Palo Alto, CA my fave: steamed spinach, bite-sized pieces fresh mango, splash of olive oil, generous dash of dukkah (blend of hazelnuts, sesame seeds, coriander, cumin). Calvin Putnam Vermont Is there any truth to the idea, popular parts of Europe, that reheated spinach is dangerous to eat? I'm thinking about spinach in lasagna, spinach pie etc. firthkraft Ames, IA No. nanmack38@yahoo.com Long Beach, CA I'm not that fond of green veggies being much more a fruit lover, though I know I should be. I make a blender protein smoothie in the AM's in which I put frozen organic berries, half a banana, water, and spinach/swiss chard from my garden. If you drink it right away you don't ever taste the greens as the fruit totally overpowers the green taste. A wonderful way to start the day! I do have a hi quality blender that makes it very smooth. I also blend it up and throw it in soup along with blended frozen broccoli for a good blast of greens. Kapitein Pannekoek Amsterdam Sad that Popeye wasn't even mentioned. Missed opportunity! I don't mind raw spinach, unless you get a batch particularly heavy in oxalic acid, which leaves my teeth and mouth feeling dry and scratchy. Cooked spinach, though, is absolute heaven! So silky and unctuous—it always feels like an indulgence reducing a giant bag to a pot of green gold. One of my favorite discoveries is liberally adding it, chopped, to risotto as it nears its final moment. Using it not just as an addition, but nearly half-and-half to the risotto, produces a wonderful sea of green that makes a perfect platform for seafood. eckfan South Korea I like to slowly cook spinach in olive oil with a lot of minced garlic and chopped mushrooms. It's surprisingly sweet and tastes great. I can't wait to try the above mentnioned recipes soon. Great story and really useful, too. sboulton Los Angeles Cooked spinach has much more oxalic than does raw spinach, which is very bad for the kidneys. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
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