Egyptian Style Spinach (Sabanek)
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 15
- Serves:
-
6
ingredients
- 1 bunch fresh spinach (cut into small strips)
- 1⁄2 lb stew meat
- 2 large onions, sliced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped fine
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 3 teaspoons tomato paste
- 2 tomatoes (blended in blender or food processor)
- salt
- pepper
- 1 dash coriander
- 1 dash nutmeg (grated from whole nutmeg if you have, if not ground ok)
- 1 dash Arabic seven spice
- 1 dash cumin
directions
- Wash spinach well and cut into small sized strips. I usually take a few leaves, and slice together into strips, leave the stem, not problem. (This does not have to perfect, you just want to get them into longer, smaller strips.) Set aside.
- Boil stew meat in water with the two sliced onion and two bouillon cubes. Cook until tender approximately 2 hours.
- Strain out meat and pour broth into a large bowl.
- In that same pot used for cooking meat, add chopped onion, garlic and butter and sauté until soft.
- Add tomato paste, all spices, and stir around until well coated.
- Add pureed tomatoes, ½ cup water and approximately 2-3 cups of broth. (You can add or decrease broth, depending on how thick you'd like it to be, check while cooking and add more or less broth. End result should be thick, but watery enough to be like a thick sauce -- hope that makes sense.).
- Bring to a boil, add spinach and simmer for 20- 30 minutes on low heat.
- Serve in bowls next to plates of rice and browned fideo noodles or with pita bread for scooping.
Reviews
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My late father who was Egyptian would make this and it was my favorite dish! He would always make it for me when I would come to visit and he spent so much time. I tried to make it before based on his instructions but am so glad to see this written down, step by step. I plan to make it for my family tonight and I know it will become a favorite for my children!
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This sabanek was soooooo good. I had some fresh spinach that I needed to use and came across this recipe. My DH who is from Palestine loved it. I cooked it very slow maybe even more than 2 hrs on low heat and since we are huge garlic lovers I did smash with pestle about 3 or 4 cloves. We ate it with fresh pita and it was wonderful. Will definately make this again. Thank you for posting.
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This was an excellent dish taste wise. I followed your instructions exactly but found I would have preferred the dish to end up with a thicker consistency. I used the least amount of broth indicated. I was unsure about what kind of stew meat to use so used well trimmed chicken necks. Thanks so much for posting, it was a wonderful dish to have at our Egyptian themed party last night.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>I'm an American living in Cairo, have lots of free time and love to cook! My friend told me I know the science of food, that I am a food scientist; I was like what??? She said that I put together ingredients that she would never think of, that I know what goes with what, what tastes and works... honestly I really don't know about that, but I do love cooking. I like experimenting and making delicious, but simple meals. I love fresh ingredients, spices and enjoy preparing food for friends. I am so pleased when I see the enjoyment they get from my food. Please be patient with my recipe posts, some may seem lengthy, but I like to explain well so you will get it the first time. I appreciate this from others, so I hope you will too. Also, I never measure anything, so I will try my best to give measurements that will work for you. Anyway, enjoy my recipes on food.com!</p>