The perfect Easy Sauté for a Healthy Thanksgiving Side Dish. Great to master for weeknight meals too.
Large leaf spinach pairs with golden sliced garlic, lemon rind and toasted pine nuts.
Why Large Leaf Fresh Spinach?
- These leaves have a thicker wall – will not wilt as easily as “baby spinach” found in bags, which I do not recommend.
- A more robust and rich spinach-flavor, but not so much that it is over-powering.
- This Large Leaf Spinach is classified as the “Savoy variety” – has crinkly, curly leaves that are very dark green.
- Because of its crisp texture and slightly bitter flavor, savoy spinach is best used for cooking.
This Lemon Zester does this trick well! The one I use. Removes the yellow skin easily into thin strips.
Also See: Thanksgiving Overview: What to Cook Right Now & NEW Sautéed Spinach with Pine Nuts & Lemon
Enjoy this elegant & easy side dish!
Karen
Sautéed Spinach with Lemon, Garlic & Pine Nuts
The perfect Easy Sauté for a Healthy Thanksgiving Side Dish. Great to master for weeknight meals too. Large leaf spinach pairs with golden sliced garlic, lemon rind and toasted pine nuts. A lightened-up version not drenching in oil.
Equipment
- 1 14 inch skillet
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 pounds fresh spinach, preferably large leaf
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 medium cloves fresh garlic, about 3 T. sliced (can use 5 cloves)
- 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 1/4 teaspoons lemon rind strands*, from one medium lemon
- 1/8 teaspoon hot chili flakes, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Remove large stems of spinach; wash and dry.
- Add pine nuts to a small skillet let over low heat and cook, shaking pan until lightly golden, about 3 minutes - add to a small bowl, reserve.
- Peel and slice garlic thinly, but not paper thin. Heat a large 12" - 14" skillet with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, set to low heat. Add the garlic, stir to a single layer. Cook until lightly golden. Stir up and cook until all is lightly golden. Remove to a small bowl, reserve.
Sauté Spinach:
- To the same pan add 1 teaspoons olive oil, raise heat to medium-high. Add 1/3 of the spinach to the pan with the lemon rind and hot pepper flakes.Sauté until the spinach is mostly limp, add 1 more teaspoon olive oil, add the next third of spinach, stir in and sauté until this batch is limp. Add 1 last teaspoon olive oil, add last third of spinach, stir in and sauté uncovered until all the spinach is just cooked - do not overcook. Stir in salt to your taste.
Serving the Dish:
- Place spinach in a large bowl, add garlic and pine nuts and serve.HINT: If making ahead spinach ahead of time, gently reheat spinach until warm. Add garlic and pine nuts and stir until warmed through.
Notes
* Zesting a lemon: Use a lemon zester to remove the yellow skin in thin strips. Cut to 1" lengths. Alternately, peel the lemon rind in large strip with a peeler - cut rind into very thin strips.
This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of its author, Karen Sheer.
Nutrition
Calories: 87kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 3gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 116mgPotassium: 583mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 9315IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 102mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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