A Spinach and Corn Dish Made So Fast You Won't Believe It!

 

   Anybody who's ever taken a car trip knows that there are always a couple of ways to go, the long way and the short way. In my world (the movies) that short cut usually leads to all sorts of interesting stuff, most of it scarey and sometimes involving a bumpy road and unstable dynamite. If scarey roads are your thing, have a blast..so to speak.

  However, there are other shortcuts which are a whole lot less dangerous and a million times easier. One of them is this spinach and corn dish which comes together so easily it's almost magic.
I made this for our lunch the other day and even though I took the long way around with fresh spinach and fresh corn, it was on the table in a half hour. If you want to use frozen vegetables, it's even faster. Here's what to do:

Spinach and Corn Curry

 Prepping the Spinach:
  Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. When it's boiling, toss in:
    I bag of fresh washed spinach, or 2 bunches of fresh spinach
  Blanch the spinach for 1 minute, then drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Set it aside to cool down.

  If using frozen spinach, skip all of this. Defrost the spinach.
 Take the spinach and put it in a food processor. Puree the spinach. Set it aside.

 Prepping the Corn:
  Husk, and wash 1 ear of fresh corn. Remove the kernels.
  Heat 1 Tbs of vegetable oil in a skillet or kadhai.
  When the oil is warm, toss in the corn kernels and cook them lightly until they're tender. Pour them into a bowl and set them aside.

Everything Else:
 Finely chop 2 medium size red onions.
 Heat 2 Tbs of vegetable oil in a skillet or kadhai. When the oil is hot toss in:
  The chopped red onions.

 When the onions are starting to turn a light brown add in:
  1 Tbs of shallot paste ( puree 1 large shallot in 1 Tbs of water.)
  2 seeded chopped fresh green chiles
  A 1 inch piece of fresh ginger julienned

 Stir it around, sauteing it for about 3 or four minutes until the ginger and chilies start to brown.
  Add in:
   1 pinch of turmeric
   1/4 tsp of amchur (dried mango powder) You can substitute lemon juice for this.
   1/2 tsp of Kashmiri chili or 1/4 tsp of cayenne mixed with 1/4 tsp of paprika
 Add in:
 The spinach,

 The corn,

 1 and 1/2 tsp of salt
Stir it well and add in:
 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, or if you wish to make this vegan, soy yogurt,

 1 tsp of garam masala
 1/4 tsp of dried fenugreek leaves. If you can't find them try using dried or fresh chopped celery leaves.
 Stir everything until it's warmed through and serve it up.

  This is an amazingly savory dish, good for both the Indian and non-Indian table. Backed up with a chappatti or a nice mustard seed rice, lunch is ready.

   A good friend of mine was injured in a horseback riding accident and so I'm going to be pitching in  with some of the other neighbors and bringing food to their house. Her husband's a vegetarian, she's gluten free. It should be interesting. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Steakhouse Spinach in 5 minutes

   Yesterday when I was making my Anglo-Indian lunch, I was looking for a proper second veg. I have always been a big spinach fan and as far as I'm concerned, one of the best sides to serve with any sort of roast dish is a nice creamed spinach. I usually make a Kashmiri-style spinach, creamy with lentils and fiery hot. This time, I was looking for something a little milder since the roast would be well spiced. I decided on a simple chop-house-style creamed spinach... except I didn't have any cream. What to do?
  The answer was Half and Half.  I know. Had I thought harder, I most likely could have come up with another solution, but Half and Half is what I had and that's the way I went. This dish cooks up very fast so it's something that can be made right before serving.

Steakhouse Spinach

Here's what to do:

 Steam 1 lb of fresh spinach.
 When it's cooked, press excess water from it and chop it finely.
  In a skillet or kadhai, heat 1 Tbs of unsalted butter.
 When the butter has melted add in 1  chopped shallot.

 When the shallot has turned translucent add in:
 the chopped spinach
 1/4 cup of Half and Half
 a pinch of nutmeg
 salt and pepper to taste

 Saute it all together until the Half and Half is mostly absorbed, usually about 3 minutes.
 I always like to add in a bit of garam masala at the last minute for a bit of flavor enhancement, but it's just fine without. This recipe serves 2 people only but can easily be multiplied.

   It's a perfect dish for a cold Wintry, rainy Sonoma weekend. I had to put on wellies and wade out into our winter creek this morning as there was some sort of obstruction causing it to back up. I wound up over my ankles in leaves and mud and sinking fast... not a great feeling. I managed to dislodge whatever was blocking things up. Now I'm now inside listening to the creek rushing by outside my office window while working on a squash dish and looking forward to leftover roast for lunch. Coming up soon... a sweet surprise for the Holiday season.