Travel the world without passport or plane ticket: just fresh spinach

Popeye would be proud that just about every culture eats their spinach. The green grows in moderate and cool climates-- quickly. Best of all it's a nutrition jackpot, rich in vitamins A, B6, C, E, and K. To boot it's full of iron, calcium, zinc and lutein that strengthens eyes. Its antioxidants are thought to vanquish incipient cancer cells and have been known to shrink lung tumors. That's why everybody eats it. 

And here's' how, 8 ways for right now:

Turkish Spinach with Poached Eggs
This perfect brunch, lunch or midnight snack dish is related to the better known shakshuka: tomato/peppers with poached eggs.

  for 2  (just double it for 4)

3/4 lb fresh spinach leaves, washed
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp fresh grated or powdered nutmeg 
1 tbsp thick plain yogurt
2 large or extra large eggs
pinch of chili powder and pinch of paprila
salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

Steam spinach just until it wilts. (If you don't have a steamer put it in a colander that fits in your pot.)
Refresh under running water, drain well and dry. Chop roughly.
In a medium sauté pan, over low heat oil and butter til butter melts. Stir in onion and garlic, cooking til onion is soft. (do not burn) Toss in spinach, nutmeg, salt and pepper and mix everything. Stir in yogurt.
Make two hollows in the spinach and drop in the eggs. Cover the pan and let the eggs poach.
Sprinkle chili powder and paprika over the eggs and serve immediately with more yogurt and crusty bread.

Japanese Goma-e

Serves 4 

1 lb spinach leaves, washed (or 12 oz green beans, cut into 1” pieces)
4 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp Japanese cooking wine, Mirin, or Chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp tamari (wheat-free Japanese soy sauce) or any soy sauce
½ tsp rice wine vinegar

Blanch the spinach leaves in heavily salted boiling water for one minute. Drain well. Form the wet leaves into a ball and squeeze out as must moisture as you can. Then put inside a towel and do the same. Once the spinach is try, chop it coarsely.

In a dry skillet or frying pan, toast the sesame seeds over medium heat for 2 minutes or until they start to become golden brown. This can happen very fast so stay focused on this.

Grind or smash the sesame seeds into a paste. Stir in the cooking wine, tamari, sugar, rice wine and water to thin the paste into a dressing.

Put the chopped spinach into a serving bowl and stir in the sesame dressing to serve. Serve at room temperature.


Spicy Ghanian Spinach

1/2 c vegetable oil
1 med red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 oz (3 tbsp) fresh ginger, minced or grated
1 habanero chili, seeded and minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 lbs plum tomatoes, chopped
3/4 c raw pumpkin seeds
2 1/2 tsps smoked paprika
dash of fish sauce
 1 1/4 lbs. fresh spinach, washed, dried and chopped

3 plaintains, peeled and boiled in salt water until just tender
sea salt to your taste

In a Dutch oven, warm oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, chile and pinches of salt to your taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelizing, about 15 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and pinches of salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer and partly cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes until the sauce has cooked to a rich tomato soup. 

Grind pumpkin seeds in a food processor to a fine powder starting to get clumpy. (Do not overprocess into a butter.) Save in a bowl.  

Stir in smoked paprika and fish sauce, simmer 2 minutes. Stir a tbsp of water, into the pumpkin seed powder, adding one more at a time to make it a loose paste. Spread this on top of the tomato sauce. Cover the pot, and cook 5 minutes.  

Stir the sauce into a thick porridge. Add a few splashes of water, increase heat to make it boil. Stir in the spinach, and cook until wilted and tender. Serve with boiled sweet plantains. 

 Indian Saag Paneer

(serves 4 as a side)
500g fresh spinach, well washed

2 tbsp ghee or unsalted butter
150g paneer or feta, cubed  1 small onion, very thinly sliced (a mandolin is helpful) 4 fat garlic cloves, very thinly sliced 1 1/2" fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 fresh small green chilli, seeded and thinly sliced 1 tsp garam masala ½ tsp turmeric ½ tsp salt

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Drop in the washed spinach, blanch for 10 seconds, then drain and cool in iced water. Squeeze out well and finely chop the stalks and roughly chop the leaves. Squeeze again and again until no more water comes out – it should be as dry as possible. Roughly chop it.

 Heat ghee or butter in a large heavy frying pan on a medium-high heat and fry the cheese cubes until golden and crusted. Use a slotted spoon to remover and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt. 

Heat remaining ghee/butter until it starts to smoke slightly.

Add onion, garlic, ginger and chilli with the spices and salt. Fry, stirring vigorously, until well brown, not burnt.

Add chopped spinach and cheese, stirring vigorously until hot. Taste for seasoning and serve.

Greek Spinach Pie without Phyllo

(my invention. recipe in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking)

Serves 8 (hot or room temp)

10-12 oz fresh spinach leaves (2 bunches), stemmed, washed and dried
½ lb feta cheese 
2 bunches scallions (12-14)
1 bunch dill, stems off 
¼-1/2 tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground or cracked black pepper
6 extra large or 7 large eggs
1 tsp olive oil
¼ tsp flour or fine bread crumbs
¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 º.
In a food processor, chop a mixture of spinach, feta, scallions and dill into fine pieces. You will probably have to do this in batches. Combine all batches in a large mixing bowl.
Add salt (less if the feta is already salty) and pepper. Add eggs, carefully blending. Everything should appear to be wet.

Coat a 10” pie plate or other baking dish with olive oil. Sprinkle flour around the bottom to absorb any juices. Pour in the spinach mixture and spread evenly, leveling the top. This should be even with the top of the pan. If there is extra, pack it into a small (3½”) Pyrex bowl coated with olive oil. Sprinkle the top with nutmeg. 
Bake in the center of the oven at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until the top is firm. (The mini will cook in 16-20 minutes.) Cool slightly before serving. You can also serve this at room temperature. Either way, cut in wedges. (Invert the mini and serve as an individual timbale, if you’d like.) 

Himalayan Kingdom of Mustang Spinach with Yogurt
serves 6 as a pita or naan sandwich

1 lb fresh spinach, stems off and washed
1/2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns or good quality black peppercorns
1/4 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp ground cayenne (to your taste for heat)
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, cleaned
16 oz very thick plain yogurt

Put spinach in a large bowl and pour 2 c boiling water over it. Cover bowl and let sit 2 minutes. Drain, rinse and dry spinach. Squeeze it in a ball, wrap in a towel and squeeze dry again.

Make a paste of the peppercorns, salt, cayenne and cilantro. Blend this into the yogurt. Taste and adjust for salt.

Chop the spinach as finely as you can and stir it into the yogurt. Serve immediately as a dip or sandwich filling. It will store overnight in the refrigerator if tightly sealed. 

Catalan Spinach

This comes from the northeastern corner of Spain centered on Barcelona. It's one of the most common and traditional dishes. Once made, it's put on top of flatbread for a cold pizza, in omelets, under chicken and mixed with scraps of meat or fish to make croquettes. It's also a beloved tapa all by itself-- sometimes with chickpeas added.

For 4
1/3 cup golden or dark raisins
1/4 c fragrant olive oil
1 1/2 lbs spinach, washed and drained (but not totally dry)
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/4 c (go over not under) pine nuts
1 sm onion, diced (this is in some recipes and not in others so it's optional)
Sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper to taste 
Plump the raisins with hot water or white wine or even rose water for 10-15 minutes, then drain.
Put the slightly damp spinach in a large saucepan over medium heat, cover and cook until spinach wilts, 3-5 minutes, stirring once or twice.  Drain the spinach in a colander by pressing the water out with the back of a spoon. Chop it coarsely.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add garlic, pine nuts, onion and raisins. Sauté on low until everything is lightly brown, 3-4 minutes, being careful not to burn anything. Raise heat to medium, add spinach, stir and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

 Simplest Spinach, Italian style 

serves 4

2 lb washed young spinach

Best quality grated Parmesan or Locatelli (saltier) cheese

4 garlic cloves, minced

Best quality olive oil to drizzle

 

Layer ingredients in a rectangular baking dish, like a 10” x 13/4” lasagna pan, starting with 1/3 of the spinach. Drizzle olive oil over spinach, sprinkle on 1/3 minced garlic, then 1/3 grated cheese and repeat the process to the top of pan ending with cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 400º.

P.S. Photos not mine.