I’ve always loved spinach. That is, I’ve always loved fresh or frozen spinach. Cruising, neither one was practical: no room in the freezer and I only rarely found fresh, and there still would have been problems with storing it and all the water needed to wash it.
Canned spinach was readily available, even in tiny fishing villages. The only problem was that I had always detested canned spinach. But if I wanted spinach, I had to figure out a way to make canned spinach taste good.
I took an old recipe of my mom’s and began playing with it. Pretty soon, I’d come up with a way to make canned spinach taste good.
In addition to the canned spinach, you can use almost any type of greens in this recipe, and yes, it’s great with fresh or frozen as well. Originally, the recipe called for beet greens and beets (cooked until tender) instead of tomatoes.
- 1 (8-ounce) can mushrooms, drained OR 4 to 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 2¼” thick slices onion, cut into quarters
- 1 tablespoon butter OR olive oil OR canola oil
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder OR 1 clove garlic, minced
- salt and pepper
- 1 (16-ounce) can spinach, drained
- 1 tomato, chopped in large chunks OR ¾ cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar OR wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts, walnuts OR pecans (toast if desired)
- Sauté mushrooms and onions in butter until golden.
- Turn down heat to low and add garlic, salt and pepper and spinach. Very gently toss.
- Heat until spinach is warmed through and then remove from the fire.
- Add tomato and vinegar and quickly toss.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle nuts over the top.
Want more ways to turn boring canned veggies into great side dishes? Check out The Boat Galley Cookbook — this recipe isn’t in there, but over 800 other great boat-friendly recipes are!
The one comprehensive galley reference needed aboard every boat
We always keep canned spinach and canned greens on hand. They are good when you get hungry for something green and nothing fresh is around.
yummy sounds great!!