Spinach

It may not make your muscles expand instantly, like balloons, as it did for Popeye, but spinach is a vegetable heavyweight, not only bulging with goodness and flavour, but one that can also be put to endless culinary uses.

A member of the amaranth family, spinach has a fresh, grassy and mildly bitter flavour as lovely to eat raw as it is cooked. Although spinach is mostly water, its reputation for being a nutritional powerhouse is well deserved. It’s an excellent source of vitamin K and A; 100g delivers almost four times and twice the recommended daily intake respectively. Spinach also contains ample amounts of vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, iron, fibre and an array of other vitamins and minerals.

Whether you buy your spinach leaves bagged or loose, give them a quick rinse in cool water before you eat or cook them to wash away any hidden grit. Then, give them a turn or two in the salad spinner, or pat dry with kitchen paper to remove excess moisture. (Don’t wash before you refrigerate them, or they might turn slimy).

Younger leaves are more tender and less bitter than older ones, so it’s easy to enjoy them raw. Simply deploy as you would lettuce leaves in salads and sandwiches. Bear in mind they have a particular affinity with eggs and dairy, so think scrambled eggs piled on a nest of spinach leaves piled on top of good toast. Or layer into an egg mayonnaise sandwich on soft white bread for crunch and fresh flavour.

Don’t forget to add a handful of spinach leaves to your smoothies! It’s a great way to add nutritional balance and fibre to fruit-based blends, not to mention verdant colour. Try a ratio of 60% ripe fruit (think pineapple, mango, banana, berries, stone fruit) to 40% spinach leaves by volume. Add some healthy fats for good measure – nuts, avocado or a splash of extra virgin olive oil – and you have a delicious and filling breakfast or snack in a glass.

For all its virtues eaten raw, spinach cooks in the blink of an eye, even the older leaves, making it one of the easiest and quickest vegetables to turn into a hot meal. It’s hard to go past buttered spinach: melt a generous knob of butter in a frying pan until foaming, add your spinach and toss until just wilted (add finely chopped garlic to the butter, and/or a squeeze of lemon juice over the top once cooked, if you like).

Alternatively, drop handfuls of the leaves into soups, stews, curries and lentil dishes like dahl – they simply assimilate into whatever is going on in your cooking pot without dominating the hero ingredients.Consider smuggling them into the layers of as lasagne, or tucking them other vegetables when making a cheesy gratin – there’s no need to cook first. Or simply wilt the leaves into omelettes and scrambled eggs, frittatas, tarts and stir fries.

The leaves are so incredibly tender that they don’t even require a hot pan for cooking. Just fold several large handfuls into a platter of hot rice or grains, and the spinach leaves will simply slump in the residual heat. Raw leaves will also ‘cook’ in hot pasta. Scoop out some of the pasta cooking water before draining, then add lots of grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese to the drained pasta, along with lots of finely grated lemon zest and a good squeeze of the juice. Add a generous splash of the cooking water and gently stir, so the pasta strands are coated in a cheesy sauce. Fold in a handful or two of spinach leaves, stirring gently, until wilted.

Steamed spinach is a tasty filling for pies: the key is to steam the leaves first and then squeeze out as much water as possible before enveloping in the pastry. To do this, dump the cooked leaves in a clean dish cloth, wrap tightly and squeeze or twist the cloth until as much water as possible comes out. Consider making spanakopita, one of the very best spinach pies. This classic Greek dish is traditionally made with feta cheese, spinach, spring onions and egg, wrapped in filo pastry.

But there are numerous riffs: add cooked minced lamb to the mix, other cooked vegetables, or chopped herbs like dill, mint and parsley. Another delicious way to combine spinach and pastry is to stuff into a pinwheel. Roll out some puff pastry, top with well-squeezed steamed spinach, grated cheese and lots of salt and pepper. Roll into a log, brush with lightly beaten egg and cut into 2cm rounds. Arrange cut side up on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 200C oven for 10 minutes, or until puffed and golden.

Don’t forget spinach is mostly made of water, so the leaves reduce down dramatically during cooking. Around 1kg might look a leavy green Mount Everest, but this should just be enough for four people.

Spinach pears beautifully with eggs; salty cheeses like feta, Parmesan and pecorino; butter; cream; pastry; lentils; lamb.