I love this board! I am a huge creamed spinach fan and now I have to take my wife out for Indian tonight so I can try saag!
Oh, and to keep the thread on topic, I like my spinach any way you make it, even the mushy gloppy stuff from a can.
Same reason they cook tuna, oysters, carrots, onions, etc. Cooking changes the texture and taste. Some prefer them cooked, some like both and like to have variety.
I do agree it’s difficult to cook well - it’s so easy to overcook it. (Also like tuna.) My preferred way is to boil it very quickly (put into boiling water, let cook for maybe 30 sec, remove and drain), then sprinkle some bonito flakes and pour soy sauce.
I sure hope you’re talking about tuna… spinach and soy sauce?
You know if Popeye goes undercover with a bushel of spinach leaves hidden in his breast pocket, the goons who pat him down will find that and take it from him before he gets within a hundred yards of Mr. Big.
But if all they find is a tin can, he can tell them it’s creamed corn, or something innocuous, and they’ll wave him through (well, as long as he takes the label off the can).
Ever have it deep fried? Because that is totally my kind of restaurant, where they deep fry the spinach. It turns it the most beautiful green.
I love spinach, no matter how it is served. My personal recipe for greens involves spinach, turnip greens and some collards. Yummy!
Yes, spinach and soy sauce. A staple in Japan. (In fact, I’m hard pressed to think of any ingredient that the Japanese don’t eat with soy sauce.)
I love raw spinach as a salad ingredient (much better than any kind of lettuce). I’ll use cooked spinach in foods like omelets, stews and soups. For this, frozen is ok, but ***never ***canned.
Hells yeah. Tamari sauce is even better. Sprinkle on some red pepper flakes and toasted sesame seeds, a drizzle of sesame oil . . . Aw yeah.
Barely cooked is the way to go. I made some in an omelette last weekend. Just lay it on the top when the omelette is 98% cooked and cover for about two minutes. Then top with cheese, fold over, wait for the cheese to melt, remove from heat, rest a couple minutes and serve! Yumsters.
Steamed spinach is a must in eggs florentine.
Also, I make a nifty crab and spinach dip which is served hot - the spinach has to be steamed for it too.
Ummm, spinach.
Frozen spinach is wonderful for stuffed shells. Mix the spinach with Italian sausage, cover with sauce and cheese and bake. It also works with ricotta cheese in manicotti.
I love spinach.
Put me in the “toss it in a hot skillet with olive oil and garlic” crowd. It’s my favorite side dish with a grilled steak. If you add a few drops each of fresh olive oil and lemon juice to the spinach after dishing it up, it’s even better - like a warm salad. Sliced 'shrooms are another good addition, to be cooked in the skillet with the spinach.
Yum. I’ve the last batch of spring spinach to be picked out of our garden. I think it’s destined to be our tonight’s dinner.
Raw spinach? UGH!
I love creamed spinach, so long as it’s got some garlic and nutmeg going on. If anyone here’s been to the Berghoff in Chicago, that’s the sort of cream spinach I like.
Regular cooked spinach is best with just a dash of cider vinegar.
The closest I get to raw spinach is as salad with hot bacon dressing.
Fresh whole-leaf spinach? Room temperature is fine. Chopped & frozen? Cooked is the way to go.
I love it in all forms (except canned) but I think I actually prefer it cooked just because it’s more versatile. You can eat it plain with butter and lemon, creamed, souffleed, in dips, inquiche or as a stuffing in some other dish.
I like to make chicken roll-ups with spinach & cheese stuffing. Flatten out a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Saute some spinach, mushrooms and garlic. Maybe add a little bacon or prosciutto (sp?). Then add some cheese; feta, swiss, fontina or mozarrella - whatever I have on hand or am in the mood for - put on the chicken breast, roll up and cook. I usually brown it in a pan and then cover and put on low heat, maybe with a little broth or wine that I make a sauce with after it’s finished cooking. You could also finish it in the oven. I recently saw a cooking show where someone did this sort of thing but rolled it up in plastic wrap and then poached it in water, so it wasn’t browned on the outside. I am going to try this method sometime.
I also like to have it for breakfast with a poached egg on top. I always have a bag of frozen spinach so I can toss some into soups. I love creamed spinach and I agree that Boston Market’s is pretty good.
It probably harkens back to my vegetarian days but there are times when I fiercely crave some sort of cooked spinach dish. Maybe I just need the iron.
I was never forced to eat spinach as a child and maybe that’s why I love it. My mother hated it so she never served it to us. The first time I had it was at a friend’s house when I was around 11. They served it with butter and a touch of lemon juice and I thought it was amazing. I didn’t have it much after that until I became an adult and did my own cooking and I love trying out new recipes with spinach. I have a theory that most people that hate cooked spinach were forced to eat it as children and it was most likely the nasty tinny flavored canned stuff that was served plain and by the time the poor kid choked it down it was cold and nasty.
The only problem I have with spinach … this may be a little TMI
It makes your poop a really dark green color, which is a little disturbing.
Almost all vegetables are better raw than cooked, and when cooked, it’s almost always best to cook them only slightly. Unlike some veggies, there are good ways to cook spinach (on a pizza or in saag are two examples), but it’s still all too easy to ruin it by overcooking.
Raw spinach sucks. It’s like lettuce, but not as good.
Cooked spinach is veggie heaven. I’ve got a big leftover bowl of saag paneer waiting for me at home as we speak.
IIRC, there are some nutrients in spinach that are best brought out when it is cooked.
I like young spinach raw, or mature leaves steamed just until they wilt. The only way I’ll eat it thoroughly cooked is in a souffle or (my favourite way) mixed with crumbly white cheese and nutmeg, rolled into balls and scattered over a pizza before baking it.
Substitute fresh ground black pepper and add fresh sliced crimini mushrooms to the saute–mmmmm spinach!