Today is National Spinach Day. So today is the perfect day to get out some spinach and see what other food you can put it with to make a nice meal for National Spinach Day.
Spinach is a leafy green edible plant, with leaves that can be eaten on their own or can be an ingredient within many dishes. Spinach is a vegetable that can be eaten either hot or cold and can be very healthy for you, with spinach containing many vitamins as well as iron and calcium. Spinach is also a good food source for vegetarians as many dishes can be made out of spinach.
Popeye, the cartoon, had the character Popeye eating lots of spinach. As a result he was very strong through all the goodness that spinach has in it and the iron that would make him stronger. This was a good way to make the children watching the programme want to eat lots of spinach.
Dishes that are made with Spinach
Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
Spinach and ricotta cannelloni is a pasta dish that is made out of a spinach and ricotta mix which is then put into cannelloni. Cannelloni are long and wide tubes of pasta which can generally be filled with many different fillings. Once the cannelloni is filled, a tomato sauce is usually added and then a béchamel sauce is put on top with a sprinkling of parmesan and then cooked in the oven.
Spinach and Ricotta Tortellini or Ravioli
Both tortellini and ravioli are a type of pasta that are always filled with various fillings. Tortellini is more of a ring shaped pasta, whereas ravioli is more of a parcel shape, where two flat pieces of pasta have been sealed together. A popular tortellini and ravioli dish is a spinach and ricotta dish. This is then served with either a cream sauce or a tomato sauce.
Fiorentina Pizza
A Fiorentina pizza, also popularly known as Florentine pizza, is a pizza with a tomato base that is then topped with spinach, egg, mozzarella, black olives, garlic and parmesan. This is the perfect pizza for those who have a love for spinach and also like to have egg on a pizza.
Salads
Spinach can be quite popular in many salads as it is a leafy and has a very distinctive, sometimes peppery taste. For salads the spinach must be quite fresh and young, whereas if you are cooking with spinach then the spinach can be a bit older. Spinach will last for longer if kept in the refrigerator and can also be frozen, to use at a later date.
These are just a few sample dishes that can be made using spinach, but there are also many more dishes that can be made using spinach. Spinach can also be made into a side dish to complement other main meals, for example the Indian Sag Aloo dish, which can be served alongside a curry. Spinach is popular in many countries and can be used in many dishes, it depends how creative you are.
