This is a perfect example of how delicious simplicity can be. Four ingredients — spinach, butter, garlic and lemon juice — plus salt and pepper add up to a fast and easy recipe for an important vegetable. Doesn’t spinach just look healthful, especially when it’s not cooked to death or chopped beyond recognition?
The USDA recommends three cups of dark green veggies per week for adults. I think there are weeks I don’t make it, for whatever reason, even though I love green leafies. It helps me to have a couple favorite ways of preparing spinach to alleviate food boredom and to take advantage of sales so I don’t stand there in the produce department wondering what to do with it.
This is a long-time favorite. Fine Cooking ran this in 2001; I made it almost immediately and loved the nuttiness of brown butter with a hint of garlic. I’ve mentioned it before and linked to it but the recipe is now locked behind the subscriber-only door. The original mentions young, tender spinach as being especially good, and it is, so I usually use baby spinach. I thought that’s what I had in the fridge but remembered buying a bag of regular spinach because it was on sale for 99 cents. As I’m currently cooking with what I have, that’s what I used.
I have no idea how many children might like this but I know when kids see a mountain of spinach in a skillet that shrinks and shrinks as it cooks, they think it’s cool. I use a 12″ skillet but this can be made in batches with smaller pans. Just don’t cook it to oblivion. We eat first with our eyes and spinach is a beauty when it’s not a green lump on the plate.
Spinach Sauteed in Brown Butter with Garlic
Adapted from Fine Cooking
2 TB unsalted butter
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 10-ounce bag baby spinach or regular spinach, trimmed if necessary and bone dry
fresh-squeezed lemon juice from half a lemon
salt and pepper
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the garlic and let cook until the butter is golden brown and nutty-smelling and the garlic is fragrant but not burned.
Raise the heat slightly, add the spiinach, in batches if necessary, and toss or stir about one minute, until just wilted. Remove from the heat.
Remove the garlic cloves, add a squeeze or two of lemon juice to taste and season with salt and pepper. Toss well and serve.
Serves 2
For more ideas and links to a couple more favorites, see Things to Make with Spinach.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
That sounds incredibly delicious! Spinach is one of my favourite vegetables yet I’ve never mixed it with garlic.
Thanks, I’ve added it to the list of recipes to try one day!
Cat - It is delicious! If you try it, don’t skimp on the butter. It’s 28g.
Looks wonderful.
I have all the ingredients; I will halve the recipe for myself, probably this week.
Thanks. Timely entry!
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Word - You’re welcome. I’ve made half a recipe, usually when I have spinach left from salads and sandwiches. Just as good.
I have always done spinach this way. we, however leave the garlic in and use olive oil instead. yum!
Henny - Your method sounds delicious. I’ll have to try it, maybe with a pinch of nutmeg too. Thanks!
The Fine Cooking website has indeed gone under some revisions. It, and the related CooksTalk forum, has changed over the last couple of year to a less user-friendly format. They have added some of their own “CT blogs” and all, but access to their recipes is now quite restricted and less useful. Even if you pay for the access, the search for recipes is not very usable. Do you post there (CT forum)?
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I don’t like the redisgned site either, form or function. I have no problems with them charging for access – they’re more a competitor to CI than the Epicurious titles, but I do think they charge too much. I believe it’s still $36/yr or $3 per month and that’s just crazy. I don’t post, I don’t have time. I used to glance at the boards from time to time but don’t even do that anymore. I just don’t go there much these days.