Braised Spinach with Garlic, Onion, and Pine Nuts

Toby Jermain's Note:

My favorite supermarket had some beautiful fresh spinach on sale a few weeks ago, and I just had to load up on it, cheap AND beautiful... who could ask for more! This is one of the ways I chose to use it.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 lbs fresh spinach, washed well to remove sand,drained,stemmed,and very coarsely chopped
• 1 sweet onion, chopped (Texas-1015, Vidalia, Maui, or Walla Walla)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
• 1 lemon, juice and zest of, grated,to taste
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven (it has to be large to hold spinach before wilting) over medium-high heat.
2. Heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, and saute onion until translucent.
3. Add garlic, and continue cooking until onion just begins to brown around the edges, but garlic is not browning.
4. Add spinach, with just the water clinging to the leaves, adding by handfuls as the spinach wilts and makes room for more, until all of the spinach is incorporated.
5. If desired, drain the rendered juices from the pan before continuing.
6. Season with nutmeg, lemon zest and juice, salt, and pepper, to taste, continuing to toss spinach until it is just wilted, but still bright green.
7. Stir in toasted pine nuts, and drizzle with more lemon juice and olive oil if desired.

Reviews

[VeneziaAmore]

Really delicious. I followed the recipe exactly except for using frozen, organic, spinach. Came out great. I will definitely make this again and again. Thanks for a great recipe!

[Bergy]

This recipe gives spinach a lovely taste lift. Be sure you do not over cook the spinach - Just wilt it and heat it through. Love the lemon & touch of nutmeg Thanks for posting Toby

[I burned what??]

I liked the blend of flavors. We had it with the crock pot smoked chicken and the flavors were a nice complement. I messed with the recipe a bit -- I think I quadrupled the garlic, we have lots of vampires in our neighborhood, so one can never be too safe. I liked the crunch of the pine nuts so I doubled that -- it gave the spinach a good contrast. Next time, I am going to try both red and white onions for some color and flavor contrasts. I always buy a huge bag of spinach at Costco thinking I will make spinach salad and spinach dip and spinach pie and spinach whatever and then this big bag of spinach STARES at me from the middle of the fridge and then I feel guilty for not using it and take handfuls out to the bunny. This was a quick, easy, healthy and more importantly TASTY way to go through a bag of spinach and that silly rabbit can eat the dandilions like he is supposed to.