Turkish-Style Spinach

A great side dish — and a light meal in its own right! This spinach recipe comes straight from Turkish cooking.

Recipe author

Servings:

Spinach

Onion

Tomato paste (fresh tomatoes work too)

Rice (or bulgur)

Sour cream (for serving, optional)

100

Ground meat (optional, for meat lovers)

300

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 28 % 5 g

Fats 44 % 8 g

Carbohydrates 28 % 5 g

108 kcal

GI: 50 / 50 / 0

Cooking method

Cooking time: 45 min

Step 1:

Rinse the spinach leaves well and tear off the stems. This is the most time-consuming part — I recommend washing each leaf carefully so you don't end up crunching on grit later. If you can't find fresh spinach, try frozen, which keeps the leaves mostly whole; I don't think very finely chopped spinach will work here.
Step 2:

Chop the onion and sauté it in oil. Turks traditionally use olive oil, but since many people prefer not to heat olive oil, I'd suggest plain sunflower oil. Then stir in the tomato paste. At this point, meat lovers can add the ground meat.
Step 3:

Add the spinach in batches, covering with a lid and letting each batch "melt down" for about a minute. Once all the spinach is in the pot and has cooked down into a loose, saucy mixture, add the rice (or bulgur) and a little water, and simmer over low heat until the rice is done. It's best to let the spinach rest, still hot, for 10–15 minutes before serving. Serve it with sour cream or plain unsweetened yogurt.