Spanakorizo - Greek Spinach Rice

Spanakorizo is a simple homely Greek dish made with spinach and rice and flavoured with lots of lemon zest and fresh herbs. For me, it’s a great way to add the ‘mighty’ green spinach to a meal (I have clearly watched too many Popeye cartoons as a kid!). While the traditional way is to cook the raw rice with the spinach in its own water, this is my modern era shortcut where I use leftover cooked rice and toss it all together in a pan. As I always say, in cooking there are no rules, only inspiration!

What you need-

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

Chili flakes (optional)

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 bunch spinach, roughly chopped

1/5th cups white rice (any variety)

1 tsp butter

Zest & lime of 1 lemon

1/4th cup mint or basil leaves, roughly chopped

Putting it all together-

1. Heat a non-stick pan & add olive oil. When hot add onions & sauté till translucent. Add in the minced garlic along with chili flakes

2. Throw in the spinach leaves in batches, tossing them from the bottom to the top as they wilt. Add a splash of water, couple of pinches of salt and a grind of pepper. Cover & steam the spinach for a couple of minutes.

3. Once the spinach is cooked & still bright green, add in the rice, herbs & butter. Combine well without breaking the rice grains. Taste for seasoning.

4. Add in the lemon zest, squeeze in some lime juice & serve with a main dish or a soup.