Let's rehabilitate spinach


Let's rehabilitate spinach
We are currently (as I write this) in the season of fresh spinach, and it is a delicious vegetable that unfortunately has a bad reputation among a lot of people, children and teenagers in particular.

I wonder if this lack of appetite isn't due to what I call, probably unfairly, "school food spinach"? That is to say a rather tasteless green purée, of a very unappetizing aspect, and that most children know, alas. And it's a pity, because spinach, well prepared, not chopped, is both delicious and healthy (but with little iron, despite Popeye, a little reference for those who were born before 1980).

But for spinach to stay good, you have to buy it in season, right now, close to home if possible, and prepare and cook it with care, that is to say very briefly.

You don't know how to do it? No problem, I'll show you.
5,702 4.8/5 (15 reviews)
Grade this page:
Keywords for this post:SpinachCookingRecipeMethodBlanching
Last modified on: May 7th 2021
For this post: Comment Follow Send to a friend
Let's rehabilitate spinach

The preparation

This is not very complicated, we treat them a bit like salad: plunged in cold water with vinegar to wash them, you drain, and it's finished.
It's a matter of taste, but if, like me, you don't like the hard part of the spinach leaf, the vein, you can remove it by pulling on it and put it in the compost, it separates from the leaf quite easily.
Well no mystery, it's a lot of work, you have to do it leaf by leaf, but the result is worth your efforts.

épinards retrait nervure centrale



Note that from now on (put them through the salad spinner first) you can already eat the spinach raw, in a salad for example, alone or with other things, it is already very good. It can also replace salad, for example in the burgers we talked about not long ago.

Cooking ways

There are 2 main ways to cook them:

1) Fallen ("Tombés" in French)

This is a rather simple method, rather fast: You put a large frying pan on high heat, with a big knob of butter or a little olive oil, and when all this is quite hot you put a good big packet of prepared spinach leaves in the pan.
Be careful it crackles a lot because of the water left on the leaves, you stir the leaves a bit and they will "fall", that is to say cook, in 2 or 3 minutes maximum.
Put aside, and repeat the operation until all your spinach falls.

épinards pour une tombée épinards tombés




2) Blanching

A little longer method: You boil a big pot of salted water, and you plunge in a big packet of prepared spinach leaves, stir a little and as soon as the boiling starts again, it's cooked (2 minutes max).
Remove from the water with a skimmer or spider and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking.
Drain once cooled, then pass to the salad spinner to dry. You can also consult these detailed explanations.

cuisson des épinards refroidissement rapide des épinards essorage des épinards



Whatever the cooking method you have chosen, the spinach prepared in this way is ready to be used in the recipe of your choice. It retains its beautiful emerald-coloured leafy appearance, especially when blanched, and its delicate taste.

As for the recipes, it is also a matter of taste, but spinach can be used in many recipes, whether raw or cooked!

I can't resist the pleasure of recommending an association that works incredibly well, it's fresh spinach with cream: For example a simple omelette in which you put cooked spinach, or spinach with cream and served with slices of hard-boiled eggs, a delight!

Tosum up: Eating spinach in season, prepared and cooked with care, is the guarantee of delicious seasonal recipes.

Lasts posts
A drizzle of olive oil
A drizzle of olive oil
Often in a recipe, you have to "baste" vegetables, for example, before sending them to the oven. What the author means by this is that you need to put oil on top of the vegetables to cook them in the oven. Typically, we just quickly drizzle oil over the vegetables, hoping not to miss any, but...
July 13th 20258575
Always secure your cutting board
Always secure your cutting board
When using a cutting board, it's very important that it's stable and doesn't move while you're cutting, for safety's sake. Boards have a natural tendency to slide on the work surface, but here are 2 ways to block them effectively.
July 1st 20259705
Cherry clafoutis, with or without pits?
Cherry clafoutis, with or without pits?
When it comes to cherry clafoutis recipes, there's often a camp of those who argue that you absolutely have to leave the stones in because it tastes better, and the other camp (myself included) who prefer cherries without stones, which makes a much more pleasant clafoutis to eat. But is it true...
June 29th 20258955
Should potatoes be washed twice?
Should potatoes be washed twice?
Let's say you have to make a recipe that includes potatoes, let's say sliced, you'll most likely proceed as follows: Peel the potatoes, wash them, slice them, wash them again, pat them dry and add them to your recipe. But there's a "but": depending on the recipe, the second washing may be a bad...
May 19th 20252,538 15
Grilled bacon is much better in the oven
Grilled bacon is much better in the oven
Some recipes call for thin slices of bacon to be cooked and added to the recipe, or to prepare one of those delicious breakfasts known as "à l'Anglaise".
April 25th 20252,1965

Other pages you may also like
Should I believe my oven?
Should I believe my oven?
Can you really trust your oven? This is an important question as we are always tempted to take the temperature indicated as gospel truth and, unfortunately, this is rarely very precise. .
July 4th 201130 K4.6
Fats for cooking
Fats for cooking
If you need to fry or sear anything a frying pan or saucepan, the temperature is likely to be high. In particular, I have cooking red meat in mind. In this case, what should fat should we use? And at what temperature?
January 23th 201818 K5
The so-called "nervous" meats
The so-called "nervous" meats
You've probably heard this before, we're talking about "nervous" meat, or meat with nerves, to describe what is indicated by the blue arrow on the left. This is a piece of beef, and what we call a nerve is not a nerve, it is in fact collagen (chemists sometimes call it a "collagen sink"), a...
April 16th 202132 K4.5
Don't throw away your pizza crusts
Don't throw away your pizza crusts
You've probably already noticed that at the end of a pizza meal, at least half of the participants have left the crusts in the boxes or on the plates that many don't eat. Naturally, one would tend to put them "to the birds", or worse, to throw them away, and it's a shame because they are in fact...
April 22th 20237,1444.9
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
This is a question that you may well have asked yourself and which I will attempt to answer. In France the two trades of "boulangerie" (bakery) and "pâtisserie" (patisserie and confectionery) have always been quite distinct, but where exactly do the boundaries lie? .
February 7th 2017129 K 14.1
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page