Spanikorizo: Greek Spinach Rice
A delicious side dish or lunch of cooked leafy greens or spinach with rice, herbs, feta cheese and pine nuts. Many leafy greens can be used.
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories: 257kcal
Cost: 5
Equipment
- 1 2 quart sauce pot for the rice
- ` 12 inch skillet with high sides and a lid for the greens
Ingredients
Rice
- 1 tablespoon mild olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoon tomato paste or sweet paprika optional
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1.5 cups Chicken stock or water
- 1 bay leaf fresh or dried
Greens or Spinach
- 1-2 lb mixed leafy greens largest variety possible-see note
- 2 tbsp mild olive oil
- 1 large (5 oz) white or yellow onion or leek minced or diced ¼ inch
- 2 large cloves garlic grated
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chicken stock
Finishing and serving
- 1 large lemon cut into wedges for squeezing
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- 8 oz feta cheese for serving
- 4 oz (½ cup) oil-cured black olives pitted and roughly chopped (optional)
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts optional
Instructions
Rice
- Rinse the rice in cold water until the water runs clear. Lay the rice out on a tray and allow to dry completely. I like to do this the night before if I can.
- Heat the oil in a small sauce pot and add the tomato paste or paprika if using. I recommend trying it without tomato first. Stir and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the salt, rice, stir to coat, then add the stock, cover, bring to a boil, turn the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off, fluff with a fork and allow to rest while you prepare the greens.
Greens
- While the rice cooks, prepare the greens. Remove any long, tough stems, although with greens that will become tender after cooking like dandelions and chicory I leave them in.
- Ball the greens up on a cutting board and roughly chop, trying to work in a cross-hatch pattern. Put the greens in batches in a food processor and pulse until they look finely chopped.
- Alternately, finely mince the greens by hand with a heavy, long chef's knife. A ten inch length is good.
- Heat the oil in a wide pot with high sides (12 inches is good). Add the onion and grated garlic and cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the salt, greens and half of the stock, along with the chili pepper if using. If you have dried mint and dill instead of fresh, you would add them now.
- Cover the pot and cook on medium heat until the liquid's absorbed, the greens are tender and the pan is nearly dry. If the greens aren't tender by the time the stock's evaporated, add some more.
Assembling and Serving
- Add the rice to the pan with the greens, along with the dill and mint.
- Double check the seasoning for salt and herbs, adjust as needed. If you want to add black olives, stir in a handful now.
- Serve garnished with crumbled feta or grated Greek cheese like kefalotyri and the pine nuts, a drizzle of olive oil and wedges of fresh lemon.
Video
Notes
For a more traditional ratio of rice to greens closer to the ancestral dish, use 1 cup of rice to 2 lbs mixed leafy greens.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Cup | Calories: 257kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 960mg | Potassium: 391mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5974IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 265mg | Iron: 3mg