Spinach recipes
Spinach is a leafy green vegetable that is generally cooked, but can also be eaten raw when young enough to be tender. It has a bittersweet taste and its strong colour can be used to dye pasta green, for example.
Traditional Punjabi cooking includes many vegetarian dishes. Saag aloo is made with saag (a variety of greens, including mustard greens), potatoes and spices. This vegan recipe uses frozen spinach: it could also be called palak aloo (palak meaning spinach). It makes a simple and inexpensive midweek meal, served with a bowl of dal and some chapatis or rice.
Each serving provides 200 kcal, 5g protein, 20g carbohydrates (of which 4g sugars), 10g fat (of which 1g saturates), 5.5g fibre and 0.9g salt.
More spinach recipes
Buyer's guide
Spinach is at its best from May to October, but it’s available year-round. Look for vibrant green leaves without yellowing or signs of bruising. Smaller leaves are best for salads, whereas larger ones stand up better to heat. Bear in mind that spinach leaves shrink dramatically, so what looks like an enormous amount won’t be when it’s cooked.
Storage
Store dry spinach, loosely packed in a bag in the salad crisper of your fridge for up to one week. To freeze, blanch the spinach, squeeze the water out, then divide into serving portions in freezer bags.
