Greek Lemony Spinach and Rice / Σπανακόρυζο

Published by karolos on January 23, 2020

Greek Lemony Spinach and Rice

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Σπανακόρυζο

#30minutes, #one-pot, #vegetarian

It has been a long time! I know my plan was to post one recipe every week but you know how things happen. I did move to Berlin so a lot of things changed. But I have been working a lot on the website and many new things. And now it’s a new year and a new decade. The fact that the first recipe of 2020 is Greek Spanakorizo – translated as spinach and rice- for every Greek kid would be a disaster. Kids are not a big fan of this recipe but it is very easy, fast and super healthy and nutritious.

Not having an oven in Berlin has made me actually cook a lot of stuff in just one pot. And this recipe I have made a couple of times. It has this Greek flavor- both literally and metaphorically- and it brings back a lot of memories. As most Greek ‘ladera’ which translates to ‘with oil’ the best friend of Spanakorizo is Feta cheese. So scroll down and please make this recipe, you can eat it both warm and room temperature, and even straight from the fridge!

INGREDIENTS

500 gr frozen packaged spinach/ 1000 gr fresh spinach

1 onion

4-5 spring onions

a bunch of fresh dill

1 lemon

3/4 cup of risotto rice

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION

This recipe can be done using just one large pot. If you use fresh spinach you need to wash it well and remove and cut all the hard stems so you are left just with the spinach leaves. Drain and let them dry. I often use frozen spinach because it makes it a lot faster and spinach is one of the vegetables that freezes well.

Chop the onion in small pieces. I use my Multi Blender, since the recipe is done best with the onion finely chopped. Heat up half of the olive oil and add the onion. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until it becomes transparent. Add the chopped spring onions and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.

Add the fresh spinach in batches till it shrinks completely while mixing every few minutes. If you use frozen spinach, put all of it and mix till it unfreezes and incorporates well with the onion. Then add the rest of the olive oil. Let it boil for 10-12 minutes till the spinach releases all of its liquids.

Then add the cup of rise and half a cup of water. You do not need a lot of liquid since the spinach will release more liquid. Add half of the chopped dill and let it cook in medium heat for 12-13 minutes, till the rice has cooked and the Spanakorizo is left with very little liquid. Add the rest of the dill and lemon juice a few minutes before the rice is cooked but still a bit firm.

Let it sit for a few minutes so all the ingredients mix well and the rice and spinach absorb the lemon juice. Lemon is this dishes best friend so add more based on your taste and preference. Serve with Feta cheese and fresh sourdough bread. Spanakorizo can be kept in the fridge up to 5 days. Enjoy!