Chef Andrew Cohen suggests using a non-stick skillet for this recipe. “I’m focusing more and more on healthier preparations of my favorite foods. A good ceramic skillet is a good investment for using less fat.”
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. bag ready-to-use spinach from Spade & Plow Organics
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
2 spears green garlic, white part only, finely sliced (or 1 large clove garlic, cracked)
1 teaspoon smoked Pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)
4-5 twists of black pepper
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (Pedro Ximenez preferred)
1/4 – 1/2 cup pine nuts or pistachios
METHOD:
Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Film the pan bottom with olive oil.
Add the green garlic (or cracked garlic clove, if using) and sauté until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. If using the cracked garlic remove it from pan now.
Scatter the Pimentón over the pan now. Stir until fragrant. Add the fresh ground pepper.
Add half the bag of spinach to the pan and use rubber-tipped tongs to turn the spinach in the oil. As soon as the spinach begins to wilt a bit, add the rest of the spinach from the bag. Use tongs to turn spinach.
Drizzle in the sherry vinegar and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook just until spinach wilts. Remove the lid and scatter the nuts over the spinach. Mix in with tongs and transfer to a serving dish.
YIELD: Serves 2-4
CHEF NOTES:
Feel free to use other acids in lieu of sherry vinegar. Try orange juice, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, or Banyuls vinegar*. Just ensure you use some kind of acid when cooking spinach.
* Banyuls vinegar is one of France’s famous vins doux and it is made primarily from the grenache grapes that grow in and around Banyuls-sur-mer. The vinegar is aged for five years in oak casks and retains all the wine’s qualities, with hints of nuts, licorice, coffee, orange peel, and vanilla.
