Spanakorizo is a traditional Greek dish literally translated as “spinach-rice”. If you haven’t guessed it already, spinach and rice are the main ingredients to this tasty recipe. Depending on the ingredients you use, this can be made either vegan or vegetarian, and eaten hot or cold. It shares similarities with risotto, but there are some important differences in preparation that differentiate the two.
Being a busy third year student thinking about my dissertation, essays and assignments, I often don’t have time to cook spanakorizo using my mother's more traditional recipe. Instead I have come up with a simpler, quicker version of therecipe which involves only the essential ingredients (without it being any less delicious)!
Preparation/cooking time: 30 minutes
You will need:
200g (or more) of baby spinach
Half an onion, finely chopped
1 ½ teacups of long grain rice
1 teacup of Greek extra virgin olive oil (Kalamata olive oil is best)
Fresh or dried thyme
2 tbs of fresh or dried dill
2 lemons
Salt
Pepper
Optional ingredients:
Passata/Chopped tomatoes
Feta cheese
The steps:
Wash and drain the spinach.
Boil the rice.
Chop the onion into little bits, and saute it in a pot for five or so minutes in medium heat, slowly adding olive oil. Stir.
In a frying pan, add the spinach and the onion, and more olive oil. If necessary, add half a teacup of water.
Add the thyme and dill in the pan.
Once the rice is done, add the rice and ¼ teacup of water, and stir together. Squeeze a lemon in the pan.
Add salt and pepper. Cook for another five minutes.
Serve in a bowl.
Optionally, you can add in passata or chopped tomatoes during step 5 for a richer flavour. If you’re a fan of feta, try serving it with feta; the combination is heavenly!
