I couldn’t resist the 40-ounce bag of fresh spinach at
Costco yesterday for $3.99. I’ve been a
fan of fresh spinach since my earliest cooking days. I like putting it in salads, dropping a few
handfuls into soup, a stir-fry, a stew or hot pasta. I’ve recently taken to mixing some fresh
spinach into ground turkey recipes, just to provide some novelty. I also make an excellent Spinach Quiche.
Frozen spinach just doesn’t provide the same taste experience,
especially the chopped version. Draining
a pot of once-frozen, then-cooked chopped spinach is highly unappealing. I would never serve it as a vegetable. Whole-leaf frozen spinach is slightly better
in principle, but I can’t remember the last time I offered it as a side dish. As for canned spinach…I don’t want to think about
it.
Here are some facts that might come in handy if you get
seduced by a big bag of fresh spinach:
1 pound fresh spinach equals 10 ounces frozen spinach
Spinach stems are edible.
They shrink when cooked. However,
when serving the spinach uncooked in a salad, take the time to remove and
discard any really long stems.
Fresh spinach cooks in 2-3 minutes in 1/2 cup boiling
water or sauted for 1-2 minutes in olive oil.
Use it fresh spinach whenever you think to use
lettuce. A BLT can easily become a BST. If you’re dealing with picky eaters, don’t
mention that you’re using fresh spinach.
Just say it’s a new kind of lettuce.
When cooked, a huge pot of fresh spinach cooks down to
3-4 servings.
For easy recipes, order "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!"
No comments:
Post a Comment