We cooks all have our “champ” of a kitchen widgets and I’d love to know yours. To make it easier for you to fess up your well worn kitchen widget I am sharing my “dirty” kettle. I find cast iron cookware to be my steady eddy but pieces can get pricey. I am not above a yard sale deal, adding to the collection my parents started. This piece is enamel coated and has seen better days but, man alive, does it give me the best meals!
Here is a recipe for one of my all time favorite comfort foods, spanakorizo me domata, spinach with rice. When I was single… those dark, lonely days before I met my knight-in-shining armor… I would whip this up and it would last all week. Not only is it belly warming and soul hugging it is packed with tasty vitamins and protein.
Here is what you will need:
- 1 lb fresh, organic spinach OR 2 boxes frozen spinach
- 1 cup onions, diced
- 2, 14oz cans of organic diced tomatoes OR 1 can tomato paste & 1 extra cup broth
- 1 cup broth
- 1 cup lentils
- 1/2 cup brown rice
- 6-7 cloves of garlic, diced (better yet use a mirco plane)
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 3 T dried oregano
- pinch of salt & pepper
A 5 quart cast iron dutch oven is preferable for this slowly simmered recipe. Put the fire on medium and saute the onions and garlic, in the olive oil, until they soften. Please note the well worn look of my “champ” of a pot.
Follow with the oregano, salt, pepper and the spinach. If you are using raw spinach add it in batches, covering between each addition so that it can cook down. Once you find the room, after the spinach cooks down, add the tomatoes, lentils, and rice. Cover, reduce to med/low and simmer for approximately 30-40 minutes.
This batch will yield approximately 7 cups for 7-14 servings. Eat as a main with a fresh salad or as a side with a bit of roasted poultry.
