spinach Archives - domenica dreams of calamari

January 5, 2017January 5, 2017

Creamy Goat Cheese Mushroom Sauce over Spaghetti Squash

I was always kind of wary of the whole spaghetti squash as a replacement for pasta thing but once you get over the fact that it’s not going to taste like pasta you start to appreciate how much lighter a vehicle it is. Another little trick that I’ve grown to love is using a tad bit of goat cheese to make a creamy sauce without the heaviness of cream or sour cream. Goat cheese also goes great with mushrooms and spinach and these things all cook quickly so this sauce comes together very easily. The only thing that is time consuming is baking the squash but if you throw it in the oven while you’re doing other things, it’ll just heat up the house and make it smell good to boot. Another cool thing about this recipe is everything is very cheap; mushrooms, onions, squash and spinach (especially when you buy it at costco).

1 spaghetti squash
1/2 cup broth (turkey, chicken or veggie)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pat butter
2 or 3 oz goat cheese
16 cremini mushrooms
1/2 onion white
2 garlic cloves
3 handfuls spinach
zest of one meyer lemon
juice of 1/2 of a meyer lemon
a dot of truffle oil (optional)
red pepper flakes (optional)
parmesan cheese (optional)

{serves 5}

pre-heat oven to 350º F
bake spaghetti squash whole on a lined baking sheet for 1 hour and 15 minutes
dice onion and mince garlic
heat oil and butter in a wok or large skillet
clean mushrooms and quarter them
add the garlic and onions to the skillet over medium low heat and let cook for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally
then add mushrooms and continue sautéing until they are cooked through (4 or 5 minutes), zest the lemon into the pan then squeeze the juice of half of it in
cut or crumble the goat cheese into a couple of pieces and add to the pan and stir in until melted
when the squash is finished, let cool and cut in half lengthwise, then discard seeds and scoop out the flesh with a fork
move the spaghetti squash “spaghetti” into a heat safe container and pour the broth over and keep covered in the oven
slice spinach roughly, move the mushroom-goat cheese mixture to one side of the pan and add the spinach on the other side to steam
then incorporate the spinach into the rest of the stuff and serve over the spaghetti squash, top with grated parmesan and red pepper flakes and enjoy!

December 5, 2016December 5, 2016

Spanakopita

We love spanakopita. We also just went to Costco and bought a pound bag of spinach so it seemed only natural to make spanakopita. This is definitely not traditional, but we tried to use what herbs we had growing and make it a little easier and healthier with just sautéing everything and dumping it on the pastry- nothing wrong with that!

1 puff pastry
4 large kale leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped of each; basil, mint and parsley
3/4 lb spinach
1/2 large sweet onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp mustard seeds
6 oz feta
1/4 cup pine nuts
pomegranate seeds for garnish

{serves 6}

[wilt your greens but not too much]

pre-heat oven to 400º F and bake the puff pastry for 15 minutes (on a baking sheet) it should balloon up; after pre-baking lower heat to 350º F
dice onion and mince garlic
in a large nonstick skillet heat olive oil over medium heat then add onions and garlic, stir occasionally until opaque
add mustard seeds and some red chili flakes if desired
meanwhile, clean and roughly chop kale, spinach, basil, parsley and mint
then add the greens to the sauté pan and lower heat, cook until wilted and dark green (see above photo), add pine nuts and crumble 3/4 of the feta into the mix, remove from heat
with a slotted spoon (to leave behind liquid) move the greens onto the puff pastry, leaving about a 1/2 inch border
bake for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is starting to brown, then remove from oven and crumble the rest of the feta over the top then put under broiler for 2 minutes on high or until cheese starts to get brown
remove from oven, let cool for a couple of minutes then garnish with pomegranate seeds and additional herbs

December 5, 2016December 5, 2016

Farro with Crispy Prosciutto, Toasted Walnuts and Feta

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Farro is one of my favorite grains. It’s good for you, goes a long way and has a great texture. Crisping up prosciutto is also a great way to add texture and lots of flavor. The apricots, feta and walnuts balance out this ‘salad’ with sweet-salty-earthy flavors.

2 cups pearled farro (dry)
8 oz (1/2 lb) prosciutto
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup feta
1/2 cup scallions
1 cup dried apricots
dash of nutmeg
glug of champagne vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
a couple of handfuls of spinach

pre-heat oven to 350º F and spread walnuts on a small baking tray and toast for 8 minutes
cook farro according to instructions (2 cups farro, 4 cups salted water)
in a skillet heat one tablespoon olive oil and lay prosciutto in one flat layer, cook for 15 minutes on low or until brown on the bottom then flip each piece and continue cooking until crispy, remove from pan and let cool
move farro to a large bowl when finished cooking and season to taste with remaining tablespoon olive oil, champagne vinegar and nutmeg
dice dried apricots into small pieces, slice green onions, tear prosciutto and break walnuts into smaller pieces and crumble feta into the farro bowl
when you’re almost ready to serve, roughly chop or tear spinach and stir into the salad

September 28, 2016September 28, 2016

The Mean Green Smoothie Bowl

So I’ve never been too much of a smoothie lover (wild, I know) but lately I’ve been getting into experimenting with different ingredients and things. I try to find ways to pack as many nutrients into my morning smoothies and that usually (*usually) translates to a pretty tasty way to start the day!

Looking to my parent’s freezer for inspiration, I found huge amounts of frozen spinach and thought I’d go for it. Spinach is pretty interesting. It has protein, fiber and tons of vitamins. It also blends in (literally ha!) with other flavors really well.

1/2 banana
2 tbsp sunflower seed butter- or your nut butter of preference
a couple of handfuls of frozen spinach
1/2 cup frozen mango
splash of water
1 green tea bag
flaxseeds/ chia seeds/ blueberries or whatever goodies you want to sprinkle on top

basically just blend everything together… oh yeah, cut open the tea bag and pour contents in the blender. add water as needed, break apart spinach if it’s clumpy.

February 16, 2016February 16, 2016

Avocado-Toast-Fried-Egg-Sandwich

There’s nothing like a fried egg sandwich. There’s also nothing like an avocado toast. This is where the avocado-toast-fried-egg-sandwich comes in. Throw in caramelized onions and melted cheese and some sauteed spinach for good measure and you have one hell of a breakfast sandwich. Or lunch sandwich or dinner sandwich.

{serves 1}

1/2 of a small avocado or 1/4 of a big guy
pepperplant (or your hot sauce of choice)
2 slices of bread, your preference
a few slices chili-bell pepper cheese (you can sub a good cheddar)
2 handfuls spinach
1/2 yellow onion
2 tbsp olive oil
red pepper flakes
garlic salt
pepper
1 egg

heat olive oil in a medium sized pan and slice onion
caramelize the onion over low heat, stirring occasionally until it starts turning golden brown
meanwhile slice (enough cheese to cover one slice of bread) thinly
once onions are good and caramelized, spread them over one of the slices of bread then top with the cheese slices then toast (along with the other plain slice of bread)
in the onion pan heat the spinach with a splash of water, cook until just wilted, remove with tongs and squeeze out excess water
heat a small skillet over medium high heat and fry the egg
mash the avocado on the plain piece of toast then spread spinach over and dot with pepperplant or your hot sauce of choice
sprinkle garlic salt, pepper and chili flakes on the egg and using a spatula, gently transport it onto the avo/spinach toast
sandwich it with the melty cheese toast and you have a pretty awesome egg sandwich

February 9, 2016February 9, 2016

Penne with Tomato-Goat Cheese Sauce and Sauteed Spinach

This is a super simple, pretty healthy and wholly satisfying meal. Also very affordable. These were all just things I happened to pick up at Trader Joe’s the other day.

(serves 1)

4 oz goat cheese
2 cloves minced garlic
10 cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
red chili flakes
2 cups whole wheat penne pasta
2 sprigs rosemary
3 generous handfuls of spinach

heat olive oil in a medium sized pan over medium high heat add (minced) garlic and tomatoes and cover
cook pasta according to instructions
once tomatoes start to blister, pop them with a knife or fork and add goat cheese
once goat cheese starts melting, mix it with the tomato juices and add rosemary (remove from stem), bring down heat and let simmer
when pasta is finished, drain and quickly steam spinach in the pasta pot with a couple teaspoons of water
remove spinach with tongs, shaking off excess liquid, and add it into the goat cheese sauce pan and take that off the heat, season with salt and pepper to taste
pour sauce over pasta, sprinkle with chili flakes, pour yourself a glass of wine and dig in!

March 21, 2015March 21, 2015

Use-Everthing-in-the-Fridge-Before-Spring-Break Quiche

I embrace having perishables when I’m about to go out of town. It’s the ultimate motivator to use only things you have/things you have open. This week is spring break and last weekend I realized we still had quite a bit of perishable items that needed to be attended too. Luckily they were all things that lent themselves swimmingly to a Mediterranean quiche. And it worked out quite well if I do say so myself.

1 can garbanzo beans
1/4 cup pesto
olive oil (optional if pesto is oily)
2 medium sized tomatoes
1/2 clove garlic
salt (truffle salt if you have it!)
4 eggs
1 handful spinach
1/2 cup soft herb-garlic goat cheese
1/2 cooked sausage (I used garlic-gruyere)

line a baking dish with parchment and pre-heat oven to 350°F
drain and rinse garbanzo beans
dice tomatoes roughly and mince garlic
pour garbanzo beans, tomatoes, garlic, salt, pesto and olive oil (if using) into the prepared dish, stir well then bake for 20 minutes, taking out and turning occasionally
once garbanzo beans start browning, mash them with the back of a fork and add goat cheese in globs and mix in until incorporated
in a separate bowl, whisk eggs
slice spinach and add to eggs
pour the egg mix over the garbanzo bean mix and return to oven
bake for about 25 minutes or until it starts to separate from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean

March 14, 2015March 14, 2015

Savory Porridge with an Egg on top

This photo doesn’t do this meal justice. It can really be breakfast, lunch or dinner. I am a big fan of slop. Indian slop, Mexican slop, Turkish slop, it seems like every culture has their own version of some mushy grain or bean

1 handful spinach
1 cup cooked steel-cut oats *
1 spoon greek yogurt
1 egg
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp capers
1/2 tomato
cracked black pepper
drizzle balsamic vinegar (optional)

cook an egg to your liking (I like sunny side up or poached)
slice spinach and tomato
in a bowl stir together oats, yogurt and mustard (sometimes I sub sriracha)
add spinach and tomatoes (or whatever other vegetable fixings you’d like)
slip the egg on top and top with capers, pepper and balsamic

*For events like this, I like to keep some cooked steel cut oats on hand. I cook them in advance and keep them in the fridge- they keep for about a week. They’re super versatile; use them for sweet or savory mush meals like this or sprinkle them over salads to make them a little more substantial.

September 29, 2014January 29, 2015

Leftover Polenta Breakfast

One of my biggest pet peeves is food waste. It’s lucky that I enjoy concocting strange new things because I often find myself with an assortment of leftovers that you wouldn’t necessarily think of together…life lessons of cooking?

I think I inherited this fearless trait of throwing things together with abandon from my dad. Or maybe it’s a learned talent, from all of those childhood nights when my mom would go to book group and I’d watch in suspense as papa cooked up the most random ingredients into what he called, “Pirate’s Surprise.” My best friends’ dad had his “specialty dish” that he called ‘fireman’s delight’ or something like that, but my dad could never remember the name and came up with Pirate’s Surprise for his own creations and it’s stuck ever since. This was my own rendition of a Pirate’s Surprise that I made myself for breakfast the other day, using some of the leftover polenta from the White Wine Sauce smothered Polenta , the night before.

1 egg
1/2 cup roasted carrots
1/2 cup spinach
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup canned salmon
1/2 cup polenta (cooked)

reheat polenta in a nonstick pan
roughly chop spinach and add it along with apple cider vinegar to polenta, when spinach begins to wilt, remove and put in bowl, add salmon and carrots
cook an egg (I like under-easy) and slide it on top of the polenta-spinach mixture