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Show VEGETARIAN COOKING Surprises with spinach By DIANE SAVAGE Copley News Service No matter how many Popeye cartoons I watched as a kid, they still couldn't get me to eat my spinach. But now that I've grown up a bit I love it cooked plain or in a souffle or raw in a salad. Persians long ago used spinach as a medicine. med-icine. (They must have been on the same track as Popeye!) Originating in northern Asia, the leafy green vegetable is now popular the world over. You may have noticed the world "Florentine" used in the names of various dishes. dish-es. This means that the dish is garnished in some way with spinach. When shopping, look for spinach with large and tender ten-der leaves. They should be crisp and green, never soggy. Rinse well before cooking (spinach is often sandy) and drain. Remove tough stem ends. Store, if necessary, for up to five days in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic to preserve pre-serve freshness. Most green vegetables retain more of their color when cooked in an uncovered uncov-ered pan. Spinach is the exception ex-ception to this cooking rule. Because of the very small amount of eater used in cooking (you should use only the water that clings to the leaves after washing) wash-ing) a cover or lid must be used to generate steam. To make a spinach ring, press cooked, seasoned, chopped spinach into a buttered ring mold and allow it to stand a moment, then unmold onto a serving platter and fill the center with any desired sauce, or with another vegetable. Spinach is an nutritious addition ad-dition to a vegetarian diet, excellent as a source of vitamins vi-tamins A and C, and high in fiber content and minerals. Popeye was right: You'll "fight to the finish" if you eat your spinach) SPINACH PUDDING 2 lbs. spinach, cleaned 4 eggs, separated 2 medium-size rolls 1M cups milk Salt to taste Dash of mace V cup butter 2 tbsps. bread crumbs Soak rolls in milk. Steam spinach for 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and puree in food processor in several batches. Beat egg yolk until creamy, add soaked rolls, salt, mace and spinach. spin-ach. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Grease a covered cov-ered pudding form well, sprinkle with bread crumbs. Pour in mixture, cover, and cook a pan of boiling water for about 45 minutes. Serve with melted butter on the side. Serves 4 to 6. SPINACH PANCAKES 1 lb. spinach, cleaned Vt cup butter 2 eggs, separated V tsp. salt s cup flour Steam spinach 3 to 5 minutes; drain and chop very fine. Cream butter with egg yolks, add salt, spinach, and flour. Mix well. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Bake on a greased griddle. Make pancakes pan-cakes small (about 3 inches in diameter). Serves 4 to 6. CHEESE AND SPINACH DUMPLINGS 2 lbs. spinach, cleaned 1 lb. cottage cheese 5 egg yolks 2Vz to 3 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese hk tsp. nutmeg cup flour 6 cup melted butter Bring spinach to a boil in salted water and drain thoroughly at once. Puree in a food processor or blender, or chop very fine. Drain again if necessary. Press all the liquid from the cottage cheese, as it must be very dry. Beat the egg yolks, then mix in the drained cottage cheese, spinach, 2 cups Parmesan cheese and nutmeg. Beat well with a wooden spoon. Shape into balls and roll lightly in the flour. Use a large deep skillet and almost al-most fill it with water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and almost fill it with water. Bring to a boil an reduce heal to low. Carefully Care-fully add the dumplings one at a time. Cook over low heat until they rise to the surface. Drain well. Pour the melted butter over them and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan Par-mesan cheese. Serves 6 to 8. (Ricotta may be used in place of cottage cheese in this recipe.) SPINACH SOUFFLE 3V2 cups spinach, cooked 2 tbsps. butter 3 tbsps. flour V2 tsp. pepper 1 cup milk 2 cups Cheddar or Swiss cheese, grated 6 eggs Press cooked spinach through a sieve. Melt butter but-ter in a saucepan. Blend in flour and pepper. Add cold milk and cook until mixture mix-ture is thick. Stir in cheese and strained spinach. Cook until cheese melts. Separate Sepa-rate eggs. Beat egg yolks well Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Pour mixture mix-ture over egg yolks. Fold in egg whites. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole or souffle dish. Place dish in a pan of hot water and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes min-utes or until a knife when inserted comes out clean. Serves 4. |