March 26th – National Spinach day

Did you know? Are you a spinach lover ??

We often associate it with a childhood nightmare, when our parents forced us to eat an unconvincing pulp, ensuring that it was healthy and much better in taste than we thought.  For years we have avoided this remembered spinach, at best we added a bit of green leaves to the pasta and then cover it generously with cream.  Meanwhile, well-prepared spinach tastes really delicious and provides the body with a large portion of vitamins.  

You can prepare spinach dishes with fresh or frozen vegetables.

Raw or cooked.  Fresh or frozen.  No matter in what form, spinach is one of the most valuable vegetables.  He enjoys the company of garlic, salmon, and feta cheese.

Spinach – it is definitely worth enriching your menu with it: it contains many valuable nutrients, such as iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and a lot of vitamin C, invaluable for our body.  tasty and varied dishes with spinach.

Turkey Patties A’la Shrek

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of minced turkey breast meat
• 2 cups  of shredded frozen spinach
• approx. 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander seeds
• egg
• spoon of olive oil
• salt pepper
• Oil

Preparation:

• Fry the spinach in hot olive oil. Peel the garlic and squeeze it through the press. Add it together  with the coriander and nutmeg.  Stir fry everything  for about 10 minutes. Cool it down a little.
• Mix the meat with the spinach and oatmeal. Put in the egg and season to taste.  Mix until a  uniform and slightly dense mass is formed. If its too soft ( runny) just add some more  oatmeal to the mix.
• Form small balls ( any size you wish), and flatten them on both  side, so they will look like patties.
• Fry them in shallow oil, on frying pan, until crispy.

Salad with spinach, cranberries, and walnuts

Ingredients:

• fresh spinach leaves,
• favorite yellow cheese (preferably quite hard),
• a handful of walnuts,
• a handful of dried cranberries,
• quinoa or a dash of sesame
• olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, spices.

Preparation:

• Rinse the spinach and pat dry on a paper towel.  Put in a salad bowl.
• Dice the walnuts and dice the yellow cheese.  Add to spinach.
• Make a salad dressing with a tablespoon of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and your favorite spices.
• Add a pinch of Provencal herbs, pepper, and salt for flavor.
• Pour the sauce over the salad and sprinkle it on top with cranberries and optionally, e.g., cooked quinoa.  Finished!
• Chicken breast stuffed with spinach and feta cheese
• A dish for all those who cannot imagine a dinner without meat.  Delicate chicken breast meat will taste great with spinach with a bit of garlic and feta cheese.  Serve solo or with a simple salad.

Spinach Shakshuka

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups of fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 3/4 cups of feta cheese
• 3 eggs
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• nutmeg
• pinch
• a handful of walnuts

Preparation:

• Melt the butter in the pan and add the olive oil.
• Peel the garlic, chop it finely and fry in fat for a while.
• Add the spinach and fry until it reduces in volume. Add cream, water, and stew the spinach uncovered. When the liquid has evaporated, crush the feta cheese, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and mix well.
• Transfer the contents of the pan to a casserole dish, make three recesses and insert an egg into each of them. Put in an oven preheated to 180 degrees and bake until the egg is cooked to our favorite consistency, which should take 15-20 minutes.

Forest moss cake with spinach

Ingredients :

On the cake :

• 3.5 cups of fine  flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of sugar
• ¾ cup  of oil
• a small teaspoon of lemon flavor
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 cup of fresh spinach

To make the cream:

• 2 cups of heavy cream
•  tablespoons of boiled lukewarm water
• 4 teaspoons of gelatin
• 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 pack of vanilla sugar

To soak the cake:

• ¾ cup  of sweetened tea with the addition of 1 lemon juice

To decorate:

• pomegranate seeds

Preparation:

• Thoroughly wash the spinach, drain, and grind in a blender. Mix the dry ingredients for the dough together. Beat eggs with sugar until white.
•  Slowly pour in the oil, stirring constantly with a spatula. Also add flavor and spinach. Mix. Pour in the flour very slowly, stirring constantly. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 F for about an hour
• When the cake is baked, turn off the oven and gently open the door to cool slowly. If you pull it out right away, it may fall off.
• After this time, use a knife to separate the edges and remove from the plate. Cooled cut horizontally in half. Crush the top part thoroughly with your hands. Put the lower table back into the baking tray and soak it with punch.

to make the cream…

• Pour the gelatin with water and let it swell for a few minutes.
• Then heat it until it dissolves completely (but do not let it boil).
• Beat the cream and sugar until stiff. Pour in the cooled gelatin while mixing continuously. Add the lemon zest.
• Put the finished mass on the top of the cake, even it and sprinkle with the crushed part. Garnish as desired, e.g., with pomegranate seeds. Chill for about 2 hours.

Chicken breast stuffed with spinach and feta cheese

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken fillets,
• frozen spinach (with or without cream),
• feta cheese,
• 2 cloves of garlic,
• pepper, salt.

Preparation:

• In a frying pan, crush the spinach, seasoning with garlic squeezed through the press, salt, and pepper.
• When it loses volume, add the shredded feta cheese.
• Gently break the chicken fillets and rub with salt.  Fold in half and put the spinach and cheese paste inside.
• Fix the fillets with a toothpick so that they do not fall apart during baking.
• Place in an ovenproof dish and put in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for about 30 minutes.
• Prepare a quick and delicate garlic sauce: mix the plain yogurt with a tablespoon of mayonnaise, garlic, pepper, and salt.
• You can still gently grill the spinach rolls in a grill pan to keep them crispy.

Palak Paneer

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of spinach
• 1 cup of paneer cheese
• 1 onion
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 chili pepper
• 2 tomato
• 4 tablespoons of oil
• salt
• to taste
• basmati rice to serve
• black cumin seeds for decoration

Preparation:

• Dice the paneer cheese. Fry in two tablespoons of oil until slightly golden brown, then drain on a paper towel.
• Throw the washed spinach into boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Shred gently in a blender.
• Chop the onion and chili finely, squeeze the garlic through the press. Dice the tomatoes. In the rest of the oil, fry the onion until it is slightly golden brown, add the pressed garlic, ginger, and ground cumin. We fry for a while, stirring all the time.
• Add chopped tomatoes and chili, stew everything for a few minutes, until the tomatoes are tender. Add shredded spinach and paneer cheese and simmer for about five minutes over low heat. We salt to taste.
• Serve with basmati rice and sprinkle with black cumin.

Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients:

• lasagna pasta,
• frozen spinach
• 4 cream cheese processed,
• 2 cups of grated cheese,
• olive oil,
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• oregano,
• salt and pepper.

Preparation :

• Defrost the spinach in the pan.  Add the garlic squeezed through the press, pepper, and salt to it.
• Finally, add the melted cheese and let it dissolve, thickening the spinach paste.
• Then, in a casserole dish, place a layer of spinach on the bottom, interleaving it with a layer of pasta.  Repeat the operation alternately until the desired height of the lasagna is achieved.
• Sprinkle the top of the lasagna with spinach with grated cheese and oregano.
• Put in the oven and bake at 375 F (180 ° C) for about 35-45 minutes.

Spicy Spinach Waffles

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of natural yogurt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch hot pepper
• 1/2 cup of margarine
• 2 cups of frozen spinach
• 1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 cup of yellow cheese
• 1 cup pf heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

• Beat the egg whites until stiff.
• Dissolve the margarine and, after cooling, mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Finally, add whipped foam.
• Prepare waffles in a waffle iron. Bake the waffles for about 3 – 4 minutes until browned.
• Fry diced onion in hot fat, add thawed and squeezed spinach and dried diced tomatoes.
• Fry it for a while, then combine the cream and add the resulting creamy dressing to the spinach.
• Boil it all together for a while until the sauce thickens and then sprinkle with paprika. Put the prepared spinach on the waffles and sprinkle the cheese on top.

Spinach roulade with salmon and cheese

Ingredients:

• frozen spinach
• 1 ½ cup of sliced smoked  ​​salmon,
• 4 eggs,
• cottage cheese or two packages of cottage cheese,
• 2 cloves of garlic,
• flour,
• butter,
• pepper, salt.

Preparation :

• Thaw spinach in a pan, add salt, pepper, and pressed garlic.
• When the spinach has cooled down, add the egg yolks to it and beat the whites until stiff.
• Put the whipped foam into the spinach and mix very gently.
• Pour in two tablespoons of flour and mix until smooth.
• Put it on a baking sheet covered with baking paper and bake it in the oven for 15 minutes at 180 ° C.
• After removing from the oven, set aside to cool and brush with cottage cheese.
• Lay out the salmon slices, then roll into a roulade.
• Wrap it all in foil and put it in the fridge for a few hours.  Then, slice the roulade.

Risotto with spinach and Parmesan cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of risotto rice,
• 3/4 pack of frozen spinach,
• 2 broth or vegetable cubes,
• 2 cloves of garlic,
• a small onion,
• natural yogurt,
• pepper, salt,
• nutmeg,
• a bit of grated Parmesan cheese,
• baguette for croutons.

Preparation:

• Prepare the broth in a liter of water.
• In a frying pan, fry the diced onion and press the garlic.
• Then add the rice, stirring constantly to prevent it from burning.
• After a few minutes, add a ladle of stock to the rice and stir until it is absorbed.
• Repeat the operation until all the broth is used up.
• Add thawed spinach and spices to the rice.  You can season it with a little natural yoghurt (or not if the spinach is with cream).
• Serve on plates with croutons, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Salmon with spinach baked in puff pastry

Ingredients:

• 10 – 12  oz of fresh skinless salmon
• fish seasoning
• oil to drizzle
• 1 cup of fresh spinach
• garlic salt
• butter for frying
• 1 package  of ready puff pastry

Preparation:

• Divide the salmon fillet into two pieces. Then sprinkle the pieces of fish seasoning on both sides and drizzle with olive oil. Set aside for at least an hour, but the longer the better.
• Chop the spinach and fry in butter to reduce its volume, season with garlic salt to taste. On a baking tray lined with baking paper, roll out the puff pastry, cut into two pieces.
• Place a piece of salmon on each side.
• Place the fried spinach on top of the fish. Fold the dough in half and cover the fish to form a package.
• Stick the sides together by pressing down with a fork.
• Brush the top with milk. Put the baking tray in the oven preheated to 375 Fand bake for about 20-30 minutes until the dough is golden

Omelet with Stewed Leeks , Spinach, and Brie Cheese

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 1 leek
• 3 slices of cold cuts (use your favorite)
• a handful of spinach
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil and butter
• 3-4 oz  of brie cheese

Preparation:

• Cut off the green leaves of the leek. Cut the white and light green parts lengthwise into 2 halves, rinse, dry and cut into slices. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into the frying pan and put the leeks in, season with salt, fry while stirring for about a minute, then cover with a lid and simmer for about 2 minutes over low heat. Remove the lid and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Finally, add the rinsed spinach and mix.
• Pour eggs into a bowl, add milk, season with salt and pepper and beat with a fork. Add vitrified leeks with spinach, diced brie cheese, diced sausage, and mix. Meanwhile, preheat the oven (e.g., the upper grill element or only the upper grill element).
• Heat a larger frying pan with a diameter of approx. 24 cm, add the butter and spread it over the entire pan. Pour in the egg mass and level the surface.
• Fry over moderate heat for about 2 – 3 minutes until the omelet is firm and lightly browned from the bottom. Then put the pan in the oven for about 3 minutes.

Cannelloni stuffed with Spinach

Ingredients:

• cannelloni type pasta,
• fresh or frozen spinach,
• mozzarella,
• sour cream,
• Garlic,
• pepper, salt.

Preparation :

• Boil the cannelloni in salted water for a few minutes.
• Prepare spinach in a frying pan, season with garlic, pepper, and salt.
• Add cream and mix.
• Fill the finished stuffing with the cooled cannelloni tubes, place them in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with grated mozzarella and bake for about 15 minutes at 180 ° C.
• Cream soup with spinach
• A thick, creamy, and filling spinach cream soup, served with a bit of cream and optionally mozzarella balls or croutons, will delight even the declared opponent of spinach.  This spinach dish is also liked by children!

Spinach Knödels (dumplings) and ricotta cheese

Spinach dumplings and ricotta cheese are soft and fluffy. They taste great as a standalone dish or as an addition to meat dishes.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of fresh spinach
• 1 small packet of ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons of fennel seeds
• 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 tablespoon of dried thyme
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

• Wash the spinach and blanch for 4 minutes in boiling water. Drain thoroughly and cool.
• Lightly crush the fennel in a mortar, mix with the egg, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese. Add spinach to the mixture and mix thoroughly.
• Mix the flour with the thyme. Form small dumplings from the prepared mass and coat in flour with thyme.
• Boil water in a large pot. Put dumplings in boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
• Heat the butter in a frying pan and add the pressed garlic. Fry briefly, 1-2 minutes, taking care not to let the garlic burn over.
• Serve the dumplings with garlic butter and freshly ground pepper.
• Spinach and ricotta are a successful duo with great culinary potential. Italian fat cheese and delicate spinach combine well to give a light consistency, ideally suited for the preparation of dumplings or stuffing.

Crepes with Spinach and Feta cheese

Ingredients:

• pancakes made according to your own recipe,
• frozen spinach
• chicken fillet,
• feta cheese,
• pumpkin seeds,
• a bit of grated cheese,
• pepper, salt,
• granulated garlic (if desired).

Preparation :

• Fry the pancakes according to your favorite recipe.
• Meanwhile, cut the chicken fillet into small strips, season, and fry in a pan.
• Add thawed spinach, diced feta cheese and pumpkin seeds to it.  Mix.
• Put the finished stuffing on the pancakes and bake them for another 5 minutes in the oven.
• You can sprinkle them on top with grated cheese at the end of baking.

Tart with spinach and feta cheese

Ingredients:

• ready-made puff pastry,
• frozen spinach (leafy),
• 2 mozzarella,
• feta cheese,
• Greek yoghurt,
• 2 cloves of garlic,
• 2 onions,
• pepper, salt, favorite spices.

Preparation :

• Cut the onion into slices and fry it in a pan.
• Add the spinach and garlic pressed through the press, season to taste.  Mix it up.
• Pour in chopped feta cheese and add Greek yogurt.
• Gently brush the tart tin with oil or butter.
• Put the puff pastry on a tart pan.
• Put the spinach stuffing on top of the dough.  Place the sliced ​​mozzarella on top.
• Put the spinach tart in an oven preheated to 180 ° C.  Bake for about 30 minutes.

Polish Dumplings stuffed with spinach

Ingredients:

For stuffing:

• frozen spinach
• 20 g of yellow cheese,
• wash, salt,
• nutmeg,
• optional garlic.

For the Pastry:

• 2 eggs,
• 2 cups of flour,
• 1 tablespoon of butter.

Preparation :

• Thaw the spinach in a pan until the water evaporates.
• Season to taste and add the grated yellow cheese to it.
• Keep stirring until the cheese melts.
• Use the eggs, flour, butter, and a little hot water to knead the dough into dumplings.
• Stick the dumplings, filling them with spinach and cheese stuffing.  Toss them over the boiling water and wait for them to flow out.

Chijimi – Korean spinach pancakes

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of fresh or 3 cups of frozen spinach
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons of wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 4 heaped tablespoons of grated cheese

Preparation:

• Thoroughly wash the fresh spinach and blanch in salted water for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from boiling water and cool immediately under a stream of cold water. Drain thoroughly.
• Remove the frozen spinach beforehand, thaw and drain the excess water.
• Dice the spinach and cut it finely.
• Prepare a dough with eggs, water, and flour, add chopped spinach and salt. Mix thoroughly.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan. Using a spoon, place the dough on the fat, making pancakes of the same size. When the pancakes are golden on one side, transfer to the other.
• Put evenly grated cheese on top. Cover with a lid and cook for about 3 minutes (until golden brown).
• Serve with hot tomato or garlic sauce.