While the Vegetarian may be hard pressed to admit this (well, maybe she would), she really doesn’t like any cooked green. And by cooked green, I’m referring to spinach, kale, collard greens and not things like green beans and broccoli. In recent month the Vegetarian has started to try some of these things, including some of my spicy sautéed kale. To no avail, she didn’t really enjoy it.
I had two large bunches of spinach and didn’t really feel like making a salad. Doing a quick internet search for garlic and spinach, I came across a great blog post from a great blog: The Pioneer Woman. The dish was simple, quickly cooked spinach topped with garlic chips. The chips are easy enough to make, only requiring about 5 minutes, plus a few more for cooking the spinach.
To my delight, the Vegetarian loved the dish and not just the garlic chips, which unless you are going on a date or job interview, should be enjoyed by all. This goes great with a pork chop, chicken breast, a nice steak or just about anything else.
Ingredients
Serves 4 as a side
Recipe Courtesy of The Pioneer Woman
5 cloves Garlic, Peeled And Sliced Very Thin
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
~12-14 ounces fresh spinach
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Pour olive oil into a large skillet and add garlic slices. Turn on stove to medium -low heat and allow garlic and oil to heat together. Don’t heat oil first or garlic will brown too quickly. Keep an eye on the garlic and stir to turn as it begins to bubble. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon as soon as it turns golden brown; do not allow to burn. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Pour off half the oil into a ramekin and set aside. Add half the spinach to the pan. Immediately begin turning gently with a spoon. Spinach will immediately start to wilt. Cook, stirring regularly, for about one minute, adding salt and pepper to taste. Remove spinach to a plate. Add remaining oil and add remaining spinach. Repeat cooking process.
The spinach should not be completely wilted and still have a bite to it. Serve immediately, topped with garlic chips. Enjoy!!
