Eat your greens! – Finom spenótos receptek

Spinach is believed to be of Persian origin and introduced into Europe in the 15th century. Eating and preparing spinach is simple and easy, since it tastes good raw or cooked. Spinach can be found fresh, frozen, or canned; it can be easily incorporated into many dishes. Its versatility makes it easy to serve raw in salads or sandwiches or as a complement to soups, meat, fish, or other vegetable dishes.

In addition to being tasty, spinach is low in calories; it is also a good source of iron and essential nutrients such as vitamins A and C, minerals, and fibre. Spinach also contains 3 grams of protein per serving.

Spinach-Potato Tart

This hearty tart is ideal for feeding a hungry crowd. It reheats really well, so you can bake it earlier in the day!

Ingredients (serves 6-8):

For the base:
– 300g white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
– 1 sachet easy-blend yeast
– 1 tbsp. olive oil , plus a little extra

For the topping:
– 300g salad potatoes (no need to peel them)
– 200g baby spinach leaves
– 200g Parmesan cheese, thinly sliced
– few rosemary sprigs

Preparation:

1.     Tip the flour and the yeast into a bowl and mix well. Stir in ½ tsp. salt, and then make a well in the centre.  Add 200 ml hand-hot water and the oil and mix them to a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and silky. Return the dough to the bowl and cover it with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 1 hour.

2.     Meanwhile, boil the potatoes and drain them. Leave until cool enough to handle, then peel and cut into thin slices.

3.     Put the spinach into a metal colander and pour over boiling water from a kettle to wilt the leaves. Press out excess water. 

4.     Knead the risen dough and roll out to line a 30 x 36cm shallow rectangular tin. Arrange the spinach over the pastry, then arrange the potatoes and scatter with rosemary. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the filling and drizzle with a little olive oil. Leave to rise again for 20 minutes. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the topping melted and golden brown. Serve the tart cut into squares.

Baked gnocchi with salmon and spinach

Making gnocchi is very time-consuming but it doesn’t have to put you down, as shop-bough gnocchi is just as good as the fresh. You can usually find it in the fridge in bigger supermarkets.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

–          400g bag young spinach leaves

–          250g pot mascarpone cheese

–          zest and juice of 2 lemons

–          25g packet dill chopped

–          salt and freshly ground black pepper

–          300g smoked salmon

–          500g fresh gnocchi

–          75g Parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation:

1.     Preheat the grill to high and bring a pan of water with a big pinch of salt added to the boil.

2.     Steam the spinach until slightly wilted then chop it roughly.

3.     Put the mascarpone cheese into a saucepan, add the lemon zest, juice, dill, and season with salt and pepper. Stir over a low heat until the mascarpone has melted, then add the wilted spinach and flake in the salmon. Try to keep the salmon pieces quite big.

4.     Put the gnocchi into the saucepan of boiling water and cook according to the packet. Drain and return to the saucepan and then stir in the salmon sauce. Pour the whole lot into a baking dish (about 1.8 litre capacity) and cover with the grated parmesan. Grill for 3-5 minutes until the top bubbles and is golden brown. Serve immediately. 

to be introduced– bevezetve lenni
raw – nyers
frozen – fagyasztott
canned – konzerv
to be incorporated into – egyesítve lenni
versatility – sokoldalúság
to complement to – kiegészíteni valamit
in addition to – valamin felül
source of – valaminek a forrása
essential – alapvető
fibre – rost
protein – fehérje
dusting – belisztez (felületet)
sachet – zacskó, tasak (kicsi)
yeast – élesztő
to peel – meghámoz
rosemary sprig – rozmaring ág
to tip – kiborít
to stir – megkever
to make a well – fészket készít (konyhai kifejezés)
dough – nyers tészta
lightly floured surface – enyhén lisztezett felület
to knead – gyúr (tésztát)
smooth – sima
silky – selymes
tea towel – konyharuha
to rise – megkel (tészta)
meanwhile – ezalatt
to drain – lecsöpögtet
to handle – kezel, foglalkozik valamivel
metal colander – fém szűrőedény
to wilt – fonnyaszt
excess – felesleg(es)
shallow – alacsony, sekély
rectangular tin – négyszögletű tepsi
to arrange – elrendez
pastry – sült tészta, sütemény
to scatter – szór, megszór, rádobál
to sprinkle – szór, megszór
to drizzle – szitál, meglocsolgat
time-consuming – időigényes
to put somebody down – elveszi valakinek a kedvét
zest – citrusféle héja
dill – kapor
freshly ground black pepper – frissen őrölt feketebors
smoked salmon – füstölt lazac
grated – reszelt
to preheat – előmelegít
to bring to a boil – felforral
to steam – gőzöl
to season – ízesít
melted – olvasztott
to flake in – belerétegez
according to  – valami szerint
to bubble – buborékozik