Recipes for Shabbat

Spinach

Spiderman may be able to scale skyscraper and Superman can see through anything but being a Jewish Mom gives me my own unique abilities, super powers if you like. I can, through a look, a sigh or a small shake of my head, get my kids (and spouse) try any new recipes that just might have ingredients that I know they're not too fond of. OK, ingredients that they love to hate. In our house, that means spinach.

Spinach is VERY available right now but I've stopped trying to tell them that spinach is low in calories, a good source of vitamin C and A, and chock full of iron and really tastes good. I never bore them with how great it is that fresh spinach is available year-round and how its available pre-washed, with a kosher supervision and that if you don't have any fresh spinach on hand the frozen stuff is almost as good (frozen spinach is acceptable only with recognized kosher certification). I just guilt them into enjoying.

Great tasting spinach should have crisp dark green leaves are crisp. Since fresh spinach shrinks when it is cooked, count on one pound of the fresh leaves yielding about 1 1/2 cups cooked. You don't have to cook frozen spinach when a recipe calls for cooked spinach, just defrost the package in the microwave, let it cool and then carefully squeeze as much liquid as you can.

Like all other salad greens, spinach should be washed as soon as you buy it.

Spinach tends to be very gritty so washing it thoroughly is imperative.

You can keep fresh spinach refrigerated in a plastic bag for up to 3 days.  

SPINACH AND CHICKEN SALAD (meat)

Elegant and easy.

Dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, grapes, peas, spinach, celery, pasta,  artichoke hearts, cucumber and green onions. Cover and refrigerate. Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar or small bowl; mix well and refrigerate. Just before serving, pour dressing over salad and toss. If desired, serve on a spinach leaf and garnish with orange slices. Serves 8 to 10.

MINESTRONE WITH SPINACH MEATBALLS (meat)

Light-textured beef and spinach meatballs are the flavor starter for this  busy-day minestrone. The pasta cooks right in the broth.

Prepare Spinach Meatballs Cover them and refrigerate until ready to use them.

Heat oil in a 4 to 5-quart pan over medium heat. Add meatballs and cook,  turning as needed, until browned on all sides. Remove from pan and set the  meatballs aside. Drain all but about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Add onion to the pan and cook, stirring often, until the onions are softened,  about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, beans and their liquid, oregano  and basil. Bring the mixture to a boil over a high heat; then reduce the temperature, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the carrots and celery.  Cover and simmer for 10 more minutes. Stir in pasta and the meatballs; cover and simmer until pasta is al dente (firm to the bite). Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

Spinach Meatballs

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well... Shape mixture into  1-inch balls. Makes about 2 dozen.

SWEET ONION, STEAK AND SPINACH SALAD

Place spinach and red pepper on large serving platter or divide evenly among 4 individual salad plates. Set aside. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Sauté steak quickly until medium rare. Remove from pan.  

Add remaining oil and sauté onion slices until softened and translucent. Stir  in vinegar, water, honey, mustard, ginger, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.  Quickly stir in meat. Spoon the hot meat mixture over the spinach and serve  
immediately. Serves 4.

SPINACH SALAD WITH APPLES AND ONIONS

In the bottom of the salad bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey, and   mustard. Add the cut up apple and onion to the dressing and toss to coat. You can let the apples mixture sits, covered in the refrigerator for about 2  hours at this point if you're not ready to serve the salad. When you are  ready to serve salad, add the spinach, tossing the mixture gently just until  leaves are coated with dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper, sprinkle the pine nuts or sunflower seeds over the top and serve. Makes 4  servings.

SPINACH PIZZA

Topping:

1 large onion, sliced
1/2 cup water
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)
8 ounces ricotta cheese
1 package (10-ounce) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry Dash of salt freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425. In a saucepan melt the butter and oil together. Add the  garlic and olive oil and cook until the garlic starts to turn lightly golden. At this point add the wine, rosemary and basil; simmer for 5 minutes then add  the water and onions. Cook the onion with the water in a skillet, until they  softened. Place the cooked onions on top of the pizza crusts. Place the  mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese and spinach on top of the onions and  sprinkle the top of the pizza with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes or  until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serves 6

SPINACH AND VEGETABLE SOUFFLE

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 6 cup oven proof dish. Cook spinach, drain and  chop. In a bowl combine the spinach, zucchini, red pepper, green onions, eggs, oil, cracker crumbs, onion soup mix, basil, oregano, parsley and garlic. Pack into prepared mold. Bake till slightly puffy - 25-35 minutes.
Serves 8 to 12.

Eileen Goltz, a professional chef and caterer, is the author of the new cookbook, Perfectly Pareve.