Table des matières

Frozen spinach with potatoes

Ingredients

Serves 4-6, but only 2-3 if mussels are added to make a one-dish meal.

550g frozen leaf spinach (not creamed!). Swiss chard (“bettes”) and kale (“choux frisé”) are substitutes I like.
300ml water
110 g onion(s), peeled
5 Tb (75 ml) vegetable oil
pinch asafoetida (optional? I don't think so.)
2 tsp (10 ml) whole black mustard seeds
2 cloves garlic
500 g potatoes – the stay-firm type, like Charlottes, or cauliflower if you want a more “vegetable” (i.e. less starchy) version.
1/4 tsp (1 g) cayenne pepper (or the amount of pepper flakes or paprika you think appropriate if you want a milder dish)
1 tsp (5 g) salt
250 g mussels, cooked and taken out of their shells (“shelled”, but that may confuse ESL readers. To shell is to remove the shell, and when they are shelled they have no shell). Thawed if using frozen mussels. Alternatives are possible, but the “background” is so strong most other seafood would hardly be tasted, I suppose.

Set-up

  1. Bring 275 ml water to boil in a saucepan; cook the frozen spinach in it until just done. Drain, rinse and chop coarsely (if not using chopped spinach). If using another green, like Swiss chard or kale,
    1. wash thoroughly, and cut out the thick stem (or spine?) from the middle of the leaves. I usually cut into 1 cm strips at this point to facilitate washing and cooking.
    2. boil longer in much more water, at least a couple of litres and for 15-30 minutes
    3. drain and chop as for spinach, if you haven't cut into 1 cm strips in step 1.1.
  2. Peel and cut the potatoes into (rough) cubes of about 2 cm.
    • If the potatoes are nice and you like the skin, just wash them well and cut them without peeling.
    • If you are using cauliflower (diet? look how much oil there is!) instead of potatoes, wash well and cut into little pieces about 3 cm in diameter.
  3. Cut peeled onions in half lengthwise, then slice cross-wise into thin slices.
  4. Peel and finely chop garlic.
  5. grate the asafoetida, measure mustard seeds, have both ready to use near the stove.

Cooking and final touches

  1. heat the oil in a heavy skillet (for which you have a cover) or Dutch oven. Put in the asafoetida, then add the mustard seeds – the oil should be quite hot, and the mustard seeds should start popping almost immediately.
  2. add the sliced onion and stir-fry a couple of minutes.
  3. add the cayenne (or pepper flakes, paprika, or not if you want a milder dish) and potatoes; stir-fry a couple more minutes.
  4. add the rest of the ingredients : greens, salt and a couple of tablespoons of water. Bring to boil.
  5. Cover tightly and cook on very low heat about 40 minutes (the time it takes to cook the potatoes), stirring and ensuring there is always some moisture.
  6. If adding mussels to make a one-dish meal, do so when the potatoes are almost done and continue cooking about tem minutes (so the mussels are warm as the rest thoughout).

Serving

Just do.