I have so much writing to do it is ridiculous. It’s not that I have been eating take-aways and ready meals since before Christmas, it’s just that I haven’t had enough time to sit down and write up all the recipes I want to share with you.
I’ll plod along though and try and increase the pace.
Many of my friends are aware of my blog and are very supportive and when I see them we inevitably end up talking about food. This dish was suggested to me by a friend who thought I might like it, and I do like to try new things, so I did my usual thing of trawling the interweb looking for a recipe that met my criteria of looking relatively easy, yet interesting and probably possibly yummy.
I know very little about Greek food to be honest, but anything I have come across has been delicious, and this is no exception. Spanakorizo is an interesting dish, it is usually served as a side dish along with fish or lamb cutlets, however, you can simply serve more of it and plonk a fried or poached egg on top to make a complete meal. It is also common to crumble feta cheese on top of it. If you are vegan, I am sure you can just sprinkle some roasted nuts or quinoa or some such thing on top to get your protein and avoid animal products altogether.
Some of the recipes I found say that you can use frozen or canned spinach for this, but big bags of fresh baby leaf spinach were on sale in my local supermarket so I went with fresh. Again, the recipes I looked at vary on what kind of rice to use, I used Basmati as I have loads in the cupboard, but I think it is safe to say you can use any.
Apart from the rice and spinach all you need is fresh dill, a lemon, onion, garlic and seasonings and you are on your way. I think this dish will become a favourite of mine as it strikes me as the kind of thing that is infinitely adaptable and can be tweaked to suit your own tastes.
I have been constructively criticised by some of my friends and followers who say that much of my food tends to be on the rich side, with too much cream and butter and suchlike. I can’t deny this and will attempt to explore and write about more ‘healthy’ food but, to be honest, my attitude would be more along the lines of, eat whatever you want, then go for a long walk if you feel the need to burn the calories off. Having said that, Spanakorizo is so healthy and so low in fat that I immediately felt the need to drink wine and eat chocolate to offset the strange sensation of well being I had after this meal. Approach with caution!
The amounts given here would make a side dish for 4 or a main for 2.
You’ll need a fairly large pan with a lid for this by the way.
Spanakorizo or Greek Spinach Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp of Olive Oil
- One medium onion. You can happily substitute shallots or spring onions
- As much garlic as you like. I used 3 small cloves
- The zest and juice of one lemon
- A sprinkle of cumin (optional)
- 250 g ish of spinach leaves roughly chopped or the frozen or canned equivalent
- 200 g rice of your choice mine was Basmati (rinsed)
- 400 ml of vegetable stock made with a cube. Some recipes just use water instead.
- A good handful of freshly chopped dill
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
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This was the first time I made this and I surprised myself at how easy it was and how well it turned out for a first attempt.
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Put your pan over a medium heat and gently fry the chopped onion until soft and translucent, add the chopped garlic and fry for for a further minute.
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Add the lemon zest, half a teaspoon of cumin, if you are using it, and the spinach. Cover the pan and leave it alone for about three minutes. When the spinach has wilted down add the rice, vegetable stock (or water) and most of the dill. Season with salt and pepper and give it a stir. Bring the pot to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer, give it another stir and put the lid back on, after about 15 or 20 minutes the rice will be cooked. You can look in on it if you are concerned and give it a stir if you think it might be sticking to the pan. When the rice is cooked, stir in the remaining dill and the juice of the lemon and leave it off the heat, covered, to allow the flavours to mingle for a few minutes and it is ready to serve.
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I had mine with a fillet of cod that was on sale, which I marinated in olive oil, with a little garlic, lemon juice, dill, salt, pepper and then roasted in a 200℃ oven in a half open parcel of tin foil for 20 minutes.
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The whole thing was ridiculously tasty given how easy it was and healthy it is.
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Do give it a try!