I put some frozen spinach in a container (small microwave safe container about 1/3 full) and added a splash of water and microwaved on high for 3 minutes.
It seemed cooked, in that it was hot. I then added a few squirts of lemon juice.
The flavor wasn’t so bad, thanks to the lemon. But man, the texture was nasty! It was like eating algae scooped out of a swamp.
I’m convinced that I will acquire a taste for spinach if properly prepared and figure I just cooked it wrong (and was way lazy in my attempt).
So, anyone suggest a recipe for my remaining bag of frozen spinach? Honestly, I don’t mind a real recipe- I just cooked it quick/lazy for a taste.
I heat some olive oil in a skillet, and a clove or two of garlic. Saute for a few seconds, then add the spinach. Saute until it’s mixed & hot. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice. Pretty good as a side dish.
It’s also good in omelets, with a bit of cheese & garlic. Or just scrambled along with eggs.
It’s a good way to add a few vitamins and some fiber to soups and stews while not changing the overall flavor.
I prefer frozen turnip greens for my soups because they seem to have even less flavor. It helps me to sneak another serving of vegetables into my diet.
Despite a few mentions, I don’t think it’s we stressed enough that you must drain your frozen spinach.
Drain your frozen spinach!
Let it thaw in the box, or rip the box off the frozen. Put it in a strainer. If frozen, run it under hot water. Take it in your hands and squeeze the water out. Squeeze it a lot. Get as much water out as possible. You will lose a little spinach down the sink and have spinachy hands.
Once you have relatively dry spinach then you can use it in a recipe. But not until you drain your spinach.
I used to make about a dozen pans of spanakopita a night for a coffee shop that I worked for. While spanakopita is about the only way I really like that kind of spinach, rinsing, draining and then squeezing the life out of dozens of boxes of frozen spinach was hell! You end up with red and itchy hands after a fairly short time.
But at home, yes…I quadruplicate the notion that you really must drain and squeeze the spinach as dry as you can get. It does get rid of quite a bit of the slimey texture. Ugh.
Heat oil in a pan, sizzle a couple cloves of minced garlic, then add your spinach (no need to drain for this recipe!) and some frozen artichoke hearts if you have 'em… sautee till hot, then pour in some half-n-half and some parmesan cheese (the cheap kind). Yum! Spinach artichoke dip!
Or like the recipe above where you sautee it with garlic, but try balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice.
I don’t have a recipe to offer, but you should be able to make a saag paneer from frozen spinach. It’s a tasty dish, although sometimes the spinach looks gross.
I eat frozen spinach a lot. My go-to is to cook some rice, add some cooked chickpeas (canned or made from dried), plus frozen spinach, add in plenty of curry powder (lots of options, or you can concoct your own mixture if you want to play mad scientist), and serve with butter.
I was eating this every day a few months ago, and nothing else. It’s basic, and good. I don’t much care for frozen spinach as a side, though.
I did used to make Northern Italian gnocchi with ricotta, some herbs (parsley, basil), and spinach, and maybe a few other things. Simmer in water, then you’re done. Not that tasty, IMO, but they’re OK.
I’m making chili this weekend. Would it be a good idea to add some chopped up frozen (drained, of course) spinach to add fiber? We have a lot of it in the freezer, undesignated for specific use.
Doesn’t sound very good to me, but you never know (would you really have to drain it in a soup or “wet” dish? I never do). But in a big pot of a minestrone or a chicken soup or just about anything with lots of vegetables? Sounds like a winner.
I find it kinda neutral unless it’s just very prominent in a dish. Meaning that I can toss a box or two in any large batch of food I’m making without noticing too much.
And my preferred way of doing it is the Rachael Ray way :o : microwave for a few minutes, dump in a kitchen towel, and once cooled a bit, wring it out into a little ball.
Fry it with cheese, mushrooms, garlic, onion & egg and call it an omelet. Or mix those ingredients, put in a frozen pie crust, bake it, and call it quiche.
I make it in the microwave all the time. Drain the shit after–I mean, seriously. Drain the shit out of it. I usually use the microwave-in-the-pouch kind, but I’m sure it’ll work with the regular. But after it’s cooked? Drain the shit out of it.
Then, after the shit has been drained about it, melt in some butter. Add a pinch of salt, some black pepper, and a bit of nutmeg. It’s ridiculously good.
Hey, I don’t remember Popeye ever draining his spinach!
Thanks for the heads up. If I had drained the spinach and mixed it into an omelette, I bet it would have been great.
Tomorrow I’m making a spinach bars recipe I found on Allrecipes. Basically it’s spinach, garlic, onion, cheese and flower baked in the oven. Sounds good.