Midweek Meals: You don't have to be Popeye to get the best of these 5 spinach meals

Spinach is in season - stacked with iron, vitamin C and E, potassium, and magnesium.

Pic: iStock

Sea Spinach and Rosemary Soup

recipe by:Darina Allen

The trick with these green soups is not to add the greens until the last minute, otherwise they will overcook, and the soup will lose its fresh taste and bright green colour.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 45 mins

Cooking Time

 5 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 50g (2oz) butter

• 110g (4oz) onion, peeled and chopped

• 150g (5oz) potatoes, peeled and chopped

• 600ml (1 pint) homemade chicken stock, vegetable stock or water

• 425-600ml (15fl oz - 1 pint) creamy milk (1/4 cream and 3/4 milk)

• salt and freshly ground pepper

• 225-350g (8-12oz) sea spinach or sea beet, destalked and chopped

• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

• To garnish:

• 2 tbsp whipped cream (optional)

• sprig of rosemary or rosemary flowers

Method

1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. When it foams add the onions and potatoes and turn them until well coated. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and sweat on a gentle heat for 10 minutes.

2. Add the boiling stock and milk, bring back to the boil and simmer until the potatoes and onions are fully cooked. Add the sea spinach and boil with the lid off for about 4-5 minutes, until the sea spinach is tender. Do not overcook or the soup will lose its fresh green colour. Add the chopped rosemary.

3. Liquidise and taste. Serve in warm bowls garnished with a blob of whipped cream and a sprig of rosemary. If you have a pretty rosemary bush in bloom, sprinkle a few flowers over the top for extra pzazz.

Spinach salad with fried spiced tofu

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

This spicy vegan salad with juicy cherry tomatoes and baby spinach is light and perfect for summer, ready in just twenty minutes

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Starter

Ingredients

• dash of sesame oil

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped

• 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, sliced

• ½ red chilli, finely chopped

• 500g firm tofu, thinly sliced

• 4 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp honey

• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

• handful of sesame seeds, toasted

• 4 large handfuls of baby spinach

• bunch of spring onions, sliced

Method

1. Heat some oil add the tomatoes to the pan and fry until they are soft and charred. Set them aside.

2. Heat the sesame oil and fry the chilli and garlic until the garlic is about to change colour, add the strips of tofu and fry until they are turing golden. Stir in the soy sauce, honey and vinegar. Add the tomatoes back to the pan along with the toasted seeds and stir everything together.

3. Divide the spinach between four bowls. Spoon the tofu mixture over. Pour the juices from the pan over so it dresses the leaves.

4. Eat straight away as the spinach will start to wilt.

Butternut squash and spinach dahl

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

Reminiscent of my mother's vegetable curries, this is a homage to her cooking

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 35 mins

Total Time

 45 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Indian

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 1 medium onion

• 3 cloves garlic

• 3cm fresh ginger

• 1 red chilli

• 1 tbsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tin chopped tomatoes

• 1 butternut squash

• 250g lentils, either a mix of moong and red, or just red lentils.

• 600ml vegetable or chicken stock

• 100g baby spinach

• To serve:

• Greek yoghurt

• A little olive or rapeseed oil

• ½ tsp each of cumin, fennel, and mustard seed

• 2 dried red chillies

Method

1. Start by rinsing and soaking the lentils. Just rinse them in a sieve under a running tap for a few moments before popping them into a pan and covering them with cold water. Allow them to soak while you prepare the rest of your ingredients. 

2. Peel butternut squash, discard the seeds and fibrous centre and cut the squash into three-centimetre chunks. Peel and chop the onion. Peel and grate the ginger and the garlic. Wash the chilli and remove the stalks and seeds before finely chopping it.

3. Heat the oil in a medium-sized pan over a high heat. Add the onion, lower the heat to medium, and cook it for a few minutes until the onion is soft and opaque. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute or so until they become fragrant. Next, add the spices, salt and chopped chilli. Stir them in well and allow them to cook for about two minutes. Keep an eye on the pan and stir regularly to stop the spices from sticking to the bottom of the pan or burning. Add a little more oil if needed.   

4. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook for another few minutes and then add the butternut squash. Stir everything well to get the squash coated in the paste and cook for two to three minutes. Drain and rinse the lentils and add them to the pan along with the stock.

5. Bring the pan to a soft boil. Turn down the heat, cover the pan and simmer for thirty minutes until the squash is cooked through and the lentils are softened. Check the lentils to see if they are cooked to your liking. If you are using just red lentils, they will have become very soft by now and combined with the liquid without retaining much of their shape. If you have used a mix of moong lentils and red lentils, the moong lentils will still have a little bite which will give your dhal a little more texture.  

6. Taste and season as required. If you want a little more heat, you could add some more cayenne pepper at this stage. Just give the dhal another two to three minutes over the heat if you do add more spice. Remove the pan from the heat and just before you are ready to serve, stir in the spinach. Allow it to wilt, which will only take a minute or two and you are ready to serve.

7. I always finish off a dish like this with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and some tempered spices. This is optional, but it really adds a lot of flavour to the dhal which, if you are heaving this as your main meal, is very lovely.

8. Heat a little oil in a small pan over a high heat. Reduce the heat to medium when the oil is very hot and add two red chillies, a few fresh basil or curry leaves, and half a teaspoon each of mustard, fennel, and cumin seed. When the seeds start to pop, take them off the heat. Spoon a generous dollop of Greek yoghurt over the top of your dhal and pour the oil and tempered spices over the yoghurt.

Spanakopita: Greek spinach and cheese pie

recipe by:Darina Allen

Spanakopita can also be made in individual snails, but this delicious flaky version comes in a sauté pan. This version is good for a feast. You could halve the recipe if you’re serving smaller numbers.

Servings

15

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 50g butter

• 900g leeks, sliced and washed really well 

• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 500g onions, finely chopped 

• 8 spring onions (both white and green parts), finely sliced 

• 900g fresh spinach, weighed after the stalks have been removed, washed really well 

• flaky sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg 

• 6 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley 

• 6 tbsp chopped dill 

• 350g feta cheese, crumbled 

• 125g Parmesan, grated 

• 4 organic, free-range eggs, beaten 

• 15g melted butter, for brushing 

• 9 sheets of filo pastry, 30 x 43cm (about one packet) 

• egg wash, made by beating 1 egg with 2–3 tbsp milk 

• Roasting dish 30x23x4cm 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.

2. Melt the butter in the and cook the sliced leeks with 2–3 tablespoons water for 4-5 minutes until tender (older leeks may take slightly longer). Scoop the leeks out of the pan and set aside on a plate while you cook the spinach.

3. Heat the olive oil in the sauté pan, add the finely chopped onion and spring onions, and sweat over a low heat for 3–4 minutes, covered, until soft but not coloured. Increase the heat to medium, add the spinach and toss well to coat it in the oil. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and nutmeg.

4. Add the chopped parsley and dill, and continue to cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring, until the spinach has wilted. Turn out the spinach mixture into a colander and set aside to drain and cool Combine the crumbled feta and 100g of the grated Parmesan in a medium bowl and beat in the egg. Add the well-drained spinach and the leeks and season to taste.

5. Brushing each sheet of filo with melted butter as you go, layer up the pastry in the base of the sauté pan so that it comes up the sides of the tin, leaving enough pastry hanging over the sides to fold over and encase the filling.

6. Spread the filling evenly over the pastry and bring up the sides of the filo to encase the filling. Sprinkle the surface with the remaining 25g grated Parmesan. Score the top of the pie into a diamond or square pattern and brush all over with the egg wash.

7. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes until puffed up and golden.

8. Serve, cut into wedges, while still warm and fluffy. 
   Taken from One Pot Feeds All by Darina Allen. Published by Kyle Books.

Quinoa, Avocado And Spinach Power Bowl

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

This salad can be eaten immediately or stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Do not cut the avocado until just before serving as it may turn brown. A dollop of hummus is fab on this!

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the quinoa:

• 100g quinoa (you can buy pre cooked quinoa in most supermarkets if you don’t want to cook your own)

• 200ml vegetable stock

• 1 tbsp coconut oil

• 1 lime, juiced and zest finely grated

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• For the dressing:

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 lime, juiced

• 1 tsp agave/honey/maple syrup

• To serve:

• 1 small punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1 handful coriander roughly chopped

• 4 scallions, sliced

• 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced (optional)

• 1 small bag of baby spinach

• 2 avocados, diced or sliced

Method

1. To make the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa under cold water. Add the quinoa and the stock to a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil.

2. Once boiling, reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until all the liquids are absorbed.

3. Stir in the coconut oil, lime juice, lime zest, salt and pepper.

4. Set aside until you are ready to assemble the salad.

5. To make the dressing: Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice and syrup. Set aside with the quinoa.

6. To serve: Stir together the quinoa, halved cherry tomatoes, coriander, scallions and jalapeno peppers, if using.

7. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the spinach between four bowls, place the quinoa salad on top and drizzle with the dressing.

8. Top with the avocado and serve.