Meatless Monday Garlic Sautéed Spinach With Slivered Almonds

This is a really long name for a simple dish with very few ingredients. This dish was inspired by a dish by the name of " Catalan Spinach". I came across this dish in allthatsdelicious, a blog by Priyadarshini. Once I saw this , the name " Catalan spinach" kept going in circles in my head. It was as if I was haunted by the name. The funny part is that I had not even paid attention to the recipe. After days of being haunted, I decided to give this ghost a rest. I went looking for the blog and the recipe. Once I looked at it, I liked what I saw and decided to give it a try. I of course didn't have all the required ingredients and being a firm believer in using what is available in your kitchen, I modified the recipe. The end result was this quick,simple  yet amazingly tasty dish.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Spinach: 1 bunch
Olive oil: 1tbsp
Butter: 1 tsp
Garlic: 6 cloves chopped and then lightly crushed.
Almonds:6 -8 slivered
Red Raisins: 1 tbsp
Chilli pepper flakes: 1/2 tsp
Sugar: 1/2 tsp
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Vinegar: 1tsp

Method:

Clean the spinach thoroughly to get rid of any residual sand. Boil 4 quarts water with 1/2 tsp salt. Add the spinach to boiling water. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes.

Then blanch it by putting it in cold water, drain and keep it aside.

Heat a sauté pan/ frying pan on medium heat. Add the butter and the olive oil.

Now add the garlic and sauté  until you smell the fragrance of garlic. 

Add the raisins, chilli flakes and slivered almonds. Sauté until they turn a little brown. 

Now add the drained spinach, sugar,vinegar an sauté for 3-4 minutes until the spinach is warm. 

Add salt as needed.

Serve warm with hot rice/ bread/ baked fish/ bake chicken.

Cooking made easy:

To clean greens effectively ,soak them in cold tap water with a few drops of vinegar for 3-5 minutes. This will make the sand/mud/dirt in the green settle at the bottom.Then rinse couple more times . Chop the greens after cleaning them. This ensures that you don't lose the essential nutrients and vitamins.

Tip for healthy living:

All fruits and vegetables are best cleaned by soaking it for 2-3 minutes in cold water with a few drops of vinegar. Then rinse and air-dry them.

Food for thought:

Once bitten, twice shy.(unknown).