#BXLLOCKDOWN DAY 36

“HERO” WEEK/ SPINACH / RECIPE 3

“Hero” week continues with Spinach. Here is a dish that I learned from my grandmother. I lived with her for a few years as a teenager and needless to say I was a fussy eater. She would try everything to make me eat more greens and one day she came home from the market with the most luscious spinach and told me “you’re cooking with me tonight”
Her strategy was to get me to cook, so I would be happy to eat whatever i cooked. It worked, since that day, this is my favourite spinach dish. It doesn’t look like much but it packs a punch in flavour. All you need is; onions, minced meat (optional), tomato paste, few fresh /canned tomatoes, spinach and 3 tbsp rice and a squeeze of lemon juice just as you take it off the stove.
I like it with rice and yogurt but you can serve it with whatever you fancy.

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WHAT YOU NEED:

• fresh spinach

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 bunches spinach, chopped
• 300gr ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 3 medium size tomatoes, cubed
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup of rice, uncooked
• 1 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 cup yogurt, to serve
• 1/2 tsp of sumak, to serve
• 1/2 tsp pine nuts, toasted, to serve (optional)
• 1 sprig of parsley, to serve (optional)
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon

What YOu DO:

1. In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion. Cook until softened but not brown
2. Then add the minced beef and stir well
3. Once the beef is browned, add the chili flakes, and the tomato paste
4. Then stir in the fresh tomatoes , mix well and then add the canned tomatoes, bring to a light boil
5. Stir in the chopped spinach, mix well
6. Cook with the lid off for a couple of minutes and then add the rice, mix well
7. Cover with the lid. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes
8. Then remove the lid and cook for another 5 minutes (so the excess water evaporates)
9. In the meantime, toast the pine nuts (if using), set aside
10. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and mix well, place the lid and let it rest for a few minutes
11. This is not a dish you eat piping hot, so let it rest while you set the table or get a glass of wine
12. Serve it warm with plain yogurt and a sprinkle of sumac over it
13. Garnish with a sprig of parsley (optional)
    

ENJOY!