Popeye was right about spinach. While it may not give you super strength, it is a superfood. This leafy green is packed full of nutrients and sports health benefits ranging from heart disease prevention to improved eye health. Consume it regularly and you’re certain to feel vitalised.
Unfortunately, for many people, it’s not the most appealing vegetable. On its own it can be quite bitter. However, when combined with other ingredients, it can make for a surprisingly tasty flavour combo. Below are just a few super spinach recipes that could be worth trying.
Creamed spinach
Mixing spinach into a creamy cheese sauce makes for a flavoursome side. It’s a great way to use up any spinach in your fridge that may be nearing the end of its life.
To make creamed spinach, cook the spinach in some oil in a skillet and add some cream cheese. Heavy cream can be used to thicken it out, while adding a touch of parmesan will enhance the cheesy flavor.
Creamed spinach goes very well with caramelized onions. It also tastes brilliant served with fish dishes such as pan seared halibut.
Spinach salad
Spinach leaves are perfect for a salad. There are so many different spinach salads that you can try. Some of the most common additional ingredients beyond spinach include eggs, cheese, tomatoes, nuts and berries.
Popular nuts to serve in this salad include pine nuts, walnuts and almonds. Popular berries that go well in a spinach salad include cranberries and strawberries. Try to use fresh spinach leaves for the best results.
Spinach lasagne
Give your lasagne a vegetarian twist by adding in some spinach. Combined with the melted cheese, this gives the spinach a creamy texture.
You can use spinach as a sole filling, or you can combine with mushrooms and onions. Extra ingredients will help to beef out the spinach. Of course, if you’re not vegetarian, you can also add in meat alongside spinach.
Make sure to cook the spinach beforehand before adding to the lasagne to prevent it from getting too watery. You may be able to fry it in a pan along with any other ingredients that you plan to use in your filling.
Saag bhaji
Saag bhaji in a spinach-based curry. Like many curries, you’ll need quite a few extra ingredients for this one – ideally, onions, garlic, cumin, cloves, turmeric, ginger, garam masala, tomato paste, cilantro and, of course, spinach
This saag bhaji recipe outlines exactly how to make this tasty dish. Serve this with some rice, some naan bread or with tarka dal. Saag bhaji is suitable for vegetarians, although you can add meat if you’d like.
Stuffed spinach pasta shells
Spinach can be incorporated into many pasta dishes. In fact, it is quite popular in Italian cuisine. One easy and delicious spinach pasta dish worth trying is stuffed spinach pasta shells. This is best served with ricotta cheese and a marinara sauce.
Jumbo pasta shells can be a particularly tasty option and can reduce time spent stuffing. To prepare this dish, start by boiling the pasta shells to al dente. Meanwhile, cook the spinach in a skillet. Then take the spinach out and mix it with ricotta cheese into a paste-like consistency. Then stuff the spinach-ricotta paste into the shells, arrange in a baking tray, add marinara sauce over the top and bake in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes. Take out and dust with parmesan, and voila!
Sauteed spinach with sesame and garlic
This Asian side dish is easy to whip up and can go great with teriyaki meat or a stir fry. You’ll need spinach, sesame seeds, garlic, sugar and soy sauce in order to prepare it.
Start by toasting the sesame seeds. Then add to a skillet with spinach and pressed garlic and sautee it all in some sesame seed oil. Once this is all done, add in the soy sauce and sugar and stir. You don’t have to add sugar if you don’t mind the bitterness of the spinach.
Spinach and egg on toast
You can also work spinach into your breakfast. Spinach pairs particularly well with eggs and can be added to all kinds of egg dishes from eggs benedict to omelettes.
One simple option is to fry up some spinach and egg in one pan and scramble it. This can make a great topping for some toast. You can add in all kinds of other ingredients to this spinach scrambled egg including smoked salmon, ricotta cheese or onions.
Thank you for reading!
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