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.
Servings: 8
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: 87kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 116mg | Potassium: 583mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 9315IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 3mg