Spinach

Spinach and Feta fritters

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp of Baking Powder

4 eggs well beaten

1/4 cup of milk

100 g baby spinach

200g feta

1. Mix the flour and baking powder
2. whisk in the milk
3. add the beaten eggs
4. Add the spinach and feta and mix well
5. Fry tbsps of mixture in butter

Spaghetti with Kale, Spinach and Mascarpone

1 onion chopped

500g Spaghetti

Olive oil

3 large cloves of garlic, crushed

Dried chilli flakes

500g of Spinach and/or Kale chopped

1/4 cup of white wine

zest and juice of 2 lemons

4 tbsp mascarpone

1/4 to 1/2 cup of finely grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve

1 cup of hot water with couple of squirts of Simon Gault's Vegetable stock

salt and pepper

Optional for Non Vegetarian

chopped bacon cooked

Chorizo sausages chopped and cooked

1. Boil spaghetti for about 8 minutes, drain
2. At the same time add oil to a frying pan, heat
3. Add garlic, onion and chilli flakes, fry until soft
4. Add chopped spinach and/or kale, lemon juice and wine
5. Stir until tender and wine evaporates
6. Add spaghetti and stock, simmer for another 5 minutes
7. Turn up heat slightly, add mascarpone and parmesan and mix well
8. Season and serve with some extra grated parmesan

Spinach, Zucchini or Kale fritters

4 eggs

2/3 cup flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp nutmeg

450 g zucchini, grated

150g spinach leaves, finely shredded or 150g of Kale or a mixture of both

5 spring onions, finely chopped or one onion finely chopped

1 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

2 tbsp chopped parsley or dill

olive oil and butter for cooking

1. Blend eggs, flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a food processor
2. Combine the zucchini, spinach, spring onions, both cheeses and herbs in a large bowl
3. Add the batter and combine together
4. Heat a frypan, drop spoonfuls and cook until both sides are golden

Spinach and Ricotta balls

500 g, fresh Spinach

200g Ricotta cheese

1 tbsp All purpose flour

2 Eggs

Salt

Pepper

50g Nutmeg

freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

150 g butter

Basil

1/2 bunch

Wash, trim and sort the spinach, removing the thick stalks and place in a saucepan dripping wet.
Cook over a medium heat until it collapses.
Drain the spinach into a strainer, refresh with cold water, then drain, pressing slightly and chop finely.
Mix together the spinach, ricotta, flour and eggs and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Then take teaspoonfuls of the mixture and form into balls with wet hands.
Gradually drop the spinach balls into 2 L of boiling, lightly salted water and simmer very gently over a low heat for 6-8 minutes, until they rise to the surface.
Take out of the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
To serve, arrange the spinach balls on plates, pour melted butter around and sprinkle with Parmesan.
Garnish with basil.

Spinach Dip

225 g Cream cheese

225g Cottage cheese

180 - 225 g, plain Yoghurt

2 tbsp, chopped Parsley

1 clove Garlic

3 chopped Scallion

80g, leaves Spinach

Salt to taste

Black pepper

To prepare the spinach dip recipe with fresh spinach first put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until combined.

Add more yoghurt to achieve a softer consistency.

Pour into cold sterilised jars and seal tightly

Serve the spinach dip with some bread.

How to freeze Spinach

How to Freeze Spinach

1. Freezing fresh spinach

1. Wash your greens, pat or spin dry in a salad spinner.

2. Place the leaves in flat layers inside freezer bags and press down.

3. When the bags are full, squeeze out all the air, tie the bags up and place them in the freezer.

Thaw the spinach for a couple of hours before use and squeeze out any excess water before adding to dishes.

2. Puree Technique

This technique is ideal when you want spinach to add to more liquid dishes later on, like smoothies, soups, sauces and stews.

1. Place clean spinach leaves in a blender and add water until it reaches a desirable thickness.

2. Pour the puree into ice trays and freeze.

3. Once frozen, the solid cubes can be transferred to freezer bags and kept in the freezer in the bags.

3. Blanching Technique

Blanching spinach before freezing helps preserve the colour and taste for longer as it delays the enzymatic process that leads to decay, however, it's not so good at retaining the nutrients. Blanching spinach before freezing also means that it will last a lot longer in the freezer, for up to a year.

1. Bring a large pot of boiling water to the boil.

2. Add pre-washed leaves to the boiling water.

3. Stir and cook at a rolling boil for two minutes.

4. Transfer the leaves to a basin or large bowl of iced water. Keep the spinach submerged for another two minutes in this cold water to halt the spinach cooking more.

5. Dry the spinach and place the in a salad spinner until the leaves seem dry,

6. Pack the spinach into freezer bags. Squeeze as much air from the bags as you can and seal and freeze.

4. Freezing fresh spinach

Using this technique the leaves will keep fresh for about 3 to 4 days.

1.Without washing or blanching, simply put the leaves in freezer bags, and freeze.

Another method of freezing

Step 1: Wash the leaves

This removes any bugs, dirt or anything else that may have come from the garden. I fill up the (clean) sink with water and use my hands to swish it around.

Step 2: Blanch the spinach

Blanching is not strictly necessary for freezing spinach but it does help it wilt down and pack easier into the muffin tins and in my experience it does help it keep longer. I have frozen spinach both with and without blanching and they are both great methods. If you are mostly going to use the spinach in smoothies, I wouldn't bother blanching it.
To blanch the spinach, bring a large pot of water to a boil and submerge the spinach in the water for 2 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and place in a bowl or clean sink with ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Place in a colander to drain or lay out on a clean tea towel.

Step 3: Pack the spinach

I love using silicone muffin trays to freeze spinach. I take a handful of leaves, squeeze them to remove as much liquid as possible and then place in the muffin tray. You can also chop the spinach before freezing which is what I do if I'm freezing larger spinach leaves. If you don't have silicone muffin trays you can either freeze the spinach in snaplock bags or make pucks and freeze them on a baking tray lined with baking paper or a silicone baking liner.

Step 4: Freeze the spinach

Place the spinach in the freezer overnight or until frozen and then transfer from the muffin trays to a large freezer proof container or snaplock bag.
Spinach will be good in the freezer for about 3 months. It will keep longer but will start to lose flavour and may begin to get icy.

Keeps for 3 months before it becomes icy.

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