March 25 #640 Spinach
Spinach is one of the most widely found of all vegetables, enjoying a place in cuisines from The Americas to Europe to the Far East. This dark green leafy vegetable is quite versatile and can be used as a featured ingredient or in a supporting role. It is delicious raw (witness the ubiquitous place it holds in salad bars) or cooked. Used as a whole leaf, shredded or finely minced, spinach adds a unique flavor that combines mild bitterness with a subtle dark sweetness.
Spinach is thought to have originated somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean, and it made its way eastward and westward…undoubtedly in seed form. It found and extremely congenial home in both Italy and Spain, in fact it was so closely identified with Spain that the Old English who first encountered it referred to it as the "Spanich Vegetable", hence our modern name. When Catherine de Medici came from Florence to France as a royal bride, she brought with her a thoroughly modern kitchen with systems, theories and recipes all worked out. She did have a taste for spinach and so whenever it made an appearance in a dish, her new team of French cooks would refer to it as a la Florentine, a designation we use to this day.
A few words about spinach. Despite the recent tragedy of e. coli bacteria contaminating bagged spinach, the supply is safe. Grown close to the ground, spinach comes to market with a residue of dirt, so you'll want to wash it two or three times in fresh waters to get it clean and grit free. Spinach is famous for giving up its bulk while cooking. Quite often, the briefest immersion in simmering water (say 15 seconds) is sufficient to cook it through. If you choose to sauté it, do it quickly, using as a medium nothing more than the water left on the leaves after rinsing.
Here's a little recipe Al came up with while trying to figure out how to "stuff a spinach leaf."
SPINACH BARLEY TIMBALES
A Radio Kitchen Original Recipe
Note: For this recipe I bought a bunch of loose spinach, looking for the one with the largest leaves. I washed the spinach in three waters, then trimmed off the stems, leaving only the leaves.
1 pound fresh loose spinach, washed and trimmed
1 tbs ghee
½ white onion, chopped finely
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tbs ground fennel
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup pearl barley, rinsed
15 small grape tomatoes
¼ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup golden raisins
2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
For the spinach:
1. Boil water in a large deep pan, then reduce to a simmer. Using a good sized strainer, immerse about a quarter of the spinach leaves at a time in the simmering water. They will cook in only 15 seconds. Remove the spinach, and lay the leaves as flat as possible on paper towels, and pat dry. Repeat the process.
2. When the spinach is all cooked, take four small pyrex ramekins and grease them with butter. Line each ramekin with spinach leaves all the way to the top, with excess falling over the sides.
For the filling:
1. In a sauce pan, sauté the onions in the ghee until they start to turn pale gold in color. Add the spices and stir briefly, then pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the barley, and bring it to a boil once again, then reduce to low simmer. Cover and let it cook for about an hour. Check periodically to see if the liquid needs refilling. Stir occasionally as the barley approaches doneness. When it is all plump and soft, it is done.
2. When you judge the barley to be nearly cooked, add the other ingredients and blend well. Continue to cook over low heat for another few minutes until the barley is fully cooked.
3. Spoon the barley mixture into the spinach-lined ramekins until each is filled up. Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet, and put them into a pre-heated 325 oven for about 20 minutes.
Remove the ramekins, and loosen the spinach cups with a thin knife, then un-mold them onto a serving plate. Garnish with a little more of the parmesan cheese and serve as a side dish.
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