Tess Mallos’ “Greek Cookook” was the first I ever owned,
and through it I fell in love with food and cooking. This is one of my
favourites from her book. This is exactly as she wrote it, but these days I use basmati rice and frozen spinach.
It’s delicious served at room temperature as a salad. But bring it to room temperature first. Served straight from the fridge the rice is hard and crunchy, so allow it to come to room temperature. I often warm it in the microwave.
1kg spinach or silverbeet (I use either a combination of baby spinach, parsley, mint or dill, and this may or may not add up to 1kg. Or I use one or 2 packets of frozen chopped spinach - drain and squeeze extra liquid out.)
1 cup chopped spring onions (I often use a normal onion)
1 leek, chopped (optional)
½ cup olive oil (measure this because this recipe relies on a good amount of oil)
1 ½ cups or 300g short grain rice (I use basmati because I prefer it less gluggy, and it has a lower Glycemic Index)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or more, to taste)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley or dill
3 cups water
Salt and pepper.
Directions
Wash spinach or silverbeet very well.
Remove stems, drain leaves well and tear into pieces. If using
silverbeet, chop the bitter stems finely, parboil for 5 inutes in salted water
and drain.
In deep pan gently
fry onion and leek (if used) in oil until soft.
Stir in rice and cook 5 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and parboiled silverbeet stems (if
used).
Bring to the boil and add sinach or silver beet.
Stir well, cover and cook gently for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, leave tightly covered and allow to stand
for 5 minutes befoe serving.
Serve hot as an accompaniament to main meals, particularly
grilled meats and fish.
Note: This is very good served cold.
