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Spinach

Thanks to Pop-Eye, spinach is one of the most famous of vegetables - though it's not the most popular...

Too many of us have memories of slimey, over-cooked spinach from our childhood.

Luckily it's surprisingly appetising, if cooked properly!

And if your kids hate it, disguise it by liquidising in soups, lasagnes or pasta sauces.

Go straight to spinach recipes.



Spinach


About Spinach

Spinach leaves are a rich source of vitamins and minerals, particularly vitamin K, calcium, folic acid and antioxidants.

It is a good source of iron, but not as good as Pop-Eye would have us believe! 1 cup of lightly cooked spinach contains 1/3 of a woman's recommended daily intake of iron, but a cup of cooked spinach is a lot of spinach.

The same amount of spinach would also provide 25% of your calcium requirements and 30% of your vitamin C needs.

Spinach is readily available from June to March and many organic farmers manage to grow a year-round crop by careful use of the right varieties and occasionally growing in polytunnels.

Spinach originated in Iran and didn't arrive in Europe until the 11th Century. It was imported to Spain and when it arrived in Britain, it was known as the "Spanish Vegetable".


Did you know...?
Lightly cooking spinach makes it easier for the body to absorb the nutrients it contains. For example, 1 cup of cooked spinach contains 1000% of your daily requirement of Vitamin K, 6 times the amount of raw spinach. Vitamin K is essential for bone formation and mineralisation.


How To Choose

Smaller, green leaves are better than over-large leaves with stringy stems.

Avoid spinach with any yellowing on the leaves, as this is beyond its prime.


How To Store

It should keep in the fridge (ideally in a paper bag) for 2 - 3 days.


How To Use

Always make sure you wash spinach thoroughly, because it tends to be full of mud! The easiest way to do this is to dunk the leaves in a bowl of water and "swish" round well.

You can serve them as a side dish or use as an ingredient in winter stir fries, soups and stews.

Quick ideas:
Saute with a little butter until soft. Delicious with grated nutmeg.

Or...

Wash well and chop for use in a salad.


Suggested Recipes

 
 
Aubergine & Courgette Bake This is a great way of using up spare courgettes and aubergines, towards the end of the veg box's week. And it's so easy!

Broccoli & Kale Stir Fry This is a great recipe for a quick lunchtime stir fry. It uses broccoli and kale (or dark-leafed cabbage or spinach) because these are so rich in nutrients. It can easily be adapted to have a Japanese style, if you prefer.

Garlic Spinach This is a delicious recipe for garlic spinach. It's a great way of using up a glut of spinach and works well with baby spinach leaves or even winter spinach.

Hallowe'en Soup This recipe for Hallowe'en Soup is on test - but still available for you to try. Why not give it a go?

Kale And Roquefort Parcels If you’ve got an excess of kale and a household that’s close to being fed up of eating it, here’s a recipe that should inspire them again. Or see the variations for ideas with chard or spinach.

Kale Pesto Pasta This is a brilliant way of sneaking kale past fussy eaters. The garlic helps reduce the bitterness of the kale and the pine nuts add a sweet, nutty flavour. It also works well with spinach, chard or black nero cabbage.

Lentil Dahl This is a warming autumn supper, packed with nutrients from the lentils and veggies, giving your system a real boost.

Porcini Mushroom And Spinach Quiche This quiche is great with dried porcini mushrooms. nd it’s a great way to use up spare spinach. Or, if you prefer, you can substitute Swiss Chard.

Red Onion Risotto You can use red onions in place of white onions in most recipes. But here's one that we've developed specially for in-season red onions. It's great with added spinach, black nero cabbage or even kale.

Spinach And Beans Sometimes spring isn’t quite hot enough for salads and you crave something to warm you up. This recipe uses fresh, in-season spinach, lightly cooked with beans of your choice. It works well with butterbeans, cannelloni beans or even black-eyed beans or chick peas.

Spinach And Potato Curry If you've got some spare spinach and fancy a filling evening meal, this one is easy to make. It's similar to the Indian Sag Aloo. It also works well with Swiss chard, instead of spinach.

Spinach And Rocket Salad This salad is easy to make and is great for a sunny spring day. You can add even more flavour by using the Parmesan shavings. The key is to wash and dry the salad leaves thoroughly, so the dressing clings to them, giving a wonderful flavour.

Spinach Gnocchi Adding winter spinach to gnocchi gives them a wonderful flavour, as well as boosting their vitamin content. Sometimes winter spinach can seem a bit tough, but using it in this variation on the Italian classic makes the most of the earthy-flavour of this leaf.

Spinach Gnocchi Bake Spinach and Gruyere cheese make a delicious combination in this gnocchi bake. If you don't have spinach, it also works well with kale or chard.

Spinach, Blue Cheese & Pine Nut Lasagne This is an amazingly delicious recipe for spinach lasagne. We kept going back for more. It takes a little effort, so you might want to make double and freeze half for another day - if it lasts that long! Also works well with Swiss chard or kale.

Spring Vegetable Quinoa Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa”) is a South American “grain” – actually a seed. It’s considered by many to be a super-food, because of the balance of proteins it contains. It's easy to cook and delicious.

Swiss Chard and Sesame Stir Fry This lovely Swiss Chard recipe turned my hubby from dreading chard in our veg box to loving it! Easy to make, very colourful (if you use rainbow chard) and good for you, too, with a wonderful sweetness and a savoury crunch. Also works well with spinach.

Watercress, Spinach & Goats' Cheese Salad I invented this recipe one lunchtime when we were all craving salad – in the depths of winter. The warm goats’ cheese and delicious dressing makes this salad a filling winter or springtime treat. You can also use kale, chard or beetroot leaves.

Winter Stir Fry Stir fries are a real fast food, yet they’re healthy. The trick is to prepare all the ingredients before you start cooking. The sauce with this stir fry is delicious, but feel free to miss out the egg if it doesn’t suit your diet.

 

Got one? Send us your spinach recipe!

 
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