Boas Comidas

Glossário Culinário

Spinach

Ingrediente

Origem
from ancient Persia, spread across Europe from the Middle Ages
Também chamado de
true spinach

Spinach is a dark-green leafy vegetable with soft leaves and a mild flavor, widely used in stir-fries, pasta, pies and salads. In Brazilian cooking, it shows up in everyday dishes like pancakes, soufflés and fillings, as well as simple versions sautéed with garlic as a side.

Characteristics

Spinach leaves are tender and wilt quickly in the heat, shrinking a lot in volume. That is why a seemingly large bunch yields a modest portion once sautéed. The flavor is delicate, slightly sweet when fresh and a bit stronger when overcooked. When buying, choose bunches with firm, deep-green leaves and no yellowed or wilted spots. Spinach can be sold as fresh bunches, pre-washed in bags, or frozen, each format with different convenience.

Uses in the kitchen

Spinach works well in quick sautés with garlic and olive oil, fillings for pancakes, cannelloni, pies and empanadas, as well as omelets, quiches and soufflés. It also goes into soups, creams and green pasta, where the leaves are blended into the dough or sauce. Raw, using young, well-washed leaves, it works in salads and sandwiches. It pairs with cheeses like ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan, with eggs, heavy cream, garlic, onion and nutmeg.

Substitutions

In sautés and fillings, spinach can be swapped for Swiss chard, finely chopped collard greens, escarole or beet greens, adjusting the cooking time, as some are firmer. Frozen spinach replaces fresh in pies and fillings, as long as it is well drained and squeezed so it does not soak the crust. In salads, arugula and iceberg lettuce add freshness, but with a different flavor.

Fun facts

Spinach wilts so much because the leaves hold a lot of water, so it is always worth buying a bit more than the recipe seems to call for. To keep a bright green color, cook briefly and avoid soaking too long. Sauté first and only then season with salt to keep the leaves from releasing too much liquid.

Recipes with spinach

Português English Español