"There are two kinds of people - Greeks, and everyone else who wish they was Greek."
(My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2002)
For a long time My Big Fat Greek Wedding was Freddie's favourite film. He would sit down and watch it at least twice a week, drawn in by the central themes of a huge family, large quantities of roasted red meat and the sound of the bouzouki. So when Ben from Mexico City left a comment about the joys of a Greek spinach dish, spanakopita, we had to try it out.
"This is an eight out of ten...", hesitated Freddie. "Or maybe it was more a 7.9. No actually make it an eight and tell Ben that it tasted really good."
Follow the same path that we took to find Ben's recipe for spanakopita. My version looks a little different to his as I blended the spinach in a food processor. But it tasted delicious. Thank you Ben!
What are your favourite ways to eat spinach?
My favourite way to eat spinach? In a Spanakopita...A Greek one, in fact.
ReplyDeletehttp://kalofagas.blogspot.com/2008/02/i-did-it.html
Our favourites -
ReplyDeleteCreamed spinach
Spinach and cheese filo pie
Spinach and potato with spices - Indian style.
I like spinach best served in a Chinese style stir-fry-
ReplyDeleteHeat some oil in a wok- add spinach. Add some fresh pressed garlic. Add a pinch of sugar and some soy sauce. Stir fry until wilted and bright green, but make sure not to do it too long, so that it turns slimy and that off-colour green. Serve immediately.
This is a great side dish to any Chinese food, but I eat it just as is, over Chinese egg noodles. Yum! :)
I have to leave a first time comment for my favorite vegetable! Spinach balls were my favorite way to eat spinach as a kid and became a standard at family parties.
ReplyDelete2 pkgs. frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and well-drained
1½ cups Pepperidge Farm herbed stuffing mix (or similar)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs, beaten
some melted butter (optional, but good)
Combine all ingredients. Shape into 1-1½” balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350ยบ for 15 mins. Eat hot from the oven. Enjoy!
Hi GBVC
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Freddie has heard about Eat in Colour, the campaign created by the fresh Produce Consortium, which has launched an initiative to tackle the diets of football fans.
http://www.eatincolour.com/footy.php
I am not sure if it hits the spot & would be interested to hear what Freddie thinks.
TopVeg
When I used to buy spinach (I don't anymore because it always goes bad before I can finish it!) I really just used it where I would use lettuce, like in salads and in sandwiches because they pack a lot more nutrition! They also take a lot better to cooking than lettuce does.
ReplyDeleteSome less straightforward ways that I like having spinach include spanakopita, spinach dip and crispy spinach (which is usually served with spicy chicken in Szechuan restaurants)
I've just eaten some for breakfast in a Turkish "gozleme" - a huge chapati like thin bread stuff with spinach and a little bit of chilli.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it can be made at home but I buy it fresh from local Turkish bakeries/cafes - every morning women sit in the window rolling and baking on a large stone. Bring Freddy up to Dalston/Stoke Newington to experience.
(Oh, I also like it in eggs florentine)
Cal
ReplyDeleteI know that Gozleme would be well received. They are delicious...
Vincci - spinach dip sounds good - what recipe do you use for that?
Top Veg
Thanks for telling me about this. Freddie is crazy about football so this looks perfect.
Mara - Another delicious idea - with the bnoodles - Have copied it out and will try on Freddie and the gang.
Ben - Thanks for your inspiration _ i love Peter's site and as I said Greek food is a big hit in our home. No there werent any breadcrumbs - just the natural top of the pie when it was cooked. it tasted fantastic.
Amanda - The Spinach and Cheese pies - are those wrapped in filo pastry? Is there a recipe on your wonderful Little Foodies site>
Leah _ Your recipe sounds delicious. I think I can buy that stuffing - is it like our PAXo brand?
Pete - We will try our Spanokopita asap - Thanks for leaving the link. much appreciated.x
They are filo. I'm pretty sure we did them on the blog when we were looking at Morocco or maybe Greece. Will have to trawl my memory and blog...
ReplyDeleteWill e-mail you the recipe if we didn't do it on the blog as they're good.