Spinach Hummus

One of the constant problems of living in a household of two is that it is difficult to use up ingredients before they go bad. Maybe that's just because I'm still used to living in a larger family setting where food disappears fast, or because it's more cost effective to buy larger quantities of ingredients. Whatever the reason, fresh spinach is one of those things that we seem to eat almost every day, but still have trouble getting rid of before it's past its prime. That's how this recipe came about. Despite salads, sandwiches and curries using the leafy green, we still had a few cups of fresh spinach sitting here. So I made a double batch of my favorite hummus recipe, added pureed spinach, and voila! A gorgeous, even more nutrient filled dip for us to snack on (and maybe give away to some of our lucky family and friends).

Spinach Hummus
Makes 2 1/2 cups

One can of chickpeas
2 cups of baby spinach leaves, packed down
1/4 cup of tahini
1/4 cup of water
2 tbs of olive oil
juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)
2 cloves of garlic (raw and minced)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
black pepper and sumac, to taste

1. Rinse the chickpeas under cold water until the excess liquid is gone. In a food processor or blender, combine all of your ingredients (I usually do the wet ones first and then add the beans slowly into our crappy, easily upset blender). Transfer the dip to a bowl, sprinkle with a bit of chili powder and sumac, and serve with pita bread and veggies.

Lebanese Spinach Lentil Salad

Down the street from my parents' house in Metro Detroit there is this tiny Lebanese restaurant that makes really good Middle Eastern fare for cheap. They had been going there for a while to get the regular carry out bag of hummus, stuffed grape leaves and falafels, when one day they decided to be a bit more adventurous and came home with "Lebanese Spinach Salad". Inside the Styrofoam containers were the most amazing salads ever. A mixture of green lentils and onions set on a bed of fresh baby spinach, topped off with a tahini based dressing. Simple, but so unbelievably good! My family began going there at least a couple times a week to get these delicious, cheap, healthy salads. But being the crafty, frugal girl that I am, I vowed to try and make this simple dish in my own kitchen.

My first step in the quest was of course to type "Lebanese Spinach Lentil Salad" into google. But surprisingly, nothing that looked remotely like the right recipe came up. I had started out thinking this was a traditional Lebanese dish, whereas it looks now like this little restaurant employs a genius, creative chef! Which was worth applauding, but did not help me the least bit in my search.

I knew then that I would have to wing it. I was pretty well able to guess what the major ingredients of the salad were--the spinach, lentils, onions were very simply prepared. But that delicious, strange dressing... that took a couple more days of Interwebs research.

I finally realized that the dressing tasted suspiciously like the sauce you get on falafels and shawarmas. I came across a recipe for a "Tahini Marinade", tweaked it a bit, and took the plunge. And while it didn't taste exactly the same, it sure was close. And delicious.

Another plus was that the recipe called for sumac, a middle eastern spice I had seen in recipes but never bought or used in cooking before. The berries on the variety of Sumac shrub that grows in Africa and the Middle East are ground up into a tangy, purple-red spice that adds another level of sourness. I don't think it's the same plant we get here in North America, so I would not suggest harvesting your own sumac!* I found mine at a Middle Eastern grocery. It's not totally necessary to producing a good salad, but I'm always excited to use new ingredients.

Lebanese Spinach Lentil Salad
Serves 4

Salad
1 cup of dried green lentils
1 white onion
2 cloves of garlic
8 cups of fresh baby spinach
1 Tbs olive oil

Dressing
1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
3 gloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp of sumac
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
just enough water to thin a bit (I've never measured this part, just done it by feel)

1. Put your lentils into a strainer and clean thoroughly, picking out any bits of foreign objects. Place into a medium sized pot, and cover with water. Cook on high until boiling, then lower to medium heat. Let cook for 45 minutes to an hour. You may need to drain excess water.

2. When the lentils are cooked, cut the onion into thin slices and sautee in the olive oil. Chop the garlic, and add the to the pan as well. When the onion and garlic are translucent and cooked through but not brown, take off the heat, and stir into the lentils.

3. In a bowl, combine the tahini, minced garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. Add just enough water to thin out the mixture a a bit; you still want it to be fairly thick, but more of a dressing instead of a marinade. Add the salt and sumac, and mix well.

4. Place two cups of fresh spinach onto each plate, and top with the lentil and onion mixture. Drizzle a few spoonfuls of the tahini dressing over the salad and serve.

*EDIT: I was told recently that the very commonly found sumac bush with red berries in North America is one and the same as those found in the Middle East. It's the white ones you want to avoid! Still, do a bit of research before you go off berry picking in your own yard.

Palak Paneer

I was planning on doing a completely different dish today, but I got waylaid by the one craving I almost always submit to: Palak Paneer. if you haven't had this spinach cheese curry before, you are missing out big time! It is absolutely delectable.

I recently got take out at a local Indian eatery that shall remain nameless, and I'm sad to say that it was by far the worst Palak Paneer I have ever had. I was so let down by this experience that I knew I would have to make my own soon (at least I can sort of trust myself!) I don't know that mine is as divine as some of the fat-filled ones at some of the terrific restaurants around Detroit, partly because I try to make mine somewhat healthier!

The star of this dish is the Indian cheese called paneer, a wonderfully creamy and mild substance that is often homemade. But when the craving calls, and you don't have a block of paneer in the fridge (or the time or courage to make it yourself), then feta can be a great alternative. Yes, I know that the flavor is much more powerful than laidback paneer, and it won't really be exactly the same... but trust me when I say that it tastes amazing enveloped in the creamy, richly spiced spinach... nom nom nom. In a way, I almost like it better than paneer because the flavor of the cheese doesn't get overpowered by the spinach the same way paneer sometimes does. I've read that you can also use ricotta, queso blanco, and cottage cheese as alternatives, but I've never tried those.

Most palak paneer recipes call for both ghee (clarified butterfat) and heavy cream, but I've lightened mine up a touch by using half and half and just enough olive oil to sautee the onions and garlic at the beginning.


Palak Paneer
serves 4 (or two very hungry people ;))

Two bags of frozen spinach (mine were 500 grams each)
half a large white onion
1 medium tomato
4 cloves of garlic (but I loooooove garlic)
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 and 1/2 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
small handful of cumin seeds
1 tsp of garam masala
2/3 of a cup of half and half
1 tsp salt

1. Defrost spinach, either by microwaving or setting on the counter prior to cooking.

2. Heat oil in a large sauce pan. Finely chop onion and tomato and add it to the heated oil. Mince garlic and ginger, and add to pot.

3. Measure spices and add to pot.

4. Take defrosted spinach and add to the pot, and stir into the other ingredients. Let cook on medium heat for 5-8 minutes.

5. I like my curry to have a gravy like consistency, so I take about 2/3 of the mixture and blend it in a blender. You could skip this step if you like a chunkier dish.

6. Pour spinach curry back into the pot, and let simmer while you chop your paneer (or other cheese). I chop mine into half inch squares.

(Here you have the option of frying your paneer for a few minutes in oil, until golden. I usually am too hungry and end up skipping this step, because I don't believe it's really that necessary.)

7. Add paneer and salt to curry, and let simmer for a few minutes before serving with rice, naan and possibly a nice India Pale Ale.