The Spinach Solutions

The Popeye Spinach. It is the chef’s best help when in need - always so easy to cook and fast. Makes a great combination with cream and butter, or with tomato. It also adds color to a buffet spread.

The only thing while cooking spinach is to watch out for a few points that many in India miss out:

1. Buy it fresh and cook it fresh.
2. Wash it in cold running water for at least 3-4 times to get the dirt out.
3. Boil it in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes only.
4. While boiling, do not cover the lid as then the spinach will tend to go black.
5. Drain and refresh immediately in cold water to retain the colour.
6. Never put it in water if it is not boiling. And don’t forget to put the salt in water.

If you follow this method, you will get the brightest of spinach you have ever cooked. In fact this method holds true for most green veggies.

Spinach has a large nutritional value, especially when fresh, steamed, or quickly boiled. Apart from being a rich source of Iron and calcium it is a rich source of vitamins A, C, E, K, magnesium, and several vital antioxidants. Recently, opioid peptides called Rubiscolins have also been found in spinach. It is a source of folic acid, and this vitamin was first purified from spinach. To derive benefit from the folate in spinach, it is better to steam it than boil it. Boiling spinach for four minutes can halve the level of folate.

Cream of Spinach Soup
(Epinard a la Creme)

Ingredients:
1 & 1/2 cups water
300 gms cooked spinach as told to you above, (for that you will need 750gms raw spinach)
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk salt and pepper to taste
200gms of cream

Method:
In a medium saucepan, combine water and spinach. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, and cook for two minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick. Stir in spinach mixture.
Close the heat and stir in the cream.

Spinach Baked Chicken
(Chicken Florentine)

Ingredients:
600 gms of boiled and chopped spinach (please see the steps above for boiling spinach) · 50 gm butter
2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
Dash-dried basil
Dash-ground thyme
50 Gms flour
250 Gms cream
1kg cooked boneless chicken
250gms cream
3/4 cup chicken stock or the water in which chicken has been boiled
Salt and pepper
1 cup grated" Parmesan cheese

Preparation:
· Cook spinach as per instructions, drain well.
· In a pan, melt half butter; add minced garlic, basil, and thyme.
· Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes.
· Add flour and blend well.
· Add the spinach; simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
· Put spinach into the bottom of a lightly buttered casserole or baking dish.
· Cover with cooked chicken slices.
· Over medium low heat, melt remaining butter and blend in remaining flour, stirring until smooth.
· Gradually stir in 3/4 cup half-and half and 3/4 cup chicken broth;
· Continue cooking and stirring until thick.
· Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cut sliced ham in strips.
· Add to sauce and pour over chicken.
· Cover all with grated Parmesan cheese.
· Bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is lightly brown.

INDULGE!

Luxury, once considered the purview of a chosen few, is no longer that inaccessible. For the discerning, it is now well within reach; in fact, for the gourmet it is right there on the kitchen shelf beside the other stuff. Long confused with style, it is now clear that luxury is really in the detail.

You will find it in the fragrance of long-grained basmati rice for your biryani; in the flavour of Kashmiri saffron soaked in warm milk for your dum recipes and in the red rice from Kerala. You will taste it in Peking Duck and you will savour it in Scottish Salmon;
you will mask it with chives and boiled eggs when biting into Sevruga on Melba toast.
You will feel it (terribly) in your effort to add that perfect pungency to your French & Italian dishes, when you pay an eye-popping 30,000 in INR, for half a kilo of black truffle. I didn’t say luxury was cheap, just more accessible!

It’s back to the details. A perfect cup of morning tea cannot be the result of the leaves alone. A ceramic pot, chemical free water for boiling and the brewing method employed, all combine to give it the superlative touch. Similarly, luxurious evenings are not just about the guest list, or the catering. They are about subdued lighting, soft music, aromatic candles, gleaming cutlery, and fine bone china on spotless linen.

Luxury is to not in the labels of fancy wine bottles, it is in the soil and climate of the region of their origin. It is in the dedication and patience of generations who have toiled for ages to provide value, instead of expense. It is in the sweetness of dessert wines. It is in the peat on the heaths around the lochs and glens of Scotland.

Luxury is in pasta made from dough, hand-kneaded with spring waters. It is in the spices that flavour Awadhi kebabs, just as it is in the cuts of meat that go into their qormas. It is reflected in the traditional vessels employed for cooking of Chettinad delicacies, just as it is sealed with dough for a dum pukht experience.

Luxury can be seen shining bright in the elaborate recipes handed down from the Mughal period. Experiments with special garnishes for royalty led to the use of real silver and gold leaf (warq). These dishes were even placed in a special manner in order to glow more under the chandeliers! Two rather unique curries from the time, Kundan Qaliya and Chandan Qaliya were a handiwork of devoted chefs. The former was prepared with goat meat and ingredients that gave the gravy a golden hue. Gold leaf and pistachios _ wrapped in gold leaf added to the glitter. The latter is a poultry dish with a creamy consistency due to the presence of cashews and almonds. This one shimmered under a garnishing of silver leaf. In the end, luxury is simply an experience of the senses.