Sautéed Spinach & Apple
There are savory foods and there are sweet foods, and spinach is definitely one of the former. But even when a food falls firmly into one category, you can mix and match it with foods from the other to create contrasts — it’s sort of like yin meets yang. (Although I would probably draw the line at spinach ice cream. Then again, you never know when and how the Kitchen Muse will strike…)
In this dish — which is based on a classic Spanish tapa — the savory spinach blends with the sweet apple and raisin to hit that yin/yang balance. Pan-toasted pine nuts add both crunch and creaminess. You could do it the Spanish way and serve this as an appetizer, or you could simply make more of it and serve it as a meal. (It would be particularly spectacular alongside a nice leg of free-range chicken!) Adding hard-boiled eggs would be another way to round it out into a full-fledged course.
Sautéed Spinach & Apples
Note: this serves enough for 2 people for lunch. Double recipe as needed, serve as a side (as suggested above), or add hard-boiled eggs to increase the recipe yield.
1 apple, cubed, skin left on
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup raisins
Several handfuls of spinach (baby or curly)
Extra-virgin olive oil or butter for cooking
Sea salt
In a wide pan over medium heat, sautée apple in olive oil or butter for about three minutes or until apple is soft and golden. Add pine nuts and continue to cook, shaking the pan often. The pine nuts should be toasted, fragrant, and golden-brown after about a minute. Turn down the heat to low and add raisins and spinach. If you’re using baby spinach, it should wilt in about a minute or so; curly spinach may take an additional minute. Gently turn spinach with a long-handled spoon as it’s cooking so that it wilts evenly. Sprinkle on a bit of sea salt to taste and serve piping hot.
¡Buen provecho!
P.S. Yes, I’m a huge comic book fan. Bats is one of my all-time favorites.
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