Tuesday, 5 July 2016

Spinach.



This isn't actually Spinach; it's Perpetual Spinach, which is a type of Chard. Even so I always refer to it as Spinach, and I grow lots.

Unlike the 'real thing', this gorgeous leafy vegetable has a substantial consistency somewhere between real Spinach and Swiss Chard. One still requires quite a large picking for a meal.

For me it has three great virtues. It is very good for you, it tastes wonderful, and (best of all) it is rather like eating green vegetable SILK.




I wash, take off the longer stems, and steam for about 8 mins.The perfect accompaniment for a simple Pork chop. What could be easier!

Nice.




34 comments:

Susan Heather said...

Grow lots of it here as well - delicious.

Cro Magnon said...

Lovely grub.

Anonymous said...

Dish sounds great!. Nice to see the leafy veggies grown in your garden.They look very fresh...

Cro Magnon said...

From garden to table in about 30 minutes.

lovelygrey said...

http://lovelygreyday.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/veg-box-tales-chickpea-saute.html Okay a bit more complicated but this points you in the direction of a wonderful Yottam Ottolenghi recipe with chard. It's one of my favourites. x

Maria said...

The simpler fresh veggies are cooked the better they taste. Do your spinach have a slightly bitter taste? I like dandelion leaves because of their bitter taste.
Greetings Maria x

Cro Magnon said...

I like the idea of Yog and Olive Oil as a dressing. I'll certainly use that.

Cro Magnon said...

Only very slightly so. AS I said above they taste rather like green silk.

Judith said...

I agree with you, I prefer it too. It's easier to grow than "the real thing" and it tastes better. Yours looks very healthy!

Cro Magnon said...

I believe it tolerates hot weather better too.

Vera said...

I tried to grow this spinach but it bolted because the weather turned hot, so I gave up thinking that it was not suitable to grow in France, but since you do then perhaps we can!

Yael said...

I think we call it here "New Zeland spinach",not sure i have to look in our shop.

Jacqueline @ HOME said...

Delicious Cro .... and, your photographs could grace any cookery magazine..... very professional !! I will have to tackle the globe artichokes later !! XXXX

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

Unlike Vera I grow it because it doesn't go to seed, unlike "proper" spinach which (when I grow it) always does. It over winters and there is a good spring crop to gather before it DOES go to seed. Just keep picking, the chickens, goats and rabbits love it too.

Coppa's girl said...

It looks beautiful when freshly picked, but I always think that it looks unappetising when cooked. I'm not keen on what I call "slimy" veg., much prefer mine to be al dente, and feel the same way about pasta.

Cro Magnon said...

It seems to do OK here. Keep picking it, even if you give it to the hens.

Cro Magnon said...

NZ Spinach usually has much smaller leaves. Very good though.

Cro Magnon said...

I've just planted a new Globe Artichoke plant and it has given me just one very small head, which I ate yesterday.

Cro Magnon said...

Ordinary Spinach both goes to seed and suffers from the heat, this is much better.

Cro Magnon said...

What you call slimy I probably call silky. I love it.

Ninaschen said...

Perpetual spinach is an asset in the veggie garden because, well, it's perpetual! Mine is still hanging in despite the chook helping herself. I must start more seedlings off, soon. I like to have it and silverbeet (chard) on the go, always.

Sue said...

Green vegetable silk is a great way to describe it. I'm picking chard for dinner tonight.

Cro Magnon said...

I like to have a good selection of green leafy vegs in the garden at all times.

Cro Magnon said...

I love Chard too, but only grow the ordinary green one. My plants are about 2 inches high at the moment.

New World said...

I grew it once. I felt like a real gardener, it kept coming and coming. I preferred the growing of it to the eating

Cro Magnon said...

Cav eats 2 kilos a day!

Frances said...

I've added this green vegetable to my list for the farmers market. One of the farm stands specializes in all sorts of leafy greens. They are bound to have it.

I don't think I have had a pork chop this century. Maybe it is about time?

Best wishes.

Cro Magnon said...

We eat quite a lot of Pork, I think it must be France's favourite meat.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I have always found it easier to grow than spinach somehow Cro - and the more you cut it the more it comes again - another good factor. Your simple meal looks delicious.

Kev Alviti said...

Lots ready to plant out, my wife loves any cooked greens like that.

Frances said...

Funny, I use ham quite a bit, but pork chops seem across another border. Must get myself a visa and cross on over to some chops.

Tomorrow is farmers market day. i've got my list.

Cro Magnon said...

It's a 'dig for victory' type veg. A must for all gardens.

Cro Magnon said...

Me too Kev. All my winter stuff is now planted.

Graham Edwards said...

I've never tried chard and I only use spinach 'in things'. I grew an abundance of kale last year but apart from making an abundance of kale chips (delicious but a faff) I didn't develop a taste for it. Unfortunately your description of eating green vegetable silk was the final lid its culinary coffin for me.

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