Spinach is an extremely popular salad vegetable. What can be cooked from spinach? What is its use? Who could he harm? Its delicate, crunchy, dark green leaves are one of the favorite ingredients for chefs across the planet. Spinach is a very nutritious food that is low in calories but very high in vitamins.
What is the use of spinach?
Spinach is an excellent source of antioxidants, folic acid, magnesium and vitamin K, which strengthens bones. One hundred grams of boiled or stewed leaves contain a daily intake of vitamin K. Spinach leaves are a high fiber diet and an excellent source of vitamin C. It contains twice as much fiber as any other greens.
Like any dark green vegetables, spinach is an excellent source of beta-carotene. It is also a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Regular use of it helps prevent osteoporosis (bone weakness). In addition, it is believed that spinach will protect the body from cardiovascular diseases, colon cancer and prostate gland.
Who can harm spinach?
Spinach is not recommended for people with certain diseases. People who have problems with joints, kidneys, gall bladder should be careful. Spinach contains oxalic acid, which can crystallize in the joints, bile and urinary tract in some people. Spinach is not recommended for people with thyroid dysfunction. Many may experience an allergic reaction to it.
Studies have shown that regular use of it can slow down age-related changes in brain function. Spinach contains carotenoids that protect your eyes from age-related cataracts.
How to eat spinach? Spinach can be eaten fresh, boiled or stewed. Fresh leaves should be a bright dark green color. Do not eat yellowed or wilted.
Spinach is a great addition to any salad. But from it you can cook individual dishes. Usually it is boiled in salted water or stewed in a pan with a small amount of water before use.
A great way to keep all the vitamins in spinach leaves is to steam them. Since its leaves are very juicy, contain a lot of water, when steaming, a little water is poured into the bottom of the double boiler.
The volume of spinach leaves is significantly reduced during cooking.
How to cook spinach in the microwave
This is generally a great way to cook, because it preserves the nutritional value of the vegetable, and takes a little time, effort. In this case, you can not add water. Just put the spinach leaves in a cup, leave it in the microwave for 3-5 minutes. Stir them two or three times during this time.
Chopped boiled or steamed spinach leaves are a great addition to soufflé or scrambled eggs. It is often used as a filler to stuff everything from pasta and vermicelli to chicken breasts.
If you put out spinach leaves in butter or olive oil, this will give different tastes to the dishes to which they are added.
How to keep the bright green color of spinach leaves?
Flanch it: put the leaves in a colander and dip it in a pot of boiling salted water. Repeat this 5-6 times for 1-2 minutes. And then douse the leaves with cold water. Blanched leaves will decrease in volume, but remain bright green.
If you are not going to cook anything from spinach, then drain the leaves with a paper towel, put them in a bag or plastic container, and put them in the refrigerator. Leaves processed in this way will perfectly retain their nutritional properties for 3-5 days.
Spinach leaves can be used in salads. Fresh or boiled, they go well with mushrooms, eggs, onions, garlic. Spinach is delicious with sour cream, mayonnaise, natural yogurt, grated cheese, especially with Parmesan. Dishes with it are often seasoned with grated nutmeg, mint, caraway seeds, ground pepper, pine nuts - this only enriches its taste.
Finely chopped to a pasty state spinach is added to smoothies, juices - this gives them a cheerful bright green color.
It should be washed very carefully, since sand, earth have the ability to linger in folds or bulges of leaves. Even the spinach that you buy in supermarkets pre-packaged must be at least rinsed under running water. Do not leave it in water for long, as this will result in loss of nutrients. Spinach, frozen in briquettes, is naturally not washed. But after thawing, excess moisture should be squeezed out.
The leaves of some varieties of spinach have thick enough petioles, which should be removed before cooking any dish.