Spanakoryzo

Cuisine: Greek
Region: Common

This is a Greek traditional classic dish everyone cooks at home, often, (No, you will not find at a Greek restaurant anywhere in North America unless it’s a simple Cookery that actually knows what it’s doing. 🙂 )

Serves 6 – 8
Cooking time: 30 min
You will need: a skillet

Ingredients

• 1 Kg (2 Lbs) x spinach, coarsely cut
• 1 dry onion, diced
• 1 bunch green onion, diced
• 1 leek, diced
• 3/4 cup rice
• 1/2 bunch dill
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 – 2 glasses (cups) of hot water (depends on the variety of the rice).
• Juice of one big lemon
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Pour half of the olive oil in a pot or skillet.
2. Add the dry onion, the green onion and the leek: saute for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the spinach: saute for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the rice and stir well, so that the rice becomes oily.
5. Add the hot water.
6. Lower the fire.
7. Add the rest of the olive oil. Stir.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Give it a stir once in a while.
10. A little before it’s done, add the dill.
11. After it’s done, cover the pot and let it sit for 5-10 minutes (so that the rice absorbs the liquid).
12. Add lemon juice to taste, individually in every serving plate.

Sides

Blends very, very well with feta cheese and white wine. Maybe also some bread to soak up the juice, if any.

Notes on Spinach with Rice and Lemon

• The recipe can be safely scaled by 50%.
• Vitamin C (of the lemon juice) disintegrates with heat. This is why you add the lemon juice by serving plate, after the food has cooled off a bit.
• White, sticky or par-boiled rice may not result to what one would expect. This recipe works well with non par-boiled brown rice or Basmati rice or any rice that’s similar to these.