The market · Vegetables · South Asia, The Middle East, Northern and Central Europe
Spinach
Tender leaves that collapse to a fraction of their size in the pan — buy more than looks sensible.
green · earthy · mild
last weeksWhat to do with it
MinahasanTinutuanA thick rice porridge full of pumpkin, sweet potato, cassava, corn and greens, with no meat, eaten with smoked fish and dabu-dabu.No one here has made it yetFilipinoSinigangA sour soup of pork, prawns or fish with vegetables, soured most often with tamarind.No one here has made it yet
KoreanJapchaeGlass noodles of sweet potato starch, tossed with beef, mushrooms and vegetables — each cooked separately — in soy, sugar and sesame oil.No one here has made it yetPersianAsh reshtehA thick soup of beans, chickpeas, lentils, herbs and flat noodles, topped with kashk, fried onions and dried mint.No one here has made it yetGeorgianPkhaliCooked vegetables — spinach, beetroot, leek or cabbage — chopped fine with walnut paste and herbs, shaped into balls.No one here has made it yetAndalusianEspinacas con garbanzosSpinach and chickpeas cooked with a pounded paste of fried bread, garlic, cumin and pimentón, sharpened with a splash of vinegar.No one here has made it yetGreekSpanakopitaSpinach and feta with spring onion and dill, baked in crisp layers of filo — as one big pie or small triangles.No one here has made it yet
KoreanJapchaeGlass noodles of sweet potato starch, tossed with beef, mushrooms and vegetables — each cooked separately — in soy, sugar and sesame oil.No one here has made it yetPersianAsh reshtehA thick soup of beans, chickpeas, lentils, herbs and flat noodles, topped with kashk, fried onions and dried mint.No one here has made it yetGeorgianPkhaliCooked vegetables — spinach, beetroot, leek or cabbage — chopped fine with walnut paste and herbs, shaped into balls.No one here has made it yetAndalusianEspinacas con garbanzosSpinach and chickpeas cooked with a pounded paste of fried bread, garlic, cumin and pimentón, sharpened with a splash of vinegar.No one here has made it yetGreekSpanakopitaSpinach and feta with spring onion and dill, baked in crisp layers of filo — as one big pie or small triangles.No one here has made it yetKinds
- Baby
- For salads and a quick wilt.
- Mature / true
- Bigger, darker leaves for cooking; strip the stalks.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Anywhere. Bunched spinach from South Asian grocers is cheaper and has more flavour than bagged.
- A little history
- Persian in origin; it reached Europe through the Arab world.
- Worth knowing
- Wilt it, then squeeze out the water before it goes into anything creamy.
