The Most Underwhelming Name
Spanakorizo. That's Greek for spinach and rice. Underwhelming, right? Absolutely, until you taste it!
This seemingly underwhelming dish is loaded with flavor and is undeniably delicious. Served hot, straight from the pot, or as a cold salad with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil, it's an iconic dish from the Greek Heritage Cooking kitchen. And there's a bonus if you're keeping up with nutritional value--spinach is still one of the most amazing and nutrient-rich vegetables and so easily available to all of us. Even WalMart sells pre-washed organic baby spinach.
Surprisingly, for all that this dish gives us with nutrition and deliciousness, the preparation takes almost no time. In the Greek culture, this is THE main dish, requiring no meat or sides, other than the ever-present feta cheese. Actually, one of the reasons that the Greek Heritage kitchen provides such a healthy diet is because it is primarily vegan and vegetarian based. Meats are rare, especially when you factor in the religious fasting days prescribed by the Greek Orthodox Church prior to the big feast days such as Easter and Christmas, among many others.
In their informative post on the health benefits of spinach, LiveScience.com shares this about the benefits to eye health just from eating spinach regularly.
Antonia may not recognize it as her recipe. She may say, you have too much rice, but it is essentially her recipe, passed down from our own mother. While there was no written recipe to pass on to us, we watched our mother, Demetra, make this many times, squeezing the fresh lemon juice over each serving on our plates, so I knew the method; I just needed a reminder of what to buy at the store. Sometimes I cook this family favorite with the dill and green onions, but if I don't have them, I don't. My sister uses only green onions, while I use mainly the finely chopped sweet yellow onions and stir in the green onions towards the end of the cooking.
For a printable recipe of this easy-to-prepare and easy-to-eat dish, click here. It's so easy to prepare--really, it is--that you don't need a recipe, just a list of ingredients. It's so easy, in fact, that you may want to call this fast food. And, if you're in the mood to cook this today, here's a link to my YouTube channel's Greek Playlist to get you in the mood properly.
Surprisingly, for all that this dish gives us with nutrition and deliciousness, the preparation takes almost no time. In the Greek culture, this is THE main dish, requiring no meat or sides, other than the ever-present feta cheese. Actually, one of the reasons that the Greek Heritage kitchen provides such a healthy diet is because it is primarily vegan and vegetarian based. Meats are rare, especially when you factor in the religious fasting days prescribed by the Greek Orthodox Church prior to the big feast days such as Easter and Christmas, among many others.
In their informative post on the health benefits of spinach, LiveScience.com shares this about the benefits to eye health just from eating spinach regularly.
Spinach is a good source of carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which are associated with helping to prevent age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. According to The Scripps Research Institute, studies have shown that those who ate spinach three times per week had a 43 percent lower risk of developing macular degeneration.This is my sister, Antonia's, recipe. It's her recipe in as much as she dictated it to me over the phone while her husband was driving them to visit their granddaughter Persefoni and I was in the grocery store parking lot looking for something healthy to eat during a two-week caregiver gig at the local hospital following my husband's surgery.
Antonia may not recognize it as her recipe. She may say, you have too much rice, but it is essentially her recipe, passed down from our own mother. While there was no written recipe to pass on to us, we watched our mother, Demetra, make this many times, squeezing the fresh lemon juice over each serving on our plates, so I knew the method; I just needed a reminder of what to buy at the store. Sometimes I cook this family favorite with the dill and green onions, but if I don't have them, I don't. My sister uses only green onions, while I use mainly the finely chopped sweet yellow onions and stir in the green onions towards the end of the cooking.
For a printable recipe of this easy-to-prepare and easy-to-eat dish, click here. It's so easy to prepare--really, it is--that you don't need a recipe, just a list of ingredients. It's so easy, in fact, that you may want to call this fast food. And, if you're in the mood to cook this today, here's a link to my YouTube channel's Greek Playlist to get you in the mood properly.
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