Recipe of the day: Four delicious, must-try spinach recipes

Spinach is one of the most versatile vegetables and can be incorporated in many dishes and recipes.

Spinach has also been used for many years to create yummy and healthy smoothies, with many health benefits.

These spinach recipes are quick and easy to recreate and can be enjoyed as side dishes for your favourite dinner dishes.

Bacon spinach dip

Ingredients

• 10 slices of bacon
• 28g of block cream cheese, softened
• ⅓ cup of mayonnaise
• ⅓ cup of sour cream
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 450g of. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
• 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella, divided
• 1 baguette, sliced and toasted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy, 8 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate, then chop.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, garlic powder, and paprika and season with salt and pepper. Fold in chopped spinach, bacon, Parmesan, and ¾ cup of mozzarella.
3. Transfer dip to a baking dish and sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup mozzarella. Bake until golden and bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Serve with crostini.

This recipe was found on delish.com

Apple spinach salad

Ingredients

• 280g of baby spinach
• 2 large apples, cored and thinly-sliced
• Half a small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup of walnut halves, toasted (or pecans)
• ⅔ cup of dried cranberries
• 142g of goat cheese, crumbled (or feta cheese, or blue cheese)
• 1 batch of apple cider vinaigrette (see below)

For the vinaigrette

• ⅓ cup of extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup of champagne vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
• Generous pinch of salt and black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup, to sweeten

Instructions

1. Add spinach, apples, red onion, walnuts, dried cranberries, and half of the goat cheese to a large bowl.  Drizzle with the vinaigrette, and toss to combine.
2. Serve immediately, garnished with the remaining goat cheese.

This recipe was found on gimmesomeoven.com

Creamy spinach

Ingredients

• 450 g of baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
• ⅓ cup of unsalted butter, divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced
• 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of milk, or half and half
• 1 pinch of ground nutmeg, optional
• 1 pinch of cayenne pepper, optional
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese, to serve

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Instructions

1. Melt ¼ cup of butter in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes until light golden. Add in the onion and cook until transparent (about 2-3 minutes), then add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
2. Pour in the milk (or half and half), whisking constantly until the white sauce thickens (about 5 minutes). Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne (If using). If the sauce is too thick, add another ¼ cup of milk to the sauce, whisking it through until reaching your desired thickness.For the spinach: melt the remaining butter in a separate pan, and add spinach in batches, wilting each batch before adding the next, until all spinach is wilted. (Add a small spoon of water if the pan gets too dry.)
3. Alternatively: Cook the spinach in a pot of boiling water for just one minute; then immerse in a cold water bath to stop the cooking process. Squeeze out any excess water from the leaves and set aside.
4. Season the cream sauce with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Add wilted spinach to the cream sauce, stirring gently to combine. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

This recipe was found on cafedelites.com

Greek spinach salad

Ingredients

• 113g of spinach
• 1 cucumber
• ½ red onion
• 2 tomatoes
• ¼ cup of feta cheese
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

1. Regardless of how many times your spinach was washed, wash it again. Better safe than sorry. Dry it fully by running it through a salad spinner.
2. Trim the ends of the cucumber and peel it. Then slice it.
3. Peel and slice the onion into rings. If you are curious about what to do with the other onion half, try this tip for saving avocados. Or if you are just curious as to why onions make you cry, check out the video.
4. Cut the tomatoes into quarters.
5. Add all of the vegetables to a large mixing bowl along with the olive oil. Toss the ingredients until all are lightly coated. Salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe was found on jewishunpacked.com