3 Dips

 

Saag Paneer

 Thaw 2lbs frozen spinach

Saute some cumin seeds, add in 1 T water and spices (1 t cumin, 1/2 t chili, 1 t turmeric, ginger grated, garlic, 1 T coriander, sauté a few minutes

Add can of puréed tomato and the thawed spinach with all the water squeezed out.

Cook 10 minutes.  Blend in cuisinart

——-can do the above the day before——

Sauté diced paneer in ghee or olive oil until browned and slightly crispy

Add to the spinach mixture, add 1/4 cup half and half and a big scoop garam, simmer until flavors meld (at least 10 more min)

Hali's Spinach Ricotta Pie

Crust: Cut 1 cup flour (4/5 white and 1/5 whole wheat works well) with 1/3 cup cold butter. Add 3 T cold buttermilk or enough so that the mix holds together in a ball. Chill for 1 hour.

Filling:
1 lb ricotta cheese
3 eggs
1 lb chopped spinach and 1 diced onion sauteed together in butter with pepper, a little salt, and some basil.
3 T flour
1/2 cup grated sharp cheese (or more)
dash nutmeg

Mix everything together and spread into unbaked pie shell. Top with 1 cup sour cream spread to the edges of the crust and top with a generous sprinkling of paprika

Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes. Serve hot!

Spanikopita Triangles

First, make the filling: saute/strain/saute a pound of frozen spinach until it's dry. In a mixing bowl mash together a half-cup-plus of feta cheese [ed note: maybe a full cup would be better] with a half-cup of cottage cheese. Add 2 lightly beaten eggs, the spinach, a quarter cup dill (don't go too far out of your way to get this), and ground nutmeg.

Now take your (fully defrosted!) filo dough (find this in the supermarket's frozen section) out and take out four squares. Cut each square into four fat strips. Be prepared to make many more middle eastern pastries soon, because the remaining dough will only keep for a few weeks in the freezer!

Brush the top-side of the first rectangle with oil. Plop a spoonful of filling near one end, fold over once, then start folding triangularly all the way down. There is a knack of sort of folding in the corners as you go, by which you can avoid making the pastries too flat.

Repeat.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

If we carefully consider the ratio of the deliciousness of this dish divided by the amount of work it takes to prepare, and add to this fraction the value p sub t where p is the amount of pleasure it will give tonight to roll up the pastries, we find that we should restrict our preparation of this dish to days when we're feeling like doing some arts and crafts.

Tofu Saag with Frozen Spinach

Thaw out 2 boxes of frozen spinach and set aside. I like the green giant no sauce kind.

Blend two tomatoes in a cuisinart and set aside

In a skillet, toast 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and 4 dried red chilies in oil. Once they start to sputter add the wet masala: 1/2 t cumin, 1/2 t chili, 1/2 t tumeric, grated fresh ginger, a generous scoop of coriander and a couple T of water.

Add the tomato puree, then add the spinach, then add a paste of 2 T flour with water.

Let cook a few minutes and then add tofu cubes and 1/2-1 cup milk or cream. Cook a bit longer and stir in a generous scoop of garam masala.

Chicken Saag with Fresh Greens

Use fresh spinach, mustard greens, or chard. Use only the leaves (save the stems for use in another dish). Wash the leaves and put in a saucepan on med heat. Cook about 5 minutes until totally wilted. Cuisinart along with some 2 cloves garlic and freshly grated ginger.

Meanwhile saute the chicken with some finely diced onion and tomatoes. Stir in the sauce and add lots of ground coriander, a pinch of tumeric, and a pinch of chili (or to taste). cook until chicken is done. Stir in 1/2 cup yogurt (optional) and a big scoop of garam masala.

Lentils with Spinach

Cook a cup of chana dal or yellow split peas in some salt water.

Meanwhile heat some oil, and toss in some black mustard seeds, toast for 2 minutes until they sputter and start to bounce. Add some garlic, onion, grated ginger, and chili. Saute 5 minutes more. Throw in a package of frozen spinach or a lot of fresh spinach. Cook about 10 minutes until liquid is absorbed (if using frozen) or the spinach is cooked (if using fresh). Add coriander and garam masala. Stir in the dal and serve with naan bread or rice.

Spinach Souffle

Preheat oven to 375
Use room temp eggs
Prepare souffle pan by buttering bottom and sides and coating with grated Parmesan cheese (grate a handful in and then rotate pan until evenly covered, dump out any extra)

In a saucepan melt 3 Tb butter. When the butter starts bubbling add 3 Tb yellow cornmeal and stir. Let cook a minute or so until it starts to brown. Then add 1 1/2 cups HOT milk (not boiling). Whisk until it thickens. Turn off heat and add splash of Worcestershire sauce and a sprinkle of yellow mustard. Remove pan from heat

You will now be separating eggs so get a bowl for the whites and put it next to the saucepan with your sauce. Separate 3 eggs, putting the yolks in the sauce (whisk each one immediately into the sauce) and the whites in their own bowl. Add 2 more whites (for a total of 3 yolks and 5 whites--you can do 4 and 6 for a slightly bigger souffle).

Add 1 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese to the sauce. Add a handful of chopped spinach (optional) to the sauce.

Whip the whites until they are stiff (not dry). Carefully, carefully fold the whites into the sauce. Pour everything into the buttered souffle pan and place in the middle of oven. Cook for 40 minutes. Do not stomp while it is cooking. Take it out, admire, and serve immediately.

This makes enough for 2 very hungry people.

Tofu Spinach Lasagna with Basil and Olives

8 oz of whole wheat lasagna noodles
1/2 lb silken tofu
1 pound fresh spinach
2 cups basil, chopped
1/4 cup olives, chopped
1 cup grated skim mozzarella (plus more for the top)
1/2 cup parmesan
1 egg
26 oz canned diced tomatoes (or petrocelli tomato sauce)
1 onion, grated or very finely chopped
3 cloves garlic
olive oil

400 degrees, grease 8 x 12 casserole dish
Wilt spinach in large skillet over high heat, squeeze off excess moisture
Mash spinach with tofu, cheese (both kinds), basil, egg and 2 cloves of garlic

In another bowl, combine tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, onion and olives

layer in dish: half of tomato sauce, noodles, tofu filling, noodles, tofu filling, noodles, sauce, mozzarella cheese.

Bake 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes.