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Spinach Unlike the coarse, crinkly spinach that grows all winter long, spring spinach is tender. Its leaves are small and smooth, and it is sold by the bunch rather than the bag. It is exquisite stuff. And
although I make do with the winter spinach, turning it into soups and
sauces or even boiled, creamed and baked au gratin, spring spinach has a
delicate, mildly herbaceous flavour and buttery texture that requires
only a whisper of heat. Spinach
has the capacity to absorb the flavours around it, a quality that is
often dismissed as being too mild mannered but that to me is its
singular charm. I
think that I have always loved spinach first steamed and then chopped
and baked in cream under breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. Later I loved
it wilted with hot bacon grease and balsamic vinegar. My passion for
spinach intensified as I grew older and I developed a mania for all
things Florentine. When I began cooking in restaurants, spinach soups -
pureed with potatoes, chicken broth and cream in the winter or with
yogurt and green onions in the summer. I loved oysters Rockefeller can
considered my spinach quiche to be a small masterpiece. As
I grew as a cook, I came to understand that spinach is more of a vehicle
than a destination. In stir-fries, spinach acts as a sponge for the
flavours of garlic and soy, ginger and pepper. In Southeast Asian
dishes, it absorbs the perfume of lemon grass. In Indian food, it tastes
of cardamom and curry. Lately,
I’ve become interested in what young spinach leaves can do when minced
and tossed fresh into a sautéed dish, a pasta or a spring stew. You can
lighten full-bodied soup, like a chickpea or bean with a chiffinade of
fresh chopped spinach. Added to a clear soup, or rice, spinach adds snap
and a hint of the outdoors. I’m convinced, bias aside, that there is
nothing that spinach can’t do. Spinach
and Fennel Soup 1
½ tablespoons olive oil 16
cups spinach leaves, stemmed and washed 1
medium onion, peeled and chopped 1
large fennel bulb, trimmed and thickly sliced 1
½ cups chicken broth 5
cloves, roasted garlic, peeled ½
cup low fat milk ¼
cup plus 4 teaspoons plain non-fat yogurt 1
tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1
½ teaspoons sea salt freshly
ground pepper to taste. 1)
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Toss
in the spinach, stir a few times, cover and steam for 5 minutes. Set
aside. 2)
Heat ½ tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick skillet over
medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add
the fennel and cook, stirring often until lightly browned, about 7
minutes. Add ½ cup of the broth, lower the heat and cook, until the
fennel is tender, about 10 minutes. 3)
Coarsely puree the spinach, fennel mixture and roasted garlic in
a processor. Scrape into a large saucepan and stir in the remaining
broth, the milk, ½ cup of yogurt. Place over a medium heat until hot.
Stir in the lemon juice,and season with salt and pepper. Divide among
four bowls and garnish with a dollop of yogurt. |
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