5 Ways With Spinach

December 9, 2011

spinach dip

5 Ways With Spinach

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5 Spinach Recipes

If you have been following my posts you will be aware that I have a lot of spinach in my vegetable garden at the moment.  This is not an issue for me as I love it and so does my family.  It is an incredibly versatile vegetable and I wouldn’t be without it in my garden. I have included 5 Spinach recipe below, plus a link to an additonal 5 at the end of this article that are now firm family favourites and amongst the most popular of my recipes.

Spinach freshly harvested

Spinach is a hardy vegetable, very productive and easy to grow. It is easy to incorporate into almost any meal.  It is one of the vegetables that I grab almost every time I go to the garden. Other reasons I love it, and you should too, include:

  • It can be eaten either raw or cooked
  • It has a long production period (I have a plant that has been producing for over a year)
  • It is one of the foods considered to hold high level of chemicals – if you enjoy it and can grow your own please you and your family will not be exposed to such chemicals
  • It is high in Vitamins K, A C and folate.   2 cup serving of baby spinach meets over 25 percent of the Recommended Daily Intake for Vitamin C

Ingredients that combine well with spinach include: pine nuts, anchovies, lemon, capers, any protein, feta, ricotta, pumpkin, tomatoes, potato

These are my top ways to enjoy spinach fresh from my vegetable patch:

1. Spinach Dip Recipe

spinach dip

A light, tang snack.  Offer it to children as a snack with cut up carrot or capsicum sticks. This is also delicious on baked potatoes

spinach dip
Print
Spinach Dip
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
12 mins
Total Time
22 mins
 

A tangy, healthy dip to add to lunch boxes or use as a spread

Course: Condiment
Keyword: dip, entertaining, spinach
Author: Kyrstie Barcak
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp pine nuts
  • 70 grams feta cheese
  • 1/2 cup plain yoghurt or dairy free alternate
  • 150 grams fresh spinach washed
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 pinch salt and pepper generous
Instructions

  1. Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add the washed spinach and cook for 2 minutes. 

  2. Drain, remove and chop. Remove any large stems

  3. Brown the pine nuts in a pan, no oil is needed

  4. Add all of the ingredients into a food processor and whiz until smooth.

 2. Baby Spinach Salad Recipe

This is a light summer meal or a side that works well served with any meat.

Print
Baby Spinach Salad
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 

A lovely light Spring dinner option

Course: Main Course, Salad
Keyword: salad, spinach
Author: Kyrstie Barcak
Ingredients
  • 4 handfuls baby spinach leaves
  • 1 tbsp pine nuts
  • 1 cup pumpkin cubed, roasted and cooled
  • 2 tomatoes chopped or a handful of cherry tomatoes
  • 1 avocado sliced
Dressing
  • 4 tbsp mayonnaise or mashed avocado
  • 2 tsp seeded mustard
  • 1 handful fresh sage leaves torn
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions

  1. Combine the salad ingredients together in a salad bowl.

  2. Use a fork to whisk the ingredients of the dressing to combine and drizzle over salad prior to serving

 3. Baby Food – or Spinach Storage Recipe

I cook spinach like this for my 11 month old son. It is also a great method for keeping the spinach to use in cooking at a later date.  If I was not using the spinach for baby food I would freeze it in slightly larger containers than the ice cube trays.  It can be used when defrosted for pesto, dips, pasta etc. 

Frozen Spinach Cubes
Print
Baby Food or Frozen spinach cubes
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
2 mins
Freezer
12 hrs
Total Time
12 mins
 

Simple process to save your excess spinach for use later in the season.

Course: Condiment
Keyword: baby food, freeze, meal preparation, preserve, spinach
Author: Kyrstie Barcak
Ingredients
  • 400 grams spinach leaves washed
Instructions

  1. Set a pot of water to boil



  2. Wash the spinach leaves and remove large stalks. 

  3. Add spinach when water is boiling and cook for 2 minutes

  4. Remove and add to a blender with a small amount of the water used for the cooking. Process to a smooth paste and pour into ice cube trays and put in the freezer

  5. After 12 hours remove from the trays and put into zip lock or plastic bags to store. Label the bags with the ingredients and date and store until required. Use within 2 months.

 4. Spinach and Pine Nuts Recipe

A tasty side dish that is very well suited to accompanying pork

Print
Spinach and pine nuts
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
10 mins
 

Zingy, fresh side dish perfect to serve with pork

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: vegetarian
Keyword: recipe, side dish, spinach
Author: Kyrstie Barcak
Ingredients
  • 100 grams freshly picked spinach leaves washed
  • 1 clove garlic finely chopped
  • 2 anchovies chopped
  • 2 tbsp pine nuts
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • 2 tbsp sultanas
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to season
Instructions

  1. Heat a fry pan and add a small amount of oil to the pan.

  2. Add the oil and then the garlic and the anchovies

  3. Stir until the anchovy is starting to dissolve

  4. Add the spinach and the sultanas and stir for a couple of minutes until the spinach is wilted.

  5. Pour over the lemon juice and season with a pinch of salt and generous grind of pepper

  6. Place a serving of pork fillet on top of the spinach to serve

5. Prawn, Spinach and Tomato Pasta Recipe

 Quick, healthy, tasty pasta recipe.

Print
Prawn, Spinach and Tomato Pasta Recipe
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 

Light, fresh pasta recipe the family will love

Course: Main, Main Course
Keyword: pasta, prawns, spinach
Author: Kyrstie Barcak
Ingredients
  • 300 grams fresh raw prawns shelled and de-veined (also good with chicken, tuna, prosciutto or tofu)
  • 100 grams spinach washed and chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic freshly chopped
  • 1 punnet cherry tomatoes roasted if you have time
  • 1 lemon zest only
  • 1 chilli finely sliced - with or without seeds
  • pasta of choice
  • parmesan cheese to serve
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions

  1. Put  a saucepan of water on to boil, large enough to cook the pasta of your choice

  2. Prepare the ingredients while waiting for the pasta water to boil. Once the water has boiled add the pasta and cook for the time specified on the pack

  3. Heat a fry pan, add a small amount of oil and then the garlic (and chilli if you are using)

  4. Add the tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes if they have not been roasted. If they have been roasted stir until warmed through

  5. Add the prawns and cook for a few minutes on high heat until they start to change color. Add the spinach and lemon zest and stir until spinach wilts

  6. Drain the pasta and add to the pan

  7. Add the basil and stir through

  8. Serve with Parmesan cheese and seasoned with salt and pepper

Recipe Notes

If you are using chicken instead of prawns, add the chicken at Step 4 and cook almost through before adding the tomatoes.  If I use chicken I slice it into strips before cooking.

4 More Spinach Recipes : Family Favourites

Spinach continues to be grown in our family vegetable garden and as a result there are now tens of recipes that feature it as the main ingredient developed over the years. The recipes below are some of our family favourites and are the most viewed and used by readers. Click on the image to find the recipe.

Gluten Free Beef and Spinach Pie

gluten free beef spinach pie recipe

Spinach and Ricotta Triangles

spinach ricotta triangles

Greek Marinated Lamb Wraps

Greek marinated lamb with grain free wraps

Steak and Cous Cous Salad

lamb cous cous salad recipe

I hope you now have plenty of inspiration to make a fresh family meal featuring your garden spinach.

*Images were updated in this post 27/07/2014, additional recipes added 17/11/2017

Kyrstie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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20 replies
    • Kyrstie
      Kyrstie says:

      Thanks Kellie,
      It is a good one for this time of year. I have tagged your delicious looking zucchini fritters to try when my zucchinis start producing.

  5. Kyrstie
    Kyrstie says:

    Thanks Yvette, I am sure you will enjoy the dip it is delicious. I am keenly waiting for our tomato crop to be ready. I have so many things I want to make with them this year.

  6. Kyrstie
    Kyrstie says:

    Hi Kirri, the brownie recipe sounds interesting! A mum at my mothers group put broccoli in a birthday cake a couple of weeks ago and a heap of veg as an egg substitute. The kids loved it! Funny. Spinach on pizza is yum, my nearly 4yr old added to his home made one last night. Recipe next week maybe. Everyone will be sick of me adding spinach to stuff soon lol.

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Vegetable Growing Tips says:
    July 2, 2013 at 9:59 pm

    […] produced heavily, non stop for more than a year and a half. I could not keep up with it. We ate ALOT of spinach! If you check my Recipe List page you will find many recipes that are […]

  2. Zucchini and Pumpkin Risotto says:
    January 13, 2012 at 5:44 am

    […] the Things I Know, one of them quite a few zucchini recipes (in addition to lots of Spinach recipes). Last year we had so many zucchini’s I got sick of eating them in every meal we had. […]

  3. 3 Dips-Guaranteed Delicious | A Fresh Legacy says:
    December 16, 2011 at 8:06 am

    […]  Another dip that is a summer favorite is my Spinach Dip. […]

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