DEAR Laura
Never judge a vegetable by its boarding-school image. Gritty spinach and slimy, greenish sweet potatoes are not inevitable. I know they are not your favourite food, even when I cooked them myself, but you did eat the spinach and you loved the sweet potato croquettes until you found out what they were! You are going to HAVE to deal with that spinach after Mike’s aunt was kind enough to pick it – and even wash it – for you.
First of all, make sure that it was really well washed. Not that I don’t trust Mike’s aunt but, well, I don’t really trust ANYBODY when it comes to washing spinach! And there is nothing worse than getting sand between your teeth. (Of course, there ARE worse things to find between your teeth, but I don’t think I need to go into detail. I’m sure boarding-school gave you a good idea!)
Separate the stems from the leaves. Whether or not you use the stems is entirely up to you. If they are nice and white, and not too stringy, they are well worth eating. But you must remember that they take longer to cook than the leaves, so chop them up, put them in first and give tham an extra five minutes.
If you do them in the steamer, you will find that not all the leaves will fit at the same time. You will have to add them bit by bit as the first lot mushes down. When it’s done, drain it well, by squishing it between two dinner plates or with a potato masher in the collander. Chop it up and serve with a blob of butter on top.
I would be quite happy with it just like that, with a poached egg on top, and a piece of bread and butter. But then, I’m a spinach addict! Most people prefer it in disguise.
One thing you can do is mix it with a packet of onion soup, a small pot of plain yoghurt, a little lemon juice and a pinch of pepper. Put it in a greased casserole, cover with mixed breadcrumbs and cheese and bake for about half-an-hour.
Or you can serve it creamed. For this, you chop it finely while it is still wet and stir-fry it in butter. When it’s done add a small pot of cream, a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper and a dash of nutmeg (if you have any). Boil it up to get rid of excess liquid.
I was quite put off creamed spinach by an unfortunate experience with pale vomit-coloured creamed grit in France when I was a child. The fact that it was served with roast fillet of horse didn’t help my digestion much, either.
Of course, if you’re going the stir-fry route, you can add what you like. I remember a delicious mixture consisting of chopped onion, grated carrot, spinach and roast masala. Of course, the slight curry flavour would not go with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, but how about serving it with roast chicken or crumbed fish fillets?
I used steamed spinach last night to line the base and sides of a casserole before putting a shepherd’s pie inside. It worked very well, and saved on washing up.
Perhaps you should drop a hint to Mike’s aunt BEFORE she brings you offerings of sweet potatoes!
Love Mom
