Espinacas Catalanas
Catalan spinach is a light, flavourful side dish from the cuisine of Catalonia. Tender spinach is briefly fried and, at the end, mixed with raisins and pine nuts. By cooking the spinach only briefly, the flavour stays fresh and full, while the nuts and raisins add softness and bite.
Serves: 4
Preparation: approx. 15 minutes
Cooking: approx. 10 minutes
Total time: approx. 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 500 g baby spinach
- 2 shallots
- 50 g pine nuts
- 50 g raisins
- approx. 50 ml lukewarm water or dry sherry (to soak the raisins)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Soak the raisins
Put the raisins in a small bowl and pour in enough lukewarm water or dry sherry to just cover them (approx. 50 ml). Leave to soak for 15 minutes. - Finely chop the shallots
Peel the shallots and finely chop them. - Prepare the spinach
Wash the spinach if needed in plenty of cold water. Drain well and remove any thick stalks if necessary.
Method
- Toast the pine nuts
Heat a large dry frying pan over a medium-high heat. Toast the pine nuts, shaking the pan, until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside. - Sweat the shallots
Heat the olive oil in the same pan over a low to medium heat. Add the chopped shallots and sweat them gently, without letting them colour, until translucent. - Fry the spinach
Add the spinach to the pan in batches. Stir each time until the spinach just starts to wilt before adding the next batch. Cook for as short a time as possible, so the spinach is wilted but still bright green and not too wet. - Add the raisins and pine nuts
Drain the raisins and, if needed, pat them briefly dry. Add the raisins and the toasted pine nuts to the pan. Gently toss everything together. - Season to taste
Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. - Serve the spinach
Serve the Catalan spinach straight away, while the spinach is still warm and the nuts are crisp. This dish is delicious as a side dish with grilled fish, meat or a simple tortilla, but also works well on a table with other Mediterranean vegetable dishes.
