Baby spinach can be used as a key ingredient in a variety of dishes. (Nick Koon/Orange County Register/KRT)
British eco-food columnist Richard Ehrlich is a fan of "lidded cooking."
When food is cooked in a frying pan, stockpot, saucepan or Dutch oven, the heat makes steam rise from the food and the cooking liquid. Steam is a form of energy. Adding a tight-fitting lid to the pot can cut cooking time and/or energy by as much as 75 percent, according to Ehrlich's book "The Green Kitchen," a guidebook for reducing energy and waste.
The following braised spinach uses lidded quick-braising to render another green workhorse of the kitchen to tender perfection. Cooking spinach helps to convert protein, lutein and beta-carotene it contains to a more bio-available form.
Not a fan of cooked spinach?
Braising with fragrant garlic and shallots is a lovely way to move past raw spinach, without adding butter or olive oil.
Want to save more energy?
Ehrlich recommends cleaning the lid by wiping it instead of washing it if there is no fat to affect the flavor or microbial safety of the next dish it covers.
Cooking tip: To toast pine nuts, spread them in a baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted.
When food is cooked in a frying pan, stockpot, saucepan or Dutch oven, the heat makes steam rise from the food and the cooking liquid. Steam is a form of energy. Adding a tight-fitting lid to the pot can cut cooking time and/or energy by as much as 75 percent, according to Ehrlich's book "The Green Kitchen," a guidebook for reducing energy and waste.
The following braised spinach uses lidded quick-braising to render another green workhorse of the kitchen to tender perfection. Cooking spinach helps to convert protein, lutein and beta-carotene it contains to a more bio-available form.
Not a fan of cooked spinach?
Braising with fragrant garlic and shallots is a lovely way to move past raw spinach, without adding butter or olive oil.
Want to save more energy?
Ehrlich recommends cleaning the lid by wiping it instead of washing it if there is no fat to affect the flavor or microbial safety of the next dish it covers.
Cooking tip: To toast pine nuts, spread them in a baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted.
Italian-style braised spinach with shallots and garlic
Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 12 minutes Makes: 4 servings
1¼ pounds fresh spinach
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1½ tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
Trim away stems from spinach and wash well. Do not dry; allow water to cling to the leaves. Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add shallots and garlic; cook, stirring, until shallots are tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
Place spinach in pan. Drizzle with lemon juice; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with pine nuts.
Nutrition information
Per serving: 88 calories, 43% calories from fat, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 8 g carbohydrates, 5 g protein, 180 mg sodium, 4 g fiber
