There’s a recipe in one of my books with a typo that really annoys me. Instead of stipulating two-thirds of a teaspoon of sea salt for a harissa paste, it calls for two to three teaspoons, or nearly a tablespoon. The mistake was corrected in future editions and the wheels of the recipe world kept turning – in fact, I suspect I may have been the only person who noticed.
Other mistakes have had rather more far-reaching effects, notably spinach, which owes its reputation as an iron-packed superfood to an even bigger howler. German chemist Erich von Wolf misplaced a decimal point when he was writing up his findings about the amount of iron in 100g of spinach leaves: instead of the 3.5mg he should have noted down in an 1870 medical journal, he wrote 35mg. Unlike my poor harissa paste, Von Wolf’s error was not corrected for nearly 70 years, by which time whole generations of children had been raised with the delightfully misguided belief that eating spinach could make them as strong as Popeye.
So there we go: two little anecdotes with two very different messages. The first is to taste your food before you season it (if a recipe sounds as if it calls for too much salt, it probably does!); the second is to eat food because it tastes good, not because of any stats or arguments claiming it to be a superfood.
Wilted spinach with saffron yoghurt and golden raisins
This is great as it is, with toasted sourdough, or alongside roast chicken or lamb. Serves four, as a side, or as part of a mezze selection.
3½ tbsp olive oil
25g pine nuts, roughly crushed with a pestle and mortar
1 tbsp valdespino (or other top-quality) sherry vinegar
40g golden raisins
¼ tsp saffron threads, soaked in 2 tsp boiling water for 15 minutes
200g Greek yoghurt
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
¼ tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed
1 tbsp picked thyme leaves
Salt
400g spinach leaves (preferably large ones), rinsed
Heat a teaspoon and a half of the oil in a small saucepan on a medium flame. Fry the pine nuts for two to three minutes, stirring frequently, until golden-brown, then spoon into a small bowl.
Wipe clean the saucepan, add the vinegar and raisins, and put the pan on a medium-high heat for a minute, just until the vinegar comes to a boil. Tip into a second small bowl and leave the raisins to plump up.
Wipe clean the saucepan again, add the saffron, its soaking water and the yoghurt, and set to one side.
On a medium-high flame, heat the remaining three tablespoons of oil in a large saute pan for which you have a lid. Fry the onion for eight minutes, until soft and golden-brown, then stir in the garlic, chilli, cumin, thyme and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. Fry for two minutes, until the garlic is browned, then add the spinach in three batches, stirring in each batch slowly and covering the pan for 30 seconds before adding the next. Once all the leaves are wilted, cook uncovered for a minute or two, so most of the liquid evaporates, then stir in the pine nuts, raisins and a quarter-teaspoon of salt.
Just before serving, gently heat through the yoghurt/saffron mix for a minute on a medium heat, until just warm, then divide the yoghurt between four plates, spreading it out slightly. Spoon the warm spinach in the centre, leaving a rim of clear yoghurt all around, and serve at once.
Spinach and paneer cakes
These started off as a way to use up a glut of spinach and leftover mashed potato. They ended up being so delicious that I had to go out to buy a new batch of spinach and spuds to make them all over again. It’s rare for me to use coconut oil for frying (I’m usually olive all the way), but it has a natural sweetness that works well here. Serves four.
1 large 400g baking potato
650g large spinach leaves, washed
250g paneer, coarsely grated
Salt
3 tbsp coconut oil
2 large shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed
2 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
½ tsp chilli flakes
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp black mustard seeds
40 fresh curry leaves (ie from about three stems)
1 lime, quartered
80g Greek yoghurt
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Put the potato on an oven tray and bake for 45 minutes, until cooked through. Remove and, once cool enough to handle, peel and discard (or eat) the skin. Put the flesh (you should have about 180g) in a large bowl and crush with a fork.
Fill a large saucepan with water, bring to a boil, blanch the spinach for a minute, then drain. Once cool enough to handle, transfer the spinach to a clean tea towel, draw up the sides of the towel so the spinach is an enclosed ball in the middle, then squeeze out as much water as you can. Roughly chop the spinach, and add to the potato with the paneer and a teaspoon of salt.
Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high flame. Fry the shallots for five minutes, until soft and golden-brown, then stir in the cumin and coriander, and fry for two minutes more. Add the chilli, turmeric, mustard seeds and curry leaves, fry for a minute, until the seeds start to pop, then take off the heat. Set aside to cool slightly, stir into the potato mix, then form into eight cakes about 6cm wide and 3cm thick.
Wipe clean the frying pan and return it to a medium-high heat with the remaining coconut oil. Fry four cakes at a time for two to three minutes a side, until nicely browned, then remove from the pan and keep warm while you fry the remaining cakes. Serve warm, with a squeeze of lime on top and a spoonful of yoghurt on the side.
Halibut with spinach bechamel and rye crumbs
If possible, use bread that’s a mixture of rye and wheat, rather than just rye: you’ll get a better texture of crumb. Serves four.
2 tbsp sunflower oil
50g rye bread, crusts removed, blitzed to fine 2mm-thick crumbs
2 tbsp linseeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and black pepper
60g unsalted butter, cut into 2cm dice
1½ tsp fennel seeds, finely crushed
2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
300ml full-fat milk
Shaved peel of ½ lemon, plus 2 tbsp lemon juice
250g baby spinach, blanched for 30 seconds, drained and squeezed dry
3 tbsp double cream
700g halibut fillet, skinned and boned, cut into 4 equal pieces
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Start with the crumbs. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large saute pan on a medium heat, add the breadcrumbs, linseeds, poppy seeds, cayenne and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, and cook for five to six minutes, stirring regularly, until the crumbs are crisp and dark golden-brown. Transfer to a bowl.
Wipe clean the pan, add half the butter, the fennel seeds and the anchovy fillets and put on a medium heat. Once the butter melts, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the milk, whisking continuously. Add the lemon peel, a tablespoon of lemon juice and a third of a teaspoon of salt. Cook for two minutes, stirring regularly, until the mix thickens, then stir in the spinach and cream until combined. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Season the fish with half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Heat the remaining butter and a tablespoon of oil in an ovenproof frying pan on a medium-high flame. Lay in the fish so the side that originally had the skin on it faces up. Cook for three minutes, basting with the butter throughout, then gently flip and pour on the remaining lemon juice. Baste again, then transfer to the oven for two to three minutes, just to cook through (if the fillets are on the thin side, you may not need to finish them off in the oven).
Serve at once with the spinach spooned on top or alongside (discard the lemon peel at this stage, if you prefer), followed by a sprinkling of the crumb mix and, if you like, any butter left in the pan.
