Here’s a super quick Sautéed Spinach that will pair beautifully with most proteins. It takes mere minutes to cook, and is a great way to incorporate a vast volume of greens into a meal without even realising it. And the garlic flavour is fabulous!

SAUTEED SPINACH – A QUICK HEALTHY SIDE

This is a quick vegetable side that I make ALOT so it’s high time I shared. It’s been pictured on the side of many main dishes that I’ve shared over the years – usually because I’m scrambling for something quick to put on the side to complete a photo!

And beyond using this Sautéed Spinach as a prop for photos, this is something that frequently appears in my real life day-to-day cooking for the very reason that it’s so quick with the added bonus that it’s an easy way to eat a huge mound of greens with just a few bites because spinach wilts to much when it’s cooked!

SPINACH NUTRITION – it’s GOOD for you!

Spinach is low in calories but rich in iron and vitamins C and A, plus it’s a really good source of dietary fibre. It also contains protein (hello Popeye!), iron, vitamins and minerals. It’s good for your skin, hair and bone health, and studies have shown that it can lower the risk of cancer.

So don’t we love how easy it is to eat LOADS without even realising it! This recipe calls for two bunches of spinach and initially, it fills the entire skillet. But in just a couple of minutes to wilts down by almost 80%.

This photo only shows one of the bunches (don’t ask me why I didn’t snap a photo of both!)

Because I like my spinach just wilted, rather than cooked so it’s very limp, I prefer to cut the leafy part from the stems because the stems take longer to cook. But if you don’t mind cooking your spinach longer, feel free to keep some of the stems.

This Garlic Sautéed Spinach was pictured on the side of the Prime Rib recipe I shared a few weeks ago (pictured below) and a few readers have requested I share it – so here it is! It’s the sort of side that’s ideal for any meaty mains because it’s quite light and fresh, and a good way to pack in a solid hit of greens in just a few bites! – Nagi x

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Garlic Sautéed Spinach

A super quick side that's good for you and tastes fabulous. It always amazes me how much spinach wilts - so this is a great way to consume ALOT of good nutrition with just a few bites! A terrific side for meaty mains. Try a classic steakhouse dinner with Prime Rib or steak, Paris Mash and this Sautéed Spinach!

Course Side

Keyword Sauteed Spinach

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 minutes minutes

Total Time 9 minutes minutes

Servings 2 - 3 people

Calories 100cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 2 bunches spinach (Note 1)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Trim the stem from the leaves, then wash the leaves very well (spinach often holds a lot of dirt).
• Shake off excess water but do not dry (water droplets helps steam-cook the spinach).
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook for 20 seconds until it becomes light golden and smells amazing.
• Add spinach, then use tongs or 2 wooden spoons to toss until the spinach wilts - about 2 minutes. I like mine just wilted.
• Remove from heat immediately and sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss once more.
• Transfer to serving platter and serve.

Notes

1. Spinach is sold here in Australia in bunches. Once the leaves are cut from the stem, the leaves for each bunch amount to about 3 to 4 big handfuls. So use around 8 handfuls of spinach - it wilts by about 80% once sautéed.

Recipe will also work with baby spinach but you will need even more because it's more delicate so it wilts even more.

I also use this recipe for: Chopped kale, silverbeet / Swiss chard and Asian greens.

2. Scaling recipe (click on servings and slide) - best to cook spinach in batches OR use a very large wok! 

Nutrition

Calories: 100cal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 409mg | Potassium: 837mg | Fiber: 3g | Vitamin A: 14065IU | Vitamin C: 43.1mg | Calcium: 154mg | Iron: 4.1mg

LIFE OF DOZER

Patiently waiting for me to finish snapping pics and get on with playing!

The post Garlic Sautéed Spinach appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Try this Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing for your next Sunday lunch! Terrific as a side or as a meal, this is a really magical combination of flavours.

Make-ahead winner: Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad

I want to regale you with tales of how I always make this Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad for lunch with the girls. How perfect it is for a lazy weekend get together because it’s make ahead and a crowd pleaser because it’s got enough oomph to be a meal in itself whilst still being healthy and gluten free too. (Who else needs to cater for varying diets at get togethers??)

I’ve even recommended this to numerous friends who have come to me asking for ideas for make ahead lunch recipes.

But truthfully, I have never made this for my friends. I can’t ever embellish about what I’ve made for friends because weirdly, some of them actually read my blog and they would call me out. Some of these friends are serious corporate types, jet setting around the world, taking important meetings and working on top secret projects. It amuses me no end that in between reading board papers and information memorandums, they read my posts as I dribble on about whatever deliciousness I’m sharing on that day and Dozer antics. Te he he!!!

Today’s deliciousness -> This Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad that I’ve never made for them.

This is a really terrific combination of flavours, and I think of this as quite a classic salad. I’m sure I picked it up from a Women’s Weekly magazine many years ago.

The roasted pumpkin is sweet and juicy, the feta adds pops of salty creaminess, the pine nuts add a warm, earthy crunch, the freshness from spinach, all lightly dressed with a Honey Balsamic Dressing. You really don’t need that much dressing for this salad, just enough to coat the baby spinach. Plus, I don’t know if it’s just Aussie baby spinach, but dressing just never sticks well to baby spinach.

So I really mean it when I say this salad is light on the dressing!

I know pine nuts are quite expensive so are a bit of an indulgence, but you don’t need much. You can substitute it with other nuts, but if you’re making this to impress guests, it’s worth using pine nuts. No other nuts have that same soft, creamy crunch and the distinct flavour of…. well, pine nuts.

This is not a difficult salad to make but I have a few tips that I’ve picked up over the years, like roasting the pumpkin so it’s golden but still holds its shape rather than turning into mush.

I usually serve this at room temperature but it’s great warm too. Also, rocket lettuce (arugula for those on the other side of the pond) works well with this if you want a bit more of an edge to it. I like using baby spinach because the flavour and texture is quite soft, unlike other lettuces that are really crunchy.

Good way to kick off a new week, with a healthy salad! Giving myself a pat on the back. – Nagi x

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad recipe video! PS That pumpkin Dozer gets at the end is raw. RAW. 😳

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Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad

Recipe video above. Try this Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad for your next Sunday lunch! Drizzled with a Honey Balsamic Dressing, this is a magical combination of ingredients. I usually serve this at room temperature but it's also great warm. Serves 2 - 3 as a meal, 4 - 5 as a side.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4 - 5 people

Calories 264cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Pumpkin:

• 600 g / 1.2 lb pumpkin (after peeling), cut into 3cm / 1.25" cubes (Note 1)
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Dressing:

• 2.5 tbsp / 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• Salt and pepper

Salad:

• 1/4 cup / 35g pine nuts (Note 2)
• 150 g / 5 oz baby spinach leaves (4 handfuls)
• 60 g / 2 oz feta , crumbled (or more!!)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 220C/430F (standard) or 200C/390F (fan/convection).
• Toss pumpkin with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on baking tray, bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, flip, then bake for a further 7 - 10 minutes until golden but not mushy. (Note 3) Loosen pumpkin with egg flip (it can adhere as it cools), then if serving salad at room temperature, leave to cool.
• Shake Dressing in a jar. Taste and adjust to taste. I like it a bit sharp because it balances out the flavours in this salad.
• Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until light golden and it smells nutty. Remove pine nuts from skillet as soon as it's ready.
• Place Spinach in a bowl. Drizzle with a bit of dressing then toss.
• Add pumpkin, just a bit of feta and pine nuts, then GENTLY BRIEFLY toss just to disperse the feta. (If you toss vigorously, the feta can make it look messy).
• Transfer to serving plate. Sprinkle over remaining feta and pine nuts. Just before serving, drizzle with remaining dressing (dressing doesn't stay on baby spinach well, so worth drizzling at end). Serve!

Notes

1. You can use any pumpkin or squash for this recipe. 

2. Pine nuts are expensive but worth using in this recipe, it's the perfect finishing touch However, you can sub with any other nuts of choice. Chopped almonds and macadamias are great.

3. Pumpkin turns to mush if baked for too long. You don't want mush in your salad. So keep an eye on it - it should be tender with a nice golden surface on at least 2 sides (i.e. the sides that were in contact with the tray during baking). And also, loosen pumpkin from tray using an egg flip / spatula when you take it out of the oven - if you don't do this while hot, it might stick to the tray.

4. Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings and that all the dressing is consumed. Reality is that most of the Dressing ends up at the bottom of the bowl because dressing doesn't stick that well to baby spinach. So actual calories will be less than this. 

Nutrition

Serving: 226g | Calories: 264cal

LIFE OF DOZER

Contemplating whether this meatless meal is worth begging for.

The post Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

This Strawberry Spinach Salad is magical! A Louisiana Chef recipe, this surprising combination of ingredients works beautifully: spinach, strawberries, candied pecans, blue cheese and a gorgeous Strawberry Balsamic Dressing.

My taste testers loved this and I am officially obsessed!

This salad is an absolute stunner. Visually and taste.

Strawberry and balsamic is a combination I discovered last year. Like tomato and basil, it just works. Sweetened balsamic, that is. Plain balsamic vinegar is too harsh.

Bringing that flavour combination into a salad is incredible. I was researching online for Cajun / Creole salads to complete my 2016 Thanksgiving Feast. I actually had to browse quite a bit, reading up on classic Cajun menus, even checking out some restaurant menus.

I really love doing this – exploring the internet’s hidden corners for treasures. As I hunted around, I chanced upon this recipe on a blog called Around Anna’s Table. Actually, I found the recipe name on a website called Gumbo Pages but couldn’t find the recipe so went hunting for one.

This is not a salad I would have come up on my own, it’s definitely a Cheff-y recipe. And that’s exactly what this is – it’s a recipe by Chef Varnedoe of Baton Rouge’s Restaurant IPO (now closed ) which was published in [url:2]Louisiana Kitchen & Culture magazine[/url].

The Strawberry Balsamic Dressing itself is absolutely gorgeous. The sweet fragrance of strawberries, tartness of balsamic transformed into a salad dressing. It’s got that sweet-salty-tart-fresh thing happening. I really like it. I made it 3 times in the space of a fortnight and used it on many salads!

When the Strawberry Balsamic Dressing is combined with delicate baby spinach, fresh juicy strawberries, creamy salty pops of blue cheese and the sweet crunch of candied pecans, and you have a truly fabulous salad. My taste testers LOVED this!

This Strawberry Salad is part of my 2016 Thanksgiving Menu. As you may have guessed, this years’ menu is Cajun themed and the star of it is a genius reader recipe: a one roasting pan Cajun Baked Turkey Breast and Dressing / Stuffing recipe. The full menu is outlined in the Turkey recipe.

Normally I am very flexible about substitutions in recipes. This is one of the few exceptions. I made this Strawberry Salad last weekend for friends, switching the blue cheese for goats cheese and without using candied pecans. While they said they liked it, they didn’t rave about it like my Thanksgiving Menu Taste Testers.

I began to doubt myself so I made it again yesterday, exactly as the recipe is written. It is stellar. The blue cheese can’t be substituted or omitted and the sweetness of the candied pecans is essential for the complete experience!!! – Nagi x

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Louisiana Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Dressing

This is a fabulous salad - especially for special occasions! It's a surprising combination of ingredients that works brilliantly together. The Dressing is especially beautiful! This is a recipe by Chef Varnedoe of Baton Rouge’s Restaurant IPO (now closed ), via Around Anna's Table.

Course Salad

Cuisine Louisiana, Southern

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 387cal

Author Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

Strawberry Balsamic Dressing (makes ~1 3/4 cups)

• 250 g / 8 oz fresh strawberries , tops cut off
• 3/4 cups balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 tbsp brown sugar , packed (light brown)
• 2 tbsp strawberry jam or preserves
• 1/2 tsp salt

Candied pecans:

• 1 cup pecans (mostly whole, can chop some)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar (any)
• 2 tbsp / 30 g butter

Salad

• 4 cups baby spinach , packed
• 16 (250 g / 8 oz) large strawberries , sliced
• 75 - 100 g / 2 - 3.5 oz blue cheese , crumbled (to taste)
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Whizz Dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender. Strain if desired (to remove little strawberry seeds). Keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
• Pecans: Line a tray with parchment / baking paper. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add pecans, toss to coat. Add sugar and stir for 5 minutes. The sugar will melt and coat the pecans. Pour onto tray, spread out, allow to cool - it will harden.
• To serve, place the spinach and half the strawberries in a bowl and drizzle over a bit of Dressing. Toss gently, then transfer to a serving bowl. Top with remaining strawberries, then drizzle with more Dressing. Crumble over blue cheese and scatter with pecans. Serve immediately, with remaining Dressing on the side!

Notes

1. Adapted from a recipe by Chef Varnedoe of Baton Rouge’s Restaurant IPO (now closed ) which was published in Louisiana Kitchen & Culture magazine, found via Around Anna's Table.

2. Recipe makes more dressing that you need, but I find it harder to make less in a food processor. You could half the recipe if you have a small food processor. It keeps well for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

3. Nutrition per serving, assuming 1/2 the dressing is used.

Nutrition

Serving: 252g | Calories: 387cal | Carbohydrates: 26.8g | Protein: 8.1g | Fat: 28.8g | Saturated Fat: 7.9g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 621mg | Potassium: 517mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 15.3g | Vitamin A: 3100IU | Vitamin C: 101.5mg | Calcium: 180mg | Iron: 2mg

LIFE OF DOZER

Seriously. This dog is interested in ANYTHING edible. (And many things that are not!)

The post Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Dressing appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.