How to prepare spinach
For most people (and me most of all), spinach brings back bad memories of canteens... But, well prepared, it's a fine and delicate vegetable which goes remarkably well with scrambled eggs, fish, and many another things. Here are two ways of preparing it.
3.38 M 3.8/5 (981 reviews)
1 hour 9 min.
Easy
500 g
5 IngredientsLast modified on: June 5th 2015
For 500 g, you will need:
- 1
1 kg fresh spinach - 2
20 g butter - 3
coarse salt - 4
salt - 5
pepper - Total weight: 1,020 grams
Change these quantities to make:
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 55 min.
Cooking: 20 min.
All in all: 1 hour 9 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 10 min.
Start by washing 1 kg fresh spinach in several changes of lukewarm water (not too cold, like for all earthy vegetables).
Stage 2 - 2 min.
Drain.
Stage 3
To prepare the leaves, you need to remove the central vein, for that there are two methods:
Fold the leaf in two along the central vein.
Fold the leaf in two along the central vein.
Stage 4
Then with a knife, remove the central vein.
Stage 5
You should keep only the green and tender part of the leaf.
Stage 6
Second method: fold the leaf in half along the central vein.
Stage 7
Then detach the vein by pulling on the stalk, from the base towards the top (in the direction of the arrow), until it's completely detached.
Stage 8 - 30 min.
Do this for all the leaves.
If you don't want to blanch the spinach, but just wilt it with a little butter, dry thoroughly in a salad spinner and go on to the following stage.
If you don't want to blanch the spinach, but just wilt it with a little butter, dry thoroughly in a salad spinner and go on to the following stage.
Stage 9 - 10 min.
To blanch spinach
If you wish to blanch before cooking, which brings out the flavour, boil a large pan of water, then salt using 1 tablespoon of salt per litre of water.Also prepare a large container, or your sink, full of water as cold as possible (ice-cold).
Stage 10
Tip in spinach leaves.
Stage 11 - 1 min.
Plunge the leaves down under the water, while waiting for it to come back to the boil.
Stage 12
As soon as it boils again, remove spinach from pan with a skimmer, and transfer to ice-cold water.
Stage 13 - 5 min.
As soon as spinach is completely cooled, drain thoroughly.
Stage 14 - 5 min.
Then use a salad spinner to remove as much water as possible.
Note: you will sometimes read in other recipes that you should squeeze spinach in your hands to remove water. I don't think this is a good idea because it gives you hard blocks of spinach, with the leaves all stuck together, not so easy to use.
Note: you will sometimes read in other recipes that you should squeeze spinach in your hands to remove water. I don't think this is a good idea because it gives you hard blocks of spinach, with the leaves all stuck together, not so easy to use.
Stage 15
And finally set aside on absorbant paper to collect any remaining water.
The spinach is ready to be used in your recipe.
The spinach is ready to be used in your recipe.
Stage 16
See how to in this video.
Stage 17
If you wish to eat it like this (and it is already excellent), you just need to heat it through in a frying pan with a knob of butter.
Stage 18 - 1 min.
Spinach "wilted" in butter
If you have not blanched you spinach, take a high-sided pan, and melt 20 g butter in it.Stage 19 - 5 min.
As soon as it's fairly hot, add the spinach. If it won't all fit in the pan, wait until the first batch wilts, then add the rest.
Stage 20
As soon as spinach wilts, salt and pepper, taste to check, it's ready.
Remarks
There is a a huge task of "spinach rehabilitation" to be done with children: "spinach is not inevitably the horrible green mush which you ate in the canteen"...
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 20 RDI=8 % | 30 RDI=3 % | 20 RDI=3 % | 350 RDI=20 % | 1,470 RDI: 20 % |
| Per 100 g | 1 RDI=1 % | 2 RDI=0 % | 1 RDI=0 % | 30 RDI=2 % | 140 RDI: 2 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 500 g : 3.35 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
Some other recipes using this recipeSee them all 34
Spinach Croque-monsieur
A croque-monsieur is a French toasted sandwich. Here, the 2 slices of buttered bread are filled with bechamel sauce, hard-boiled eggs, blanched spinach and melted cheese. The assembled sandwich is popped in the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.
65 K4.5 45 min.
Spinach and cashew brik rolls
Brik (or filo) pastry with a filling of cream cheese, cooked spinach and cashew nuts.
34 K 35 min.
Pan-fried cheese, egg and spinach toastie
Here's a new French twist on the famous American grilled cheese. This version plays on the great combination of spinach and eggs.
26 K 40 min.
Poached eggs with spinach and Comté milk
The combination of eggs with spinach is always a winner, but this recipe elevates it to another level with the original and delicious flavour added by the Comté milk.
23 K 1 hour 7 min.
Spinach Omelette
An ultra-simple but delicious omelette recipe. The beaten eggs are poured over spinach that has already been cooked with shallots.
78 K4.7 20 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Fresh spinach
Like these other recipes: Mixed vegetable curry, Tex-Mex chicken burger, Late Winter Soup with Fresh Spinach, Baby spinach salad, Chilli chicken and spinach gratin, ... See them all 9
Butter
Like these other recipes: Sauce Normande (for fish), Nantes Tourton, Muffin dough, Brioche galette, Almond tuiles, ... See them all 453
Coarse salt
Like these other recipes: How to cook pasta properly, Stock-pot fish , Foie gras cured in salt, Fish in a salt crust, How to prepare Jerusalem artichokes, ... See them all 16
Salt
Like these other recipes: Fillets of sole Dieppoise, Potato Waffles with Smoked Salmon, Spinach à la Lorraine, Thaï rice with small vegetables, Pollack fillet baked with rice and vegetables., ... See them all 634
Other recipes you may also like
Sugar syrup
This syrup is mainly used as a basis for all sorbet recipes, which consist of this syrup and fruit pulp, but it can be also used to soak biscuits for example, or for fruit salads.February 21th 2011747 K3.5 8 min.
Leavened bread
It might be harder to achieve good results than with traditional yeast bread, but what a flavour! It also keeps better. This recipe is designed for baking bread in a wood-fired oven but, of course, you can use the conventional oven in your kitchen.May 23th 20171.20 M 23.8 6 hours 30 min.
Nanterre brioche
This is the classic, but delicious, brioche recipe that you can find in any good baker's. Her unique shape is made from small balls of dough put in a mould.September 10th 2018273 K3.8 2 hours 30 min.
Pistachio powder or paste
Pistachio paste has a similar texture to almond paste, but the similarity ends there, as its flavour and colour are quite characteristic.October 13th 2010373 K 154 50 min.
Pear compote
Stewed pears are not as easy to prepare as stewed apples, as they contain more juice and you risk ending up with more of a coulis than a compote. So here are two simple methods to help you succeed.April 26th 2012462 K4.3 40 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-01-19)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe (as 47 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
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.