Over the summer and fall, I bought cans of vegetables for my winter pantry. Included in what I bought are: pureed pumpkin, sweet potatoes, tomato paste, whole tomatoes, sliced beets, carrots, corn, green beans (Blue Lake variety), Italian flat green beans, peas, and spinach. I was trying to amass a variety of orange, red, and green vegetables. I like to serve at least one orange or red and one green vegetable with each dinner. For the month of November, I have laid out a rotation that ensures we use the cans of vegetables in a balanced way.
Maintaining variety in how I serve each vegetable is the biggest challenge. I'm not a huge fan of canned vegetables; however, they do store neatly on a shelf instead of in my already-packed fridge and freezer.
This week, we tackled the canned spinach. I found that even with a rotation plan in place, we were still avoiding the spinach.
In the past few days, I found two ways that were not only acceptable, but actually delicious ways to use the canned spinach: a personal omelet and a souffle that's not a souffle.
Spinach and cheese omelet
I was making my lunch the other day and there was a can of spinach sitting on the counter, staring me down. (I thought if I left the can on the counter, someone would eat it.) I was going to make myself a scrambled egg, then thought, "why not add some spinach?"
I made myself a simple spinach and cheese omelet by pouring a beaten egg into a hot, buttered skillet, spooned a little drained spinach on top of the cooking egg, added a pinch of nutmeg, some onion powder, salt, and a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. When the egg was set, I folded the whole thing up. Easy-peasy done.
My family members sat at the table with me and followed my first forkful with their eyes, waiting to see if this was something awful or something tasty. (Cue the iconic TV commercial scene with Mikey and Quaker Oats breakfast cereal Life, circa 1972.) I loved it, but I have yet to convince them to try the same for themselves.
I knew from cooking other recipes that spinach goes well with nutmeg, onion, garlic, and a variety of cheeses (cottage, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, cheddar, feta). That knowledge provided inspiration for both the omelet and this souffle.
Spinach Souffle (serves 4)
A variation of my personal spinach and cheese omelet, the souffle used:
5 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
about 4 dashes nutmeg
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
In a mesh sieve, I drained and pressed most of the water from the canned spinach, then processed in the food processor using the chopping blade until mostly chopped, but not completely pureed.
In a large bowl, I beat the eggs with a whisk and stirred in the spices and powders, milk, and yogurt. Once smooth, I folded in the spinach and cheeses.
I baked the souffle in a well-buttered, glass round baker at 325 F (convection) for about 30 minutes, until the center looked puffy and set.
I served the souffle topped with a quick, microwaved marinara sauce made from tomato paste, water, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes.
The family verdict? This was delicious and I think I converted all of my household to spinach-lovers with this souffle. The dish wasn't your traditional very puffed up souffle (which are made puffy by beating egg whites separately then combining with remaining ingredients), but more like a slightly puffy baked egg custard. If you've ever enjoyed Stouffer's Spinach Souffle, my version was along those lines.
The marinara-topped spinach souffle was accompanied by sausage links, roasted potatoes, and applesauce. However, for protein content (for a vegetarian meal), the souffle could stand alone with the protein in the eggs, cheeses, milk, yogurt and the spinach (a 13.5 oz can of spinach has 6 grams of protein). Total protein for the souffle was about 60 grams or 15 grams per serving.
For a first week of really trying with the spinach, I think I did well. But I am seeking other ways to use this canned vegetable.
What are your favorite ways to use canned spinach? And actually, frozen spinach would fit here, too, as their textures are comparable once cooked. Recipes? Links? Ideas?
