Kitchen Wisdom Gluten Free Spinach with garlic and olive oil is a dish near and dear to my heart. Very basic, very yummy. This sort of preparation for leafy vegetables is common to the cooking of Southern Italy in general. Almost any non-bitter leafy vegetable will do. Allow the sliced garlic to sit for a few minutes in the olive oil before cooking, this will keep the garlic from burning. Baby spinach is my favorite spinach for this recipe. So quick and easy, a great vegetable for work nights!
1 pound Spinach leaves
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped or super thinly sliced*
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Water
Optional Crushed Red Pepper flakes (to taste)
Pinch Salt
Chop or slice the garlic. Thoroughly wash and rinse the spinach. Shake off excess water and place in a colander. The leaves will still have some water on them, during cooking the water will be liberated and turn into steam.
Warm the bottom of a heavy bottomed pan. Add the 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, allow oil to warm enough to the point of thinning out across the pan. Place heat on medium high and add the garlic and optional crushed red pepper. If you are a garlic lover, this is the dish to add as much garlic as you’d like. By placing the hot pepper in the sauté with the garlic, the capsaicin (the heat) of the hot pepper is infused into the oil.
Add the spinach when the garlic is at the end of the translucent stage and just as it is turning brown, add the spinach. The water droplets will make a fierce crackling noise. I add a pinch of salt at this point to help the leaves release some of their moisture, which allows them to sweat. Add the 2 Tablespoons of water, use tongs to turn leaves and coat as thoroughly as possible. Put the lid on and lower the heat to medium low. Cook about a minute, use tongs to toss and coat the leaves. Cover.
Place heat on low, cook for a few minutes. Cook to your personal taste. If you like leaves cooked to death, allow the spinach to cook on low for 5 minutes. If you prefer the leaves almost raw, then cook only for an additional minute. Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!
Marinate thin sliced garlic in olive oil before sautéing:
My cousin Gino always thinly slices the garlic and then he allows it to sit in a thin layer of olive oil in a small bowl. When cooking, throw in soaked garlic when pan is warm. This soaking method gives the garlic a smoother flavor and less likely to burn.
Garlic: Sliced or Finely Chopped?
If you thinly slice garlic, as close to paper thin as possible, the garlic will hide in the leaves of the spinach, creating a tasty pocket of garlic flavor. Finely chopped garlic will just disappear amidst the leaves or vegetable you are cooking.
*For more information about rice cracker meal click Kitchen Wisdom Gluten Free “Breadcrumb” & Locatelli
“Spinach with Garlic” by Liz Conforti, Forget What You Know About Wheat(c) 2014
Serve with additional Kitchen Wisdom Gluten Free Recipes:
Visit Kitchen Wisdom Gluten Free:
Facebook Pinterest Twitter Google+ Instagram Tumblr
BUY Kitchen Wisdom Gluten Free
Kitchen Wisdom Gluten Free: Journey into a Culinary Cultural Evolution &
Learn How to Transform Southern Italian Recipes to Gluten Free
Kindle Paperback
Kitchen Wisdom Gluten Free: Journey into a Culinary Cultural Evolution & Learn How to Transform Southern Italian Recipes to Gluten Free…Experience a Kitchen so Delicious, Those Who Can Eat Gluten Choose Not To! Available formats: eBook, & Paperback; On amazon.com, and at Select Vermont Retailers.
Kitchen Wisdom Gluten Free 