Spanakorizo (spinach rice)

Tonight’s dish is a staple in most Greek kitchens. My sister-in-law taught me how to make it when Helen was a baby and now it’s a staple in our kitchen too. Helen groans hard and complains loudly now when I make it - a source of pride for me. I feel like a real mom when the kids hate a delicious meal I make simply because it feels so ordinary and redundant to them.

We just moved and I have no idea where my cookbooks are, so tonight was off of memory. Spanakorizo is a forgiving dish - the only think you can’t fuck up is the rice to liquid ratio. Other than that, it can adjust based on what you have in the pantry.

Tonight’s takes:

Husband: “Very good.”

Mom: “Good. I feel like last time you made this for me it had more dill flavour though…” A polite take. I used fresh dill last time. Tonight was dried. Dried sucks.

Me: “OK?” Helen (6 years old): “Not really. There was a little too much onion.”

Hector (3 1/2 years old): “Pretty good. The spinach is not…” and then he walked away from the table.

What I used:

• 1 small onion

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 bag spinach

• 1 1/2 cup arborio rice (it was the only short grain rice I had in the pantry)

• 1 tsp thyme, dried

• 1 tsp oregano, dried

• 1 tbsp dill, dried

• 1 28oz can whole tomatoes

What I did:

Added spinach to large dutch oven on medium heat with lots of oil in it. Put lid on and steamed it for 5 mins.

Diced onion and garlic.

Removed wilted spinach from pot.

Added onion and garlic, a bit more oil and a pinch of salt to the pot.

Cooked for 8-10 minutes.

While onion and garlic were cooking, opened can of tomatoes. Separated tomatoes from the juice.

Once onion and garlic were cooked down ( I got too much colour on them tonight), added rice to the pot. Sautéed until rice was mostly translucent.

Added tomato juice + water. Had 1 1/2 cups of rice so added 3 cups of liquid. Stirred to release any rice stuck to the bottom of the pot. Added herbs, salt, tomatoes. Stirred to combine.

Nestled spinach in 4 mounds. Added another pinch of salt for good measure.

Made sure liquid was simmering. Turned heat to low and put lid on. Steamed for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, removed from the heat and let sit for ~5-7 minutes with the lid on. Done!

Served with feta and olives.

Turns out I had the heat too high - still getting used to the new stove - and burned the bottom. We just gingerly scooped the rice out to avoid the burnt bit on the bottom.

Next time:

Turn the heat down lower 😝. Arborio worked fine, I’d use it again if that’s all I had in the pantry. Fresh dill is always better. Otherwise, it turned out really good tonight.

😋😋😋

-Ellisa