There’s spinach, and then there’s silverbeet, which is also called chard. Our Indian cookbook has this delightfully named dish called saag (spinach) bhaji, which we use alongside our favourite lentils and rice. We use silverbeet instead of spinach, but does it really matter?
This rice and spinach based slice is an excellent way of serving up these two ingredients as a tasty side supporting act for ratatouille or a casserole. There are no eggs, so the pumpkin adds a layer of flavour and colour, and it holds this slice together long enough to transfer it from baking dish to plate, just.
Red, amber, green: three different curries to accompany paneer. Served with chapati, they make an exciting first course for young and old alike. It’s a bit fiddly to make the three separate curries, and it takes the best part of an afternoon. But it’s worth it to get “This is the best ever” from little voices, talking about…
This is not a normal green smoothie: it is actually quite nice. Yes it has spinach, but the apple and banana somehow work with it to give a balanced, not-too-sweet flavour. Surprisingly, it makes a decent breakfast if you want something healthy and filling to start your day.
What do you do when you need mashed potato to go with dinner, but you are being visited by someone who will not contemplate calories like that in the evening? Simple, you use cauliflower. It’s also just as good for the soul as potato, not to mention soaking up the juices and sauces from the rest of the meal.
Warm pasta salads are ideal weekend lunches in the cooler, autumn weather. You can use any spinach/silverbeet for this: baby spinach/silverbeet will have a more delicate flavour, adult spinach/silverbeet will be stronger and need a few more minutes in the wok to cook through.
These delicious little rolls of stuffed chicken are one of those bonus dishes: they look impressive on the plate, but they are so easy and quick to make. You can stuff the rolls with anything you have in your garden, fridge or pantry. Baby spinach, soft cheese and walnuts are the stars in this version.
Just outside the back door, there’s a lawn of self-sown baby spinach, the last lettuce before winter, a cucumber, and tomatoes from the few bushes that survived a hot, dry summer. Add some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. There’s lunch. Simple food can satisfy even the most sensuous of souls. A recipe in a neat 50…
Mermaid's tresses 