The popularity of spinach in our country is not as high as in Europe and the United States. But due to the fact that the number of fans of healthy food is growing, more and more people will learn about the amazing properties of this product and include it in their diet.
Persia is considered the birthplace of spinach. It was from there that he got to Europe, where he immediately became very popular. The Europeans, in turn, brought it to America, where it spread just as quickly. Spinach is one of the first green plants to appear after winter.
It contains a huge amount of useful elements: proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. In spinach leaves, almost all vitamins of group B, vitamins A, C, K, E, phosphorus, zinc, iron, copper, beta-carotene, magnesium and other elements are presented. In terms of the content of natural natural protein, spinach is overtaken only by legumes.
Spinach has an amazing property to preserve vitamins A and C during heat treatment. Although it takes a minimum of time to cook spinach, as a rule, one minute is enough for the leaves to become soft and tender and not lose their vitamin properties.
Spinach quickly saturates the body, removes toxins from it, strengthens the gums and is very useful for a growing child’s body. The consumption of spinach among children in the United States increased after the release of the cartoon about the brave sailor Papaya, who became invincible after eating a can of spinach.
Spinach is rich in iodine and lutein, which prevents premature vision loss.
The only drawback of spinach is its high content of oxalic acid, so it is not recommended for people with kidney disease to eat it due to the high amount of potassium.
Due to oxalic acid, it is not recommended to use broth in which spinach leaves were cooked for cooking. Young spinach leaves can be eaten raw, added to salad and used as a side dish. Adult foliage can be boiled, baked and stewed, but in order for the plant to retain as much vitamins as possible, the heat treatment time must be minimized.
Warm meat salad with spinach and pumpkin
Don’t be intimidated by the sheer number of ingredients in this salad, it’s easy to prepare and has an amazing taste that will delight your family.
Ingredients:
- Pork tenderloin – 500-600 gr.
- Peeled pumpkin – 500-600 gr.
- Green beans – 100 gr.
- Sweet onion – 1 pc.
- Spinach – 200 g.
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Salt – to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Olive oil for dressing – 4-5 tbsp. l.
- Narsharab pomegranate sauce – 1 tbsp. l.
- Worcestersky Sauce – 2 tsp
- Dijon mustard – 2 tsp
- Lemon juice – 2 tsp
- Chili pepper – 1 pcs.
Cut the pork tenderloin into medallions and fry on both sides until golden brown, then transfer to a baking dish and place in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.
Cut the pumpkin into slices 1–1,5 cm thick, put them on parchment paper, which is covered with a baking tray, sprinkle them with salt, sprinkle with a little vegetable oil, cover with paper on top and send to the oven for 10–15 minutes.
Wash and dry the spinach. Cut the onion into thin half rings. Boil the beans in salted water.
Mix the olive oil, pomegranate and Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and lemon juice. After all the ingredients of the sauce are well mixed, add finely chopped chili peppers to it.
Put the spinach leaves on a plate. Cut the pork into small pieces, put them on the spinach, add pumpkin and beans here. Season the salad with sauce. Serve and eat it warm.
Spinach puree soup
Cooking spinach soup takes a minimum of time.
Ingredients:
- Spinach – 250 g.
- Hot broth – 500 ml.
- Milk – 250 ml.
- Olive oil – 3 Art. l
- Onion – 1pc.
- Garlic – 1 clove
- Flour – 3 Art. l
- Grated cheese – 100 gr.
- Nutmeg – 1 tbsp l.
- Salt – to taste
- Pine nuts – a handful
Chop the onion and garlic and put on the bottom of a saucepan, in which the olive oil is warmed up. Saute until golden brown. Add spinach, stir well. Add flour and fry for another minute, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Pour in broth and milk. After the soup has boiled, cook for 15 minutes. Then beat it with a blender, if the soup turns out to be very thick, add cream or a little more milk.
Let it boil, add grated cheese. The soup is ready, it has a bright green color, it should be served, garnished with pine nuts and cream.
Pasta with spinach, green peas and feta
Delicious and bright dish, preparation of which does not take much time.
Ingredients:
- Shell pasta – 250 gr.
- Frozen green peas – 400 gr.
- Feta cheese – 100 gr.
- Spinach – 75 g.
- Pine nuts – 1 handful
- Fresh basil – 1 small bunch
- Olive oil – 3 Art. l
- Dry chili – 1 pinch
- Salt – to taste
- Greek yogurt – 200-250 gr.
- Garlic – 3 cloves
- Ground black pepper – to taste
Boil the pasta in salted water, remove them from the heat a little earlier than they are finally ready, put them in a colander.
Boil thawed peas in boiling water, drain in a colander.
Fry pine nuts in a dry frying pan.
Chop the garlic and mix with salt.
For the sauce: mix yogurt with 2 tbsp. l. olive oil and chopped garlic. Add pepper and, if necessary, more salt. Add 2 tbsp to the yogurt. l. Green peas and beat in a blender.
Heat 1 tbsp in a frying pan. l. Olive oil, lay out the spinach and let it soften a little. Sprinkle with chili, put the remaining peas, stir, then put the pasta in the pan, mix everything and heat over low heat.
Put the pasta on a dish, garnish with basil torn by hands and chopped feta. Pour the sauce in portions. Decorate each plate with pine nuts.
Bon appetit!
Spinach is an excellent side dish for meat and fish dishes, as well as a filling for pies and rolls, the recipes for which you can find on our website. And don’t forget about spinach juice, which will lift your spirits and energize you for the whole day.