Recipe: Aloo Saag or Saag Aloo (Indian Spinach and Potatoes)

I bought a 5 pound bag of onions and a 10 pound bag of potatoes at $1.99 each when they were on sale at Pathmark. These are the staples of many a dish and the price was so good I couldn't pass it up.
Aside from making latkes with them or hash, I had a craving for Indian and found this recipe courtesy of Food.com

I didn't have whole cumin seeds so I used ground. I had a box of frozen chopped spinach which I had bought on sale for 80¢ so I used it defrosted. Results came out fabulously! My notes are in parenthesis.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large potatoes, cubed (the smaller the cube, the faster it cooks)
• 400 g spinach or 400 g chard leaves, stalks removed, roughly chopped (could substitute a box of frozen chopped spinach)
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (I used a microplane to make it easier on my knuckles)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic cloves, coarsely chopped (I find 1 clove does it)
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (a mix of spices available in spice markets)
• olive oil
• butter
• salt

Directions

1. Fry the cumin seeds in a heavy bottomed pan in a bit of oil and butter until just starting to brown.
2. Add the onion and fry until it too starts to brown.
3. Add the potato, garlic, turmeric, ginger and garam masala and fry until the potato starts to soften.
4. Unless you are using a non-stick pan, you may need to add water and cover to keep the potato from sticking and to help it cook. The first time I did this 1/2 cup of water at a time and it took about 20-30 minutes but I now prefer to parboil the potatoes, which means you add less water and it only takes about 10 minutes to finish off from this point.
5. Add the spinach or chard and cook until it collapses over the potato.
6. Salt to taste.

Recipe: Honey Soy Glazed Salmon and Gomae

Here is a Japanese take on Salmon and Spinach. I WAS going to make salmon en croute but that would mean having to buy puff pastry and I just wanted to use what I had on hand. I buy my salmon at Costco and keep it in the freezer until I'm ready to use it. Salmon freezes well! I always buy frozen vegetables when they are on sale and keep them handy in the freezer.


Honey Soy Glazed Salmon

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 6-ounce salmon fillets

• In a small bowl whisk together honey, soy sauce, lime juice, mustard, and water.
• In a small non-stick skillet heat oil over medium high heat and cook salmon 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until golden and just cooked through. Transfer salmon to 2 plates.
• Add honey glaze to skillet and simmer, stirring, 1 minute. Spoon glaze over salmon.

Serves 2.

Spinach in sesame dressing (Gomae)


1 10 oz. box of frozen spinach
4 Tablespoons sesame paste (tahini found in the Ethnic aisle of Supermarket or Health Food Store),
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoons soy sauce
Splash of water

• Follow instructions on box to cook spinach.
• Put cooked spinach into a sieve to squeeze out excess water or wring with hands.
• Set aside in a medium bowl
• Make sesame dressing by mixing the tahini, sugar, soy sauce, and enough water to make a dressing (thickness depending on preference)
• Toss dressing with cooked spinach and serve at room temperature or cool.

In the picture you can see that I served it with brown rice. Quinoa also makes a nice starch to serve with this dish. Enjoy!

Recipe: Spinach Feta Quiche

Frozen pie crusts are usually sold in bags containing 2-3 crusts so if you have one left over from making the Shepherd's Pie, you can make this simple Greek inspired quiche! My recipe uses half & half in place of the standard milk and cream but the results are the same. I always keep boxes of frozen vegetables in my freezer to make this when frozen pie crusts are on sale.

Ingredients

• 1 10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 4 eggs beaten
• 2 cups half & half
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried. You can also substitute with dried oregano)
• 4 ounces feta cheese crumbled
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 frozen deep dish pie crust (I like Oronoque Brand it's made by Mrs. Smith's Bakeries)

Directions

1. Drain the thawed frozen spinach and squeeze out as much moisture you can (you don't want a watery quiche). Set aside in a small bowl.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, half & half, salt (feta has salt in it as well so you must taste the cheese to see how much salt you should add), pepper, lemon juice, parsley, and nutmeg.

3. Stir in the spinach and feta cheese. Pour into the frozen pie crust just to the top ( you might have some quiche mixture left over which you can make into an omelet to preview the taste).

4. Bake in the oven at 350° for 30- 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. You can also eat this at room temperature.

I like to serve this with a small salad for lunch or a light supper.

Serves 6-8 people. Opa!!!!