Spinach

Spinacia oleracea

Succulent spinach is one of the best-known vegetables in America, loved for its versatility in the kitchen but sometimes not so enjoyed by juveniles. Belonging to the same family as beets, Swiss chard, and amaranth, spinach comes in several different forms: savoy, which has very crinkly leaves and is often the one available fresh in bunches; flat or smoothleaf, which has broader, smoother leaves; and semi-savoy, a hybrid type that combines the texture of savoy but is not nearly as difficult to clean.

Do not confuse spinach with New Zealand spinach or water spinach, which are entirely different plants.

In recent times spinach has unfortunately been associated with E. coli outbreaks, the result of central California–grown plants tainted by irrigation water contaminated with manure runoff. Although the chances are extremely remote that spinach grown locally in small-scale operations for farmers markets and CSAs would be similarly contaminated, periodic outbreaks on lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, and certain fruits are a good reminder to thoroughly wash or cook our produce before using it, regardless of the source.

History

Spinach has a rich history as a favored vegetable. Its wild form originated in ancient Persia (now modern-day Iran), and the Arabs likely introduced the plant from Asia to Europe. Oddly, unlike many other modern vegetables, the ancient Italians and Greeks did not seem to know anything about it, even though spinach is common in many traditional Greek dishes. By the 1500s spinach was a favored Lenten food because of its early spring availability. When the Italian Catherine de’ Medici married King Henry II of France, she introduced spinach to the French court, and to this day the phrase à la florentine signifies a dish containing the vegetable (in France, but not in Florence).

Exactly how spinach got to America is a mystery, but it was growing in several American gardens by the early 19th century. In the late 1800s, a misplaced decimal point in a European publication pegged spinach’s iron content as 10 times too high, and it was not until 1937 that German chemists corrected the mistake. But by then the cartoon character Popeye was already extolling the muscle-building properties of this wonder vegetable.

Nutrition

A strong, muscular Popeye made the nutritional qualities of spinach famous, and indeed a 1-cup serving of spinach does contain almost 40 percent of your daily adult requirement for iron (at only 7 calories). Unfortunately, its naturally occurring oxalic acid binds with the iron, rendering much of this nutrient unusable. But spinach has plenty of other nutritional redemption, with enormous amounts of vitamins K, A, and C; the B vitamins (especially folate); calcium; potassium; and manganese. Spinach is also one of the richest natural sources of lutein, a carotenoid that protects against degenerative diseases of the eye. It is also rather high in sodium for a vegetable, accounting for its slightly salty taste.

Season

Commercially, spinach is widely grown and available year-round. But spinach is a cool-season plant that dislikes heat, and you’ll find the tenderest, most succulent specimens at farmers markets and CSAs in the spring (mid-May to June) and again in the fall (mid-September until frost).

Selection

All spinach, whether in the form of bunches or washed, bagged leaves, should look fresh and bright green, free from yellowing or wilting leaves, slime, or decay.

Storage

Spinach should be stored unwashed and wrapped in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator vegetable crisper until ready to use; depending on its condition, it will keep for 3 to 5 days. Before storing, inspect the bunch to make sure no slimy leaves are present, as rot will spread to other leaves quite quickly. Excess moisture tends to promote sliminess; slipping a dry paper towel among the leaves can help keep things drier.

Spinach and other salad greens should not be stored next to apples or other fruits that emit ethylene gas, which hastens spoilage and causes brown spots.

Trimming and Cleaning

Spinach loves sandy soil, and plenty of it often remains lodged in its crinkly leaves, sometimes even after several rinsings. The easiest way to wash spinach is to fill a big sink or bowl full of water, separate the leaves from the bunches, and completely submerge them, swishing vigorously. Inspect especially crinkly leaves and stems, where telltale brown grit may persist. Then rinse under cold running water, and repeat if necessary. To dry, use a salad spinner or gently pat the leaves dry between a couple of clean dish towels.

Steaming and Boiling

Steaming is an excellent way to cook spinach, which tends to be more watery when boiled. About 1½ pounds of freshly washed (but not dried) raw spinach will steam in its own moisture if placed in a steamer basket, covered, and cooked for 5 to 8 minutes.

If you prefer, boil spinach by dropping it into a large pot of boiling water and cooking it for 3 to 5 minutes. Be sure to drain it really well, even squeezing out some of the excess moisture, or the result will be a watery mush.

Stir-Frying and Sautéing

Spinach is delicious in a stir-fry, especially when young leaves are tossed in during the last few minutes of cooking. To sauté spinach in quantity, put a little oil or stock into a broad pan, and place about a quarter to a third of the total amount of spinach you plan to use into it. Cook these leaves down a bit, letting them wilt; then add the next third, and repeat the process until all of the spinach is used up.

Add more oil or stock as necessary. Toward the end of the cooking time, season with garlic, black pepper, nutmeg, salt, butter, or whatever seasoning you desire.

Microwaving

Wash and rinse, but do not dry. The water that clings to the leaves is enough moisture for it to cook in. Place the leaves in a microwave-safe dish, cover, and cook on high power, stopping to stir the spinach occasionally.

• 1 pound = 4 to 6 minutes

Blanching and Freezing

To blanch, bring salted water to a boil. Drop the spinach into the boiling water for 15 to 30 seconds until it turns bright green. Remove the spinach and immediately plunge it into ice water to stop the cooking process. Squeeze the excess water from the spinach, then place the spinach in zipper-lock freezer or vacuum food sealer-type bags, or freezer containers. Squeeze out any excess air and leave ½ inch of headspace (unless you are using the vacuum sealing method). Frozen spinach will keep for up to 6 months at 0°F.

Equivalents, Measures, and Servings

• 1 pound raw spinach = 1 cup cooked
• ½ cup cooked = 1 serving

Complementary Herbs, Seasonings, and Foods

Almonds, anchovies, bacon, basil, butter, cardamom, carrots, cheese (Cheddar, feta, goat, mozzarella, Parmesan, pecorino), chiles, chives, citrus, cream, cumin, curry, dill, eggs, fish, garlic, ginger, ham, hollandaise sauce, horseradish, hot peppers, leeks, lemons, lemongrass, mace, marjoram, mint, miso, mushrooms, mustard, nutmeg, nuts, olive oil, olives, onions, oranges, parsley, pasta, peaches, pepper, pine nuts, polenta, potatoes, raisins, raspberries, rice vinegar, sesame, sour cream, soy, strawberries, sugar, tarragon, tomatoes, vinegar, walnuts, yogurt.

Serving Suggestions

• Mix baby spinach with various lettuces, arugula, endive, dandelion greens, and fresh herbs for lush tossed salads bursting with different flavors and textures.
• Spinach combines wonderfully with pasta; toss it with cooked noodles, or use it in gnocchi or for ravioli fillings.
• Add a few spinach leaves in place of lettuce in your sandwiches, or add to tacos and burritos.
• Throw in a few handfuls of spinach leaves toward the end of cooking a stir-fry.
• Sprinkle some thinly sliced strawberries over your spinach salad and serve with a balsamic vinegar dressing. Mandarin oranges (either fresh or canned) and peaches are delicious too.
• Perk up your frittatas and crêpes with steamed spinach leaves.
• A classic recipe of old called for adding 8 tablespoons of butter every day for 4 days to a pot of cooked spinach, pureeing the mixture into a velvety green soup, and finishing with nutmeg. Not exactly the most healthful, but certainly the richest and most sinful—a spinach soup decidedly for adults.
• One of the classic spinach preparations is still the best: a wilted spinach salad made with hot bacon dressing, garnished with toasted almonds.
• Middle Eastern and Greek cuisines make use of spinach in many forms. Try it in rice dishes, or combine it with feta cheese, pomegranate seeds, garlic, and preserved lemon.
• Spinach is very popular in Indian dishes such as curries, as saags (Indian-style creamed spinach), and with paneer (cheese).

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Grandma’s Spinach Soufflé

Serves 4

Source Note: Don’t be put off by the word “soufflé”—this is very easy! Call it baked spinach if you feel more confident with that. The main trick here is to call everyone to the table just before you take the dish from the oven, so they can admire the puffy, golden top. My children, sadly, lack appreciation. They just see the green bits.

1 bunch fresh spinach (about 6 ounces leaves, or 4 cups firmly packed)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black or white pepper
3 eggs, whites and yolks separated
¾ to 1 cup grated or crumbled cheese (feta, sharp Cheddar, smoked anything, blue cheese, Parmesan)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish and set aside.
2. Wash the spinach leaves and spin them dry. Heat a large sauté pan with a small amount of oil or butter; put all the spinach in and cook, turning, until the leaves are fully wilted, about 4 minutes. Spread the cooked spinach on a plate and allow it to cool somewhat, then squeeze all the moisture from it. Chop finely.
3. In a small saucepan, whisk the flour into the milk. Set the pan over medium-low heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until it thickens and has a smooth consistency. Pour the mixture into a large bowl; stir in the salt and pepper, and allow to cool somewhat.
4. In a large, very clean bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form.
5. Whisk the egg yolks into the milk-flour mixture. Add the chopped spinach and grated cheese; stir to combine. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the egg whites; pour into the casserole dish and spread evenly.
6. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Serve immediately.

— Margaret Houston, Featherstone Farm CSA member

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Gomae (Sesame Spinach)

Serves 2

Source Note: This is a traditional Japanese dish of cooked spinach prepared with a sesame dressing, usually served at room temperature.

12 ounces (1 large bunch) fresh spinach
1 to 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
½ teaspoon soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

1. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the spinach into the boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes; it will turn bright green. Immediately remove the spinach and plunge it into ice water for 1 minute to stop the cooking process. Drain it thoroughly, then squeeze out the excess water.
2. Mix the sesame oil and soy sauce in a bowl. Toss the oil mixture with the spinach and top with toasted sesame seeds. Serve warm or cold.

— Featherstone Farm, Rushford, Minnesota

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Saag Paneer

Serves 2 to 4

Source Note: Saag paneer is a delicious Indian vegetable dish made with spinach, mustard greens, and paneer (Indian cheese). This wonderful dish is smooth, creamy, and full of warm spices. Serve saag paneer with fragrant basmati rice and fresh naan.

4 tablespoons ghee, or 2 tablespoons mustard oil plus
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Green chiles (as many as you want), split lengthwise (remove the seeds for less heat)
1 onion, grated or finely chopped
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 (3-inch) sticks cinnamon
5 cardamom pods
5 whole cloves
4 cloves garlic, minced
1½ tablespoons grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Two (16-ounce) bags frozen chopped spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out, or 4 pounds fresh whole-leaf spinach, chopped
1 bunch kale or mustard greens, stems removed, chopped
⅓ cup heavy cream (optional)
1 portion paneer, cubed (either homemade or store-bought)
Salt

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the ghee over medium heat. When it is hot, add the chiles, onion, fenugreek, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. Sauté until the onion begins to brown slightly. Adjust the heat if necessary to prevent burning. Add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook for about 1 minute. There should be a nice fragrance coming from the pot.
2. Add the dry spices and mix to thoroughly combine. Add the tomato paste, spinach, and fresh greens. Mix well. Add 1 to 2 cups water (the amount will depend on how big your pot is) to give about ½ inch of liquid above the greens. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to allow the greens to simmer, partially covered, for 30 to 45 minutes (longer is better). Stir occasionally. When the water has evaporated, add either the cream or a little more water. By the end of the cooking time, the greens should be tender and most of the liquid should be evaporated.
3. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and allow it to sit for about 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.
4. Let the spinach cool enough so that you can remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Using a food processor or a stick blender (also called an immersion blender), puree the mixture until it is very smooth; this is optional, but doing so will yield the perfect, creamy consistency.
5. Before serving, fry the paneer cubes in a little bit of oil (or ghee) until they are browned on all sides. Drain on paper towels. Check the saag again to make sure it is the consistency you want. If you prefer, add a little more water to thin it out. Add the paneer to the saag and mix gently.

— Foodista.com

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Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)

Serves 6 to 10

Source Note: This is a traditional Greek dish. You can find phyllo dough at most supermarkets in the frozen pie and pie dough section. Frozen spinach is actually preferred for this recipe over fresh spinach, which must be meticulously cleaned, chopped, wilted, and then squeezed dry, all of which takes time. And to get the quantity the recipe requires, you must use a huge amount of fresh spinach. Frozen spinach is already cleaned and that large amount is already compressed into bags or boxes, plus it is chopped more evenly and thus mixes and cooks better with the rest of the filling.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
Two (16-ounce) bags frozen spinach (do not thaw), or 4 pounds fresh whole-leaf spinach, chopped
1 pound feta cheese
2 eggs
1½ teaspoons dry dill, or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
One (1-pound) box phyllo dough, thawed overnight in the refrigerator

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. If you are using fresh spinach, blanch it first. Bring salted water to a boil. Drop the spinach into boiling water for 15 to 30 seconds until it turns bright green. Remove the spinach and immediately plunge it into ice water to stop the cooking process. Thoroughly squeeze the excess water from the spinach.
3. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil (it should be enough to cover the bottom of the pan) on medium heat. Add the onion and sauté it, stirring occasionally, until it turns translucent, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the frozen spinach and stir it with the onion, cooking it until it is thawed but not hot. If you’re using fresh spinach, heat it through until it wilts (about 1 minute).
5. Transfer the onion and spinach to a colander. When it is cool enough to handle, squeeze it with your hands or press with a spoon to extract as much water as possible. Set the mixture aside to cool completely.
6. Crumble the feta into a large bowl, add the eggs, and stir well. Add the dill, then salt and pepper to taste. Add the spinach and onions and combine well.
7. To make individual triangles: Brush one or two sheets of phyllo with melted butter. Fold the sheets lengthwise twice (so they are long and thin-shaped), and place a heaping teaspoonful of the spinach mixture at one end in the corner of the dough. Then fold the dough into a triangle over the spinach mixture, creating a little pocket. Repeat folding the pocket of spinach until no more dough remains to fold. (There may be a little flap of dough left, which you can cut off with a knife.)
8. A much easier method is to make a spanakopita casserole: Using scissors or a sharp knife, cut the sheets of phyllo so that they will fit into a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or Pyrex dish. Brush each sheet with butter; continue this until you’ve used up half of the sheets (8 to 10), and lay them flat in the bottom of the dish. Add the spinach mixture and gently spread it into an even layer. Then stack the rest of the sheets on top, buttering each one as you go.
9. Score the layers of phyllo before baking—otherwise it will be very hard to slice, as it gets so flaky. Bake the casserole for about 25 minutes; if you’ve made the triangles, bake them on a greased baking sheet for about 15 minutes. Check often—spanakopita is ready when the dough is golden brown; if it gets too dark, it is overdone.

— Jen Vassili

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Spinach and Warm Sungold Tomato Salad

Serves 4

2 large bunches spinach
1 pint (2 cups) Sungold cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Wash the spinach, removing and discarding the thick stems. Dry the spinach thoroughly, and divide it among 4 large plates.
2. Wash the tomatoes and cut them in half through their stem ends.
3. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the garlic and halved tomatoes. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release some of their juices (but do not overcook, as the tomatoes should hold their shape).
4. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the warm tomatoes, garlic, and pan juices evenly over the spinach. Serve immediately.

— Colleen Wolner, Blue Heron Coffeehouse, Winona, Minnesota

From Bounty from the Box: The CSA Farm Cookbook, by Mi Ae Lipe