EASY SIDE DISH SPINACH

EASY SIDE DISH SPINACH 

Fresh spinach steamed in a little water 3-5 minutes. Drained, plated, then drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, a few squirts of fresh lemon, a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Served with a lemon wedge and Kalamata olive! Easy, quick and delicious!

Serves 4 – 6

2 bags fresh prewashed spinach

extra virgin olive oil

1 -2 lemons cut into wedges

2 pitted Kalamata olives per serving

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Place about 2 inches of water in a large soup pot. Do not salt water. Bring to boil.

Add 1/2 bag of spinach and submerge in water, then add remaining spinach, turning with tongs till moistened. Cook till tender but still bright green, only a few minutes, so watch carefully.

Drain in colander, shaking colander to remove excess liquid.

Lift onto side dish plates. Drizzle with olive oil, squirt with juice of lemon, position 2 olives on each plate, top with a few grains of salt, freshly ground black pepper and serve.

If you prefer to serve family-style, place all the spinach in serving bowl, chop the olives and place on top of the spinach, then follow with the remaining ingredients, garnishing with a few lemon wedges.

Notes: Although complex, delicious tasting vegetable side dishes delight everyone, sometimes simple makes an elegant statement. This is one of those recipes.

Spinach cools very quickly after drained, but not to worry, this dish tastes great at room temperature. The salty of the olive, the tart of the lemon, and the smooth of the pungent extra virgin olive oil against the tender spinach leaves will elicit high compliments.

I usually steam my spinach in a little water, especially when making a lot, since when placed in a metal steamer/colander, the heat makes some leaves stick to the steamer, wilting them too much and turning them black. Spinach leaves are thin and fragile, so placing them directly in the water and turning them often to cook evenly works much better. You only need 2 inches of water to do this properly.