spinach – Cooking the Books

November 21, 2020

I’m strong to the finish, cuz I eats my spinach

I hope and pray that people have a safe Thanksgiving. To will that into the world, I decided to do a slightly more complicated dish this week since hopefully most readers are not traveling or planning on feeding a large number of guests on Thursday.

However, fret ye not about the level of complication. In fact, the reason I chose this one is because I wanted to make it more simply than the New York Times recipe suggested. Plus, I love spanakopita, and have made variations of it over the years of this blog.

I was super excited to find that this spanakopita pie fit in a 9- to 10-inch skillet!

The downside, if you’ve ever worked with fresh spinach, is the sheer amount of it you need to buy to get the amount you need to fill a pie, say. So, rather than worry about that, I just bought frozen; plus, it cut down on cooking.

The other ingredient that caught my eye as troublesome in this particular fancy recipe was getting a block of feta in brine. Now, I love it when I’ve gotten it from my local Middle Eastern store; however, usually I get it when I need to use the brine as well. It’s less easy to find in my usual grocery stores, and since the brine wasn’t used, I skipped it and went for the pre-crumbled container I usually get.

Everything else was more or less standard for what I expect to be in a spanakopita, and it worked out to be quite the delight. A little skimpy on the phyllo dough, but it was a pie, not a roll; but that also made it less work.

All in all, it was worth the effort, and where else do you need to be this weekend? May as well spend it in the kitchen.

Hidden underneath this tasty flaky crust is a wonderful spinach mixture.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

8 T. unsalted butter, divided
2 medium leeks, white and green parts only, halved and sliced
6 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
20 to 24 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
¾ c. fresh parsley leaves, chopped
½ c. fresh dill, chopped
½ c. grated Parmesan
Zest from one lemon, plus juice from the lemon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, beaten
8 oz. crumbled feta
10 sheets phyllo dough, thawed

Directions

In a 9- to 10-inch skillet, melt 3 T. butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic, and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and cook for about another 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and let cool.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the parsley, dill, Parmesan, lemon zest and juice, and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Working about 1 c. at a time, transfer the spinach mixture to a fine mesh strainer and set in the sink to press out as much liquid from the mixture as possible. Add the strained handfuls to the parsley mixture, repeating until all the spinach has been added to the large bowl. Stir to combine, and add any additional salt and pepper as desired. Stir in the beaten eggs, and then fold in the feta, trying to leave larger chunks intact.

Melt the remaining 5 T. of butter over the stove top on low or in the microwave. Meanwhile, wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel. Brush the bottom and sides of the skillet with some of the butter. Then, working quickly with 1 sheet of phyllo dough at a time, lightly brush the top of one sheet with butter, and then lay it in the skillet, butter side up, with an overhang on either side. Repeat with 7 more phyllo sheets, rotating each sheet in a different direction as you add it.

Spoon the spinach mixture into the skillet, spreading into an even layer. Starting with the top layer of phyllo dough first, lift it over the spinach mixture toward the center of the pan, and repeat with remaining overlapping dough to create a top crust.

Crinkle on top the remaining 2 pieces of phyllo dough, and brush with any remaining melted butter.

Cook over medium heat on the stovetop for about 5 minutes to crisp up the bottom crust. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake until the phyllo dough is golden and filling is warmed, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Slice into wedges and enjoy!

May 16, 2020

Take your time with chickpea stew

I had my ups and downs with this week’s recipe. Spoiler alert: it ends on an upswing.

However, when I first decided to make it, I soon realized that the recipe wasn’t going to work in my small skillet. So, I downsized to halve the recipe.

Then, I realized that the proportions seemed odd and off even in half-size, so I retooled again.

When it came time to make it, I wasn’t all that optimistic or eager.

It managed to get worse as it went on, and I started to wonder if the chickpea stew with spinach and topped with a fried egg would even be a tasty dinner.

Seriously, I thought as I was stirring, how is a mash of chickpeas and crushed tomatoes even going to be tasty?

What a fool I was.

I should have known better than to doubt Bon Appetit and my own savvy. Plus, time. Time allows the flavors to meld, the onion, the garlic, the cumin seeds, and the paprika to imbue their flavors into the tomatoes and chickpeas.

It was incredibly delicious. I don’t even think the eggs were all that necessary.

When I make this again, I will do a couple things differently.

First, the spinach was not nearly enough. I used an entire bag, but I should have used two. Also, I might *might* consider using thawed chopped spinach to save a little time. While it’s nice to be able to saute it with the garlic, there’s plenty of garlic in the dish (I forgot to halve the garlic but I’m not complaining) and I’m not sure the freshness made all that much difference. Then again, maybe I just should have used more.

Secondly, like with the purgatory eggs, this meal would have been wonderfully enhanced by having a nice sourdough or another good bread to serve it with. Since I halved the recipe, it went down to a three-serving meal; however, I think it would have been a nice four-serving meal if there had been bread.

But I can say this tasted so good that I will make it again. I might even go to full size skillet for even more deliciousness.

I wish the flavors would show through in this picture. It was so good.

Here’s what I did, adapting the recipe more than a bit:

Ingredients

3 T. olive oil, divided
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, divided
1-2 bags baby spinach
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 small onion, chopped
1 T. cumin seeds
2 t. smoked paprika
1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 to 1 ½ c. vegetable broth
4 eggs
Sourdough bread, toasted, for serving (optional)

Directions

Heat 1 T. oil in a 9- to 10-inch skillet (10-inch probably preferable but I made it work in my 9-inch Le Creuset) over medium heat. When oil begins to shimmer, add the equivalent of one garlic clove of the sliced garlic to the skillet. Cook until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add spinach. Toss, adding salt and pepper as desired, and cook until the spinach is wilted but still bright green, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate, and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the same pot. When oil begins to shimmer, add onion and the remaining sliced garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add in the cumin and paprika, and stir until the cumin is toasted and fragrant, another minute.

Add in the chickpeas and crushed tomatoes, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring often, for about 8 to 10 minutes.

Add about 1 c. of broth, and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Continue to simmer, occasionally using mashing some chickpeas with the back of a spoon, until sauce is thickened, another 8 to 10 minutes, adding more broth as necessary.

Add in the spinach and continue to simmer another 8 to 10 minutes, again adding more broth as necessary.

Meanwhile, in a separate non-stick skillet, pour in oil or butter and heat over medium high. Cook eggs to desired done-ness (the recipe says to do sunny-side up; I prefer over medium). Season eggs with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate.

Spoon chickpea mixture into bowls, top with an egg, and serve with some toasted bread as desired, and enjoy!

March 21, 2020

Obligatory Lenten fish dish to happily enjoy year-round

Even though I’ve long since given up on giving up anything for Lent (or practicing Catholicism, for that matter), I still can’t help but mark the time of the year.

So, of course, I know that it’s the time of the year for fish Fridays (or possibly vegetarian, but if you’re my age and Midwestern, the idea of giving up “meat” entirely used to be unacceptable, so fish is not “meat,” but that’s a whole other discussion). I’ve also given up this practice, at least intentionally, but I do like a good excuse to make something with fish.

That is even more true as I practice sustainable fish-eating habits and have been sitting on 2 pounds of frozen haddock from my last trip to Whole Foods, where I can reliably get sustainable seafood. It turns out as much as I’m nostalgic for my Highlands honeymoon, I just don’t eat that much fried food, so it’s sat less used than I imagined when I bought it.

Thankfully, Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients cookbook delivered with a “crazy simple” fish pie.

Not only was it an incredibly simple dish, it called for specifically haddock and still managed to recall my Highlands honeymoon even though we never had this particular meal there.

As the cookbook and this recipe’s name suggest, the pie is short on ingredients and crazy simple. It’s perfect for a weeknight meal, and yet still manages to taste like something special.

I even managed to use a much smaller skillet than called for and it all worked out (unlike some of my past plans), though it was slightly more juicy so maybe lay off the soaking water if you’re using a 9-inch skillet, but it still tasted great and I have no regrets.

It was a simpler time when I made this crazy simple (and delicious) fish pie.

Here’s what I did (following the simple recipe other than size of skillet — which was meant to be 30 cm instead of 22 cm, so anything in between should work fine — and I did sneak in an extra phyllo dough sheet):

Ingredients

1 lb. haddock, skin off
~2 T. olive oil, divided
2 bunches of spring onions, chopped white and light green parts
250 g. baby spinach (about 1 ½ standard bags, though I could’ve fit 2 bags and been happy to enjoy more spinach … so there is some leeway, depending on tastes)
150 g. cheddar cheese (I sprung for the good-ish stuff, and it was slightly less than 1 block of Kerrygold cheddar)
Pepper, to taste
5 sheets of phyllo dough (thawed)

Directions

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl or casserole dish, cover the fish with boiling kettle water.

Meanwhile, heat a 9- to 10-inch skillet (or up to 12-inch) on medium-high heat. Add in 1 T. of olive oil, and then add the spring onions, and pan fry for about 2 minutes. Add in the spinach in batches until all is wilted down, and then remove from heat.

Add a scant ½ c., maybe less if using a smaller skillet, of the fish-soaked water to the skillet, and then drain the remaining water from the fish. Break up the fish fillets using a fork and then place around the skillet. Grate over *most* of the cheddar, and season with black pepper. Layer 4 of the pieces of phyllo dough on top and slightly around the ingredients to form a pie topping. Tear up the last piece in a “nutty fashion,” per the recipe, sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese, and drizzle on the remaining olive oil.

Bake the pie for 15 to 17 minutes until golden and crisp, and enjoy!

October 5, 2019November 2, 2019

Lazy, lovely layered lasagna

I was scrolling through Twitter one fine day keeping up on the shitshow that is our current American political system when I was distracted by something not actually terrible, an Epicurious video.

The short clip I watched without sound was a recipe for slow-cooker lasagna. I thought it sounded amazing, except, you know, I wanted to make it in my Dutch oven.

Now, I’ve made lasagna a lot and I have a couple of favorites, so instead of watching the video again, I just sort of guessed/remembered/assumed what I should do to put together my own dish.

Except for the fact that I did a terrible job of evenly distributing my filling, the lasagna was amazing. I mean, most times I make lasagna, there’s too many noodles to fit but this time, oof, I really distributed poorly for the layers. But all was not lost. I just made sure to take from the better filled areas and the less filled areas and made it work.

However, if you, dear reader, try the same, be sure to go light on the filling as you roll up the noodles.

Now, having made lasagna a few different ways during my time, starting with the traditional-ish, I have to say my favorite is still actually the sheet pan recipe because I like my lasagna crispy. But if you really like the saucy bits, this one is for you. And either way, good lasagna is good lasagna, so this was quite good.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

1 box lasagna noodles, cooked to package directions
32 oz. jar of arrabbiata sauce, or red pasta sauce to your liking
1 (15 oz.) tub ricotta
3 c. mozzarella, shredded, divided
1 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded, divided
4 oz. feta, crumbled
1 egg
1 (10 oz.) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
10 oz. marinated artichokes, chopped
½ T. basil, chopped
½ T. dried oregano
½ T. dried rosemary
1 t. red pepper flakes, optional
Pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, 1 c. mozzarella, ⅓ c. Parmesan, egg, spinach, artichokes, and the herbs and spices, until well mixed. EVENLY spread the mixture onto about 14 lasagna noodles, more if necessary, and roll the noodles lengthwise.

Poor about ¼ of the sauce onto the bottom of a Dutch oven. Add about half the rolled noodles to the Dutch oven; sprinkle with 1 c. mozzarella, ⅓ c. Parmesan, and half the feta, and about half the remaining sauce. Place the remainder of the rolled noodles on top, and then top with the remaining sauce, and cheeses.

Cover the Dutch oven and bake for about 30 minutes; then, remove from heat and remove the lid. Bake another about 20 to 30 minutes, uncovered, until the cheese is browned on top. Let cool slightly, and enjoy!

July 19, 2019

How green was my shakshuka

I was looking for another savory breakfast food when I was reminded that for years I’ve thought about making the Middle Eastern egg and sauce dish called shakshuka.

There were no hard-to-find ingredients; it just never quite made the cut when I was looking for something new to try. Until this week.

My now-beloved Cook It In Your Dutch Oven cookbook even had a recipe all ready for me. Sure, it’s a different take than the traditional — it has a green sauce rather than a red tomato-based one. But that sounded even better. I can always use more greens in my diet.

The recipe turned out fine, if not my favorite. It calls for adding herbs in at the end, though I think adding them to the base sauce and then again at the end would be better — so that more of their flavor seeps into the sauce but also has the fresh zip that their late addition adds. (I should add that my sweetie quite liked the dish so maybe I just don’t appreciate greens as much as I should.)

Other than that, be prepared to buy a lot of Swiss chard, and preferably the kind without red stems if you want it to look vibrant green rather than my brownish-green.

Look at all those beautiful herbs. Noms.

Here’s what I did, roughly following the recipe (though changing some proportions):

Ingredients

3 bunches Swiss chard, stems removed and reserved and leaves chopped
12 oz. baby spinach
¼ c. olive oil, divided
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
Salt, to taste
2 t. ground coriander
½ c. vegetable broth
1 c. frozen peas
2 T. lemon juice
8 eggs
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
2 T. chopped dill (I recommend more for sauce)
2 T. fresh mint (I recommend a little more for sauce)
1 t. dried Aleppo pepper, optional (I had on hand but it’s a mild crushed pepper so regular crushed pepper isn’t a good substitute unless you want to add a little spice)

Directions

Chop chard stems to yield 1 cup. Discard the rest or save for another use.

Heat Dutch oven on medium heat. Add 2 T. olive oil. Add the chard stems, onion, and a pinch of salt. Cook until softened and lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and coriander, and cook for about another minute.

Add the chard leaves and spinach (I had to do it in batches so they would wilt down), and cook until wilted but still green, about 3 to 5 minutes. Here I’d recommend adding some herbs for more flavor, to taste. Remove the mixture from heat and add 1 to 1 ½ c. of the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth, about a minute. Stir the blended mix back into the Dutch oven.

Add lemon juice and peas, and stir.

Place back on heat, medium to medium-low. Make 4 indentations in the mix and crack 2 eggs into each indentation. Sprinkle with Aleppo pepper, if using, and more salt as desired. Cover the pot and cook until egg whites are just set, 5 to 10 minutes (You have to keep a close eye on it). Remove from heat and let sit, covered, until the whites are fully set, another 2 to 4 minutes.

Add the herbs, feta, and drizzle with more olive oil.

Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!

July 6, 2018

Serendipitous simple spinach swirls

I was not expecting to make this week’s dish, but I just happened to have all but one of the ingredients on hand. So, one Sunday morning before a get-together with friends, I whipped together spanakopita-like spinach swirls.

And they’re a real Frankenstein’s monster of my previous sheet pan recipes.

I had left over one sheet of puff pastry from the sausage “sandwich” I made earlier this year. I had bought a gigantic block of feta for the chicken meatballs, because it called for the brine too, and had quite a bit leftover. I had the basic idea of what it’d take to make it work from when I actually did make spanakopita. We even just happened to have dill around for some reason, and everything but spinach is a regular pantry item. So, I sought spinach.

While I made this frantically, because as usual I was running late for said get-together, it was super simple and comes together quick. Mine didn’t look as pretty as a similar-ish recipe on the back of the puff pastry box but still tasty.

My only issue is I took the back-of-the-box advice to brush on an egg wash on the dough before baking, which was fine, but it made the swirls stick to the pan, so I wish I had used parchment paper for easy cleanup. Oh, and I probably should’ve strained the spinach a bit. Other than that, simple and delicious.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 sheet puff pastry
~1 c. crumbled feta (I’d bet a 4 oz. container of crumbled feta would be a fine amount)
½ c. Parmesan, shredded
2 eggs, divided
2-4 cloves garlic, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Dill, to taste
Flour, for rolling pastry dough

Directions

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a large rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.

Squeeze out water from handfuls of spinach and place in a large bowl. Add feta, Parmesan, garlic, 1 egg, salt, pepper, and dill to the spinach, and stir well to combine.

Place a small handful of flour on a clean surface, and unroll the puff pastry sheet. Sprinkle with more flour, and then roll out to about 12 inches by 10 inches or so.

Place the spinach mix along the long side of the puff pastry. Roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into about 12 slices.

Place face up on the lined sheet pan.

Mix together the remaining egg with about 1 T. of water. Stir the egg wash on the edges of the puff pastry to coat.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown, and enjoy!