The raw stuff squeaks on my teeth, which is gross. I add dressing as a lubricant.
A new African-American neighbor asked my wife about this green growing in her garden. Wife recognized it as rhubarb and prevented an entire family from dying from oxalic acid poisoning by saying, “The leaves are poisonous. The stalks make pie if you add enough sugar.”
Honestly, that would appear to magnify all of my issues with spinach.
This is the worst thing about spinach - frankly, I can’t comprehend why people add it raw to salads. It’s like licking a felt jewelry box. Yuck.
Another little pitch for spinach pie: I did make one last night and it went over as well as it always does. There was just the tiniest bit left over for lunch today - it’s hard to understand how so much spinach (two big bunches) can find its way into something eaten as a mere side by two adults and a toddler. Daughter shoveled it in to the point of neglecting everything else on her plate, and wifey is still gushing about it.
It really is the best thing that can happen to spinach.
I’ll just give you a link to the recipe I use:
However, I double the spinach and add about half a cup of mozzarella too. It has a fairly dry consistency once it cools, so it’s easy to cut into squares. I have also spread it thinner on a pizza pan, cooked it then added pizza toppings and reheated the entire thing until it’s bubbly. It’s very satisfying!
I’ve added an entire block of cream cheese (YES I AM LOSING WEIGHT THIS WAY!) to make it a thicker creamed spinach.
Bumped because I was about to post essentially this same OP again and it struck me that I should probably look it up to see if I have already.
So, this issue still plagues me. Still looking for good suggestions that hide the texture of spinach while allowing the goodness of eating veggies.
My wife loves the bitter greens like spinach, while I (being somewhat of a super taster) can’t abide them. She piles up a bunch in a pan, cooks it down to where it’s soggy and disgusting and then mixes in scrambled eggs. Can’t choke it down. Frying helps, or putting it into a dish with some balancing ingredients. I once took a bite of raw mustard greens and had to spit it out. But cooked into a biryani, it’s just fine.
Have you tried the Stouffer’s spinach souffle? If you can abide that, it will give a good indication of whether you can abide spinach pie or spinach in an omelette or frittata. I’ve found that cooking a rectangle of frozen chopped spinach (not leaf), squeezing out the water, and cooking half in two eggs (with a sprinkle of cheese) is pretty good and not spinach-texture-y.
Funny how different people view things differently. I can’t stand the texture of lettuce and so don’t eat lettuce salads, but love raw spinach in salads.
I like spinach raw or cooked. My favorites are in vegetarian lasagna, and in spanikopita (Greek spinach pie).
We made spanakopita egg rolls the other night and they were freakin’ awesome.
But back to the OP, since you really don’t care of spinach in any of it’s forms (raw, wilted, or cooked to mush), have you thought of doing what Chefguy suggests and move to a firmer green? Perhaps a collard or even a kale?
I haven’t tried these two recipes yet, but they look promising. Thank you!
I’m trying to work with spinach because my husband loves it. I like virtually every other vegetable out there, but he’s not pro-veggie, so when he likes one I try to use it.
Palak paneer is an Indian spinach dish. It’s essentially pureed spinach with spices/seasoning and lumps of cottage cheese. I like it a fair bit, but I’ve only ever had the Indian home cooked version. Here’s a link to a recipe on an Australian site.
I don’t know why I haven’t mentioned this yet: spinach is very easy to overcook. It turns to mush pretty easily. To avoid this, start with mature leaves - the stuff that comes in bags is usually baby spinach, which is better for eating raw but not much good for cooking. When you cook the spinach, put some oil in a big pot, get it hot, then add the spinach and cook it only until it wilts, which should take just a minute or two. Remove the spinach from the pot as soon as it’s done. You can flavor it with garlic, lemon juice, bacon, hot pepper flakes. . .
Most of the salads I make include a handful or two of raw spinach. It adds a lot of flavor, and I have no complaint about the texture. The only spinach I don’t like are the little frozen “bricks” that give it the texture of snot. But some stores carry bags of frozen chopped spinach that is looser than the bricks. Lots of uses, like in omelets, soufflés, soups, etc.
There are a zillion other green vegetables out there, so if spinach is repulsive it’d make sense to try something else.
Just for fun (and pretty good taste and nourishment) try lightly cooked wild violet leaves, especially in springtime. They’re sort of reminiscent of spinach.
Rushgeekgirl and gigi, I tried the recipe you both suggested and it was great. Thank you!
I for one can’t eat raw spinach but absolutely love it cooked. I usually put it in a curry or mix it with some vegetables and it tastes really nice. On it’s own…it’s just no no no.
I have basically switched from spinach to dandelion greens. I buy organic dandelion greens, as they are sold at most organic markets. You may want to give them a try, as they are probably similar to spinach in nutrients.
All greens are gross when boiled!
I dont know how he did it, but Chef Eric Sarneau at The Hummingbird Room in rural PA used to do a frizzled spinach side with his lump crabmeat cakes that was TDF.